Tonight Jean requested grilled steaks, so with mesquite-grilled ribeyes, garlic naan and sauteed kale, I opened:
1998 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain nose: black plums, earth, slightly herbal palate: medium body, high acidity, smooth tannins
I opened this wine in part because CellarTracker indicated that it "should have been drunk by 2008." ;-) Really nice, with a solid sense of fruit but also some tertiary development, this wine went well with the steaks and was still lively after an hour's time. It's also worth noting that this wine came from our passively cooled cellar, where in summer temperatures will exceed 60°F. So much for CT drinking windows...
Mark Lipton