Betsy was out for the evening visiting friends up the river; I placed a small tritip steak on the grill, and enjoyed with the 2004 Ch. du Tertre (Margaux). Floral ripe nose, summer flowers and crushed berries. On the palate cassis with an edge of black raspberry. There are firm but ripe tannins, balanced acidity, excellent length. There is some vanilla/new oak, but it is moderate and stays mostly in the background. This is modern and ripe, but not at all over the top. Maybe the best 2004 Bdx I've opened to date (haven't tried my Leo- Barton yet). Don't really get a chance to watch this develop over evening as I had saved half into a 375 immediately after opening. At $25 a bottle a very good deal. B+/A-
It was a scorcher, so while grilling and after dinner I had a couple of glasses of nice cold Riesling. The wine was the 2004 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Kabinett. Sweet lime and peach, zippy acidity yet with a broad base, nice minerally finish. Lovely and long, better than the '05 for my tastes. A-/B+
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency