One would almost think that my Bride and I are still teenagers from my recounting a day that started with a brunch and Mimosas that ended up a pool party and appetizers, but there is more to the day.  Actually, we can’t take too many of these days in a row, which is fine and anymore, I think two days in a row may be our limit, of course, we haven’t been tested or stretched out for a while.  My Sister-in-Law’s home was filling up with guests as the day progressed.  There were tables in set up in the garage, in the back yard off the pool and in the house proper.  The pool and hot tub were also getting a good workout on that hot summer day.  I being a pure hedonist stayed in the air-conditioned home and stayed in the dining room and away from all the high scenes of activity.  If I had availed my self of the pool, all of the guests would have left in horror, as I do not look like Victor Mature.

It was a day of grilling, which actually kept the main house quite comfortable, since the ovens and the ranges were not being utilized as much.  Some men, may not know their way around a kitchen, but they do take pride in the art of the barbecue.  If and when I did was years ago and another life before, it seems.  I defer to those that can and are able, though we did offer to bring some of the dishes that were going to be barbecued.  Actually, I think we looked rather strange, lugging this big cooler into the hall during the brunch party, but we kind of hid it under some tables that were used for displays.  We have this one cooler that can utilize the cigar/cigarette lighter in a car (which some people may not even know what I am talking about) and then we can make a modification to the electric cord and then plug the unit into a conventional wall socket.  The cooler is big enough to handle a couple of full beef tenderloins, a Caesar salad and the dressing, separately waiting to be combined and the most important category several bottles of wine that should be chilled.  So, there were plenty of choices from hot dogs and Brats, to filet medallions, so nobody had to suffer or starve.  

Even though there was so much red meat in abundance, the day was an extremely hot summer day with the classic humidity that Michigan is known for (all of those Great Lakes) so we were still drinking white wines late into the afternoon.  One of the white wines that we opened was a little older, but it was fair game that day and it was Chateau Souverain Chardonnay 2014.  Chateau Souverain is based in Alexander Valley and they specialize in single variety wines from Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley, both in Sonoma County and they also source from assorted North Coast appellations.   Chateau Souverain began in 1943 with the purchase of a winery and thirty acres on the slopes of Howell Mountain in Napa Valley.  The winery got its name from the French word for “sovereign.”  In 1973 the estate moved to Alexander Valley and in 2006 they relocated to the Asti winery, which was one of the oldest and largest wineries in Sonoma County.  E. & J. Gallo Winery purchased both the Asti winery and the Chateau Souverain brand in 2015, so this Chardonnay may be one of the last wines before the corporate change over.  There was some ripe fruit poking through, but I think the aging of this wine made it a bit more dry and mellow, but no signs of oxidation for foxing.   I will only mention one of the red wines of the day, but it was one that I had been chomping at the bit, to try, since I got it, and it was all through the friendship of Social Media, but it was not a gift.  I really wanted to try this wine with my Bride, as well as the Louisville clan, so I opened the bottle a couple of hours before we were going to have it, and yes it was worth the wait for the Chateau Anthonic Moulis-en-Medoc 2015.  Moulis-en-Medoc is a Commune that is next to Listrac and both of these are between Margaux and Saint Julien.  Chateau Anthonic is one of the oldest estates in Moulis and was first mentioned in 1850 and then it was known as Puy de Minjon and in 1932 it received the classification of “Cru Bourgeois Supereiur.”  The estate is about thirty hectares in size and encompasses two distinct types of soil, one is clay-limestone and the other is gravel.   The estate has had a few owners and name changes and eventually became Chateau Antonic, but then it was Anglicized to Anthonic to appeal to the British wine trade.  The estate grows Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, and this particular wine is a blend of seventy-one percent Merlot, twenty-seven percent Cabernet Sauvignon and two percent Cabernet Franc.  Even with the hectic pace of the day, I am very happy to say that this wine delivered the classic experience of a well-made Claret to me, and that is high praise that I learned from my wine teachers back in the Sixties and Seventies.  A delicious wine that is affordable and one cannot ask for more than that.