Cucumbers; Love's Labours Lost;Summer wines

Cucumbers

It has been a bumper crop of cucumbers this year. I have been providing the neighborhood with them. The rest of my garden has been OK. Tomatoes are just coming in; eggplant is OK; some peppers; zucchinis were poor.

Love's Labours Lost

We saw Love's Labours Lost at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in NYC. AS you may know every summer the NY Public Theater puts on 2 plays usually Shakespeare in the Delacorte Theater, which is outdoors. http://www.shakespeareinthepark.org/ Tix are free but you must wait on line early in the day. They also have a virtual line which allows you to apply for tix the same day of the event. For the first time since I have been trying (probably about 5 years) we were selected for tix.

The play is a musical version of Love's Labours Lost and it takes place in the last few years. The play is very funny and we had a great time in the park. Highly recommended.

Summer Wines

2010 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County $18 -Excellent bouquet, good spiciness, alcohol a reasonable 13.5%; enjoyed the bottle with pork chops, well balanced. This is a wine to remember for reasonably priced Pinot Noir from California but it is not a fruit bomb. 2007 Anam Cara Pinot Noir Nicholas Estate Chehalem Moutains, Oregon $25 - This bottle was way past its prime. No real flavor.It is tough to age wines. Not sure about aging Oregon wines. 2010 Château Arnaud St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend - Good Bordeaux, needs more time but is drinking nicely now. Good mouth feel, nice color, somewhat complex, will drink again. 2010 La Maialina Chianti Sangiovese $8- OK Chianti; good value. This is a basic chianti and is a good value. 2011 Schild Estate Chardonnay Unwooded  $10  Barossa Valley Surprised. Excellent unoaked chard but it tasted like it had some oak. Schild does not have a great rep for truth. Anyway, enjoyed the wine and it is a good bargain. Just bought 2 more bottles. Fruit with acid and some complexity in and Australian chard. Wow. Look for this wine if you like chardonnay without the wood. This wine will really surprise you.   2005 Château Larrivaux Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend $10  Wine redeemed itself tonight. Good mouth feel, nice bouquet, still lacking a finish as fruit just dies. Drink up folks. Enjoyed with pork chops and steamer clams. I bought this wine years ago when first came out. 2003 Sesta di Sopra Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese Wine was at its end. Almost Amarone like in its grapiness. Low acid but we enjoyed it with friends. Drank with lamb. 2011 and 2012 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Édition Rosé Dundee Hills $25 Really like this wine. Drank with lobster salad. Don't notice the high alcohol. Very balanced with complexity. Not a typical rose. Enjoyed the bottle with friends. Both years are very good.The 2012 may be an indicator the 2012 will be a very good year for Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley. 2012 Marchesi di Barolo Barbera del Monferrato Maràia $10 VG wine. Good flavor and intensity yet only 13% alcohol. Somewhat like a good Beaujolais. Enjoyed immensely on a hot summer evening with pasta. Nice nose and some complexity. Will buy some more. The 2011 was on the WS Top 100 wines. The 2012 is currently not rated I think  that it is a great value. 2005 Ferrari-Carano Prevail West Face Alexander Valley Cabernet-Syrah Blend Half bottle. $9. Wine is drinking nicely. Wanted more at the end of the half bottle. Good flavor and balance. Probably at its peak for the half bottle. Drink up. A solid wine but not too heavy as some syrah and Cab blends can be. 2005 Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Lazzairasco Nebbiolo  $29 Excellent wine. Great bouquet; nice color, balanced with good complexity, fruit and acid work well, alcohol does not overwhelm; drank with a steak; Not sure how much more time it has. Try a Barolo soon. They are not cheap but they are different. 2010 Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuissé Chardonnay  $12 One of the better whites that we have had in a while. Beautiful honeyed flavor along with good acid and nice fruit. Nice nose. Would like to find more of this. Every once in a while a wine like this comes along. Unfortunately, I cellared it with trying a bottle.We drink lots of whites and really enjoyed this with baked clams and flounder 2011 Bodegas Borsao Campo de Borja Borsao Grenache Blend, Grenache $6.50  The one, the only Borsao. A great wine for the price or any price. Glycerin, flavor, not grapey with good spiciness. WA gave this wine  a great rating. 2012 is VG also. One of the greatest wine values in the world. Paris Planning a trip to Paris in October. Any recommendations? It has been about 7 years since our last visit. Also plan on going to Lyon. Where has the summer gone? I seem to ask myself this every August. Anyone have an answer?