With a new recipe of duck legs braised/roasted with carrots, leeks and garlic (new Gourmet cookbook), the 1999 Vincent Girardin "Clos de la Confrérie" Santenay . I don't tend to actually decant red Burgs, just open and pour a glass an hour or so before dinner to increase surface area. But when I did this time, my usual exploratory sniff and sip showed a very tight wine- nothing but wood. So I splash decanted, and let aerate for an hour. By dinner time, plenty of fruit showing. Very ripe black cherry fruit, with soft tannins and some clove on the nose. Lots of new oak still showing. There's a bit of Burgundian oakiness, but this could probably pass unnoticed in a blind tasting of RRV pinots. But it's a pretty decent wine for price (I think I paid about $13), if not in the style I prefer. I would have preferred a little less fruit and a bit more nuance with the dish. B/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 Dale
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