BEST Fourth of July Parties…Wine, Wimmen, Snoozing in the Sun

Three gloriously HOT days. Any wine sipping foo gonna hit the party party party circuit. NowhatImsayin? We did. IGTY had the best babes and the most relaxed scene. But when it came to wine the Krisses ruled the roost at Papa Fred’s Shack. The wines ranged from Northern Italy’s Alto Adige (Lagrein) to two Paso Robles’ Wild Horse whites to several Ros√©s that created a stir. The wine tasters also ranged widely. Necromancer, prodigy, novotiate, tenderfoot, shellback, bashful and laconic. Toss in a garrulous minx and there is the perfect 4th of July bash. Read what they had to say about the wines that washed across their wanting palates.

2010 Domaine de Montcy Cheverny $16: A Garagiste purchase that complemented the Cour Cheverny Rommartin which wowed us last May. Bold red color. This wine is lean, not fruity. It is 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Gamay and 40% Cabernet. Acidic, rusty. Excellent. 12%

2010 Chateau Cambon Ros√© $20: Bought the rep. The “legendary” Marcel Lapierre’s last vintage. Purchased untasted. A lesson on several counts. It is OK to buy Rose wines on recommendations. But it is certainly not necessary. Wine hype runs full circle. While we may be unswayed by the Parker-type scores – “Husseldude gave it 94 points” – we are not free of the “inside” story. Would we have bought this wine had we tasted the wines of Marcel Lapierre in previous vintages? Probably not. Will we return this wine and exchange for something more to our style. Maybe but not likely. With this wine and the 2009 Chateau Chambon Beuajolias we are getting to know one of the greatly reputed winemakers of the Beauj. THis baby is lean and idiosyncratic. Color is pretty light pink. Flavors of salt water taffy and strawberries. 13%

2010 Wild Horse Malvasia Bianca San Bernabe $14 (wine club): First of all, kudos to the J Lady who brought the two Wild Horse wines. This takes some verve and taste. Most snobs quickly dismiss Wild Horse as plonk. After all, this Paso monster winery was bought by one of the biggest US wine conglomerates and the winery was already at 100,000 cases. Except, Wild Horse has always had a bit of the offbeat to keep it rough around the edges of its finely polished mainstream plonk sheen. Fact is Wild Horse makes decent wine and is one of the less recognized value producers. This Italian grape tastes like Malvasia Bianca. There is almost no color. It is clear as an infant’s gaze. Who is the winemaker here? Jim Moore? Excellent. Check the price. 14%

2010 Wild Horse Verdelho $16 (wine club): A Portuguese varietal from Paso? We love Wild Horse at least for their style. But the wine is also stylish. Another completely unexpected varietal that captures the character of the grape. Light gold color. Greenish, acidic, bran muffin. Lovely. We could drink this by the pool at a nice get together. Oh. We did. 14.5%

2010 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé $20: The most faintly colored Rosé we can recall seeing. This is so light colored it is almost golden. Barely salmon. The nose is lovely we have to sniff it awhile before quaffing. Excellent balance. Loving it. A Kermit Lynch Import. 12.5%

2008 Catena Chardonnay $13: Argentine Chardonnay from one of the biggest and most widely distributed houses. Oaky California style made in Lujan de Cyo which is at 3100 feet. Nicely made if you like the style. At this price and quality forget Rombauer! U20 score. 14%

2009 Domaine Guindon Saint G√©r√©on Muscadet Coteaux de Loire $12: You have to love lean and mean wines to love this baby. We do and we did. Lean and mean. Where’s the “ersters” says Dotor√©. Refreshing. Superb. 12%

Next week we cover the reds. Right now we could use another nap.

3 Comments

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    igty says:

    i never get invited to these fun looking parties. the doctore appears as he normally does….too inebriated to distinguish wine from beer….great wine taster? he has the look of a real connoisseur. your credibility is questionable.

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    Bacchus says:

    They shoulda stuck with the margaritas.

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    doctore says:

    I must defend myself. I view passing out on a poolside lounge at a July 4 party as a GOAL. I’m proud of my achievement and look forward to even bigger and better things next year. And more margaritas. IGTY is just jealous.

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