Some notes from recent meals:
Opened with a dinner of pan-seared venison loin medallions:
1998 Penfolds St. Henri Shiraznose: blueberries and black pepper palate: rich, soft tannins, berry fruit, moderate acidity remarks: Jean, tasting this blind, guessed a 5-year-old Languedoc red. To me, this wine had a classic Syrah profile but none of the funk one normally gets from the N. Rhone. It was a great pairing with the vension, which brought the fruit out of the wine. I'd guess that this could last another 3-5 years, but I don't see it getting any better than it is right now.
With a dinner of take-out BBQ ribs and sides on a wickedly cold night:
2001 Ridge "Three Valleys" Zinfandeln: initially, butterscotch and berryish fruit, later becoming briery p: initially, soft and oaky (rather unappealing), but rapidly becoming firmer and deeper, becoming much more classically Ridge-like r: This was a bottle that got lost in the cellar. I was worried that it was OTH, but one should never fear too much about a Ridge wine, I suppose. Counteracting the unpleasant surprise of the '98 Santa Cruz Cab, this was a very pleasant surprise.
1996 Castello bi Bossi "Corbaia"n: fairly simple, dried cherries p: soft, dusty cherry, fairly low acidity, short finish r: This was a Christmas present from my well-meaning research group. The local fine wine retailer has a penchant for Italian wines but uses the Wine Speculator as a guide. I see from the Web that this is a 70/30 Sangiovese/Cabernet "SuperTuscan" but could easily pass for a CC (not a Riserva). Not really my style but a decent pizza wine (which is what we consumed it with -- homemade pesto/five cheese pizzas)
Mark Lipton