Last night with a light dinner, we opened:
'98 Morgan Reserve Pinot Noir nose: cloves, orange peel, sappy, fruit palate: good acidity, medium body, good fruit, exotic aromatics [after 24 hours] sappy PN fruit
I've never before been able to find the scent of cloves in a wine, but this one fairly screamed of it immediately after being opened. There was a also a pine/orange peel note that added extra intrigue to what I was smelling and tasting. Despite the exotic nose, the wine was appealing and not overly bizarre for a Pinot Noir. There was no sign of oak, presumably indicating that whatever new oak had been present initially had been well integrated during the aging process. All in all, quite yummy and unusual for a CA Pinot Noir.
Tonight, with a dinner of cherrywood-smoked pheasant, sauteed portobello in a red wine reduction, sweet potatoes and sauteed green beans and bok choy, we opened:
1990 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape c: light garnet with browning at the edges n: a huge whack of bright cherry fruit p: lively acidity, a bit of petillance, slightly tannic, intense kirsch/cherry fruit, a noticeable lack of Rhone funkInitially, I was concerned about this wine as the capsule and cork showed signs of minor leakage. The browning edges also reinforced this concern that the wine might be prematurely over the hill. About 1/3 of the bottle was initially decanted to remove it from sediment and that decanted wine was tasted, immediately dispelling any notions of premature aging. In fact, this was a deceptively young-seeming wine, with few secondary or tertiary aromas and some still noticeable tannins. It matched beautifully with the smoked pheasant and the sauteed mushrooms.
Mark Lipton