2007 Hauner Salina Rosso With a kale soup with parmesan over sourdough, this was pretty good. As it got air, got better. I didn't like the white that much, but this was a lovely mid-to-lite wine. Nice ripeness, balanced, redder fruits with a nice earthy edge. B/B+
1996 Ch. Siran (Margaux) With strip steaks in a coffee rub, grilled squash, grilled favas, and chayote salad. I'm mostly a fan of 96 Medoc, but more Northern than Southern. But I bought this for a reason, so opened with anticipation. Solid cassis and red currant fruit, but with a huge streak of herbal/ pine green down middle. With time over dinner the herbal streak became more "accents of oregano" rather than " pine sap." Enjoyable if not great after couple hours. Gains riper fruit as it drops the over- herbalness. C to start, B to finish.
So.....I went and checked Siran's website. 96 was apparently Merlot
34%, Cabernet Sauvignon 46%, Cabernet Franc 8% et Petit Verdot 12%.
12% doesn't sound like much, but PV is potent. I'm guessing that's where the pine forest came from.
I also read the back of Siran label (front always has a different artist label, kind of a Mouton wannabe) and saw this:
"1996 saw the arrival of Internet, the latest system of communication. Jeremy Ramsey, the famous British artist living in Singapore and a great amateur of Bordeaux wines, has interpreted his idea of Internet by a rich pallete of colors for the 1996 Chateau Siran label."
Just kind of tickled me.
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.