We had some friends over for the first time: amazing couple who own an artists collaborative space in the village. It was supposed to be a quick apéritif but it was too much fun.
Food wise, I had made a bunch of quick bites and since it’s a holiday in France, I had to make my own water crackers because the stores were closed! They turned out decent. Next time, they’ll be better. I’m done with store bought crackers 
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Disclaimer: we sell this.
Christophe Dechannes Cuvée Spéciale
This showed better than at the domain a couple of weeks ago! 70% PN and 30% Chard, 2021 Vintage, 11 g/l. Holy crap is the dosage on point here! I was looking for my previous note here and it said strawberry and plum compote. Nothing like tonight
. I was on ripe pears, peaches and mango?? But for the rest, it was aligned: good fruit concentration on the mid-palate, medium-plus acidity and some salinity on the nice finish. Good value here.
To go with this, my boys made pigs in a blanket 
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Julien Moussy Extra-Brut
Not sure what’s in there since the back label says nothing. I’ll ask my buddy since I bought it at his shop. This felt like Chardonnay though and it comes from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger so it would make sense. This was fun: good tension on acidity and chalk but enough fruit to hold up. Finish could be longer. Decent value.
We had this with: homemade pickled mackerel, homemade water crackers, homemade hummus, homemade goat cheese, olive and almonds dip and homemade two-way salmon tartare and crudités.i felt like writing homemade tonight 
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Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Forêts 2021
That was spot on to finish the salmon tartare! All kinds of citrus, flint, iodine with great texture (chewy extracts followed by cutting acidity) and a long finish. I’m liking this a lot!
As the night was progressing and we started the brazero, I figured burgers would be on point. Fixins were wood-fired coppa, Swiss Gruyère, tomatoes, butter lettuce, wood-fired onions and a choice of 3 homemade mayos: dijonnaise, spicy or horseradish. Buns were next-door bakery’s sesame brioche. Lovely.
Bel-Air Marquis d’Aligre 2005
This wasn’t my first intent but it was accessible in the cellar and my buddy was telling me how Bordeaux had fallen and he didn’t drink it no more. Well he drank more than his share of this! This showed well tonight on PnP. Mature nose but with freshness from red and black berries. Leather, tobacco, dry earth, herbs and tomato leaves. Just a lovely palate that surfs on mature Bordeaux texture but with a hit of bright acidity lifting everything up. Long savoury finish. Joy.
We finished all the burgers (the kids ate like beasts!) and as the night was getting a little chilly, I put a few more logs in and grilled some chorizo slices to finish the buns and reheated some braised beef cheeks just for kicks. I pulled another Margaux.
Château du Tertre 2014
I’ve had soooooo much bottle variation with this. Almost always showing different on the palate. Nose: cassis, underbrush and some leather. The palate was right on the edge of flat but still pulled it out! Somewhat smooth but the mineral notes along with the medium-minus acidity did provide enough lift this time. Some tanins still hanging around. Good.
