Last night I had a quiet dinner on patio alone. Rubbed a cornish hen with a Ming Tsai tea/chile/5spice blend (a gift that Betsy hadn't used), put in on grill with some corn, squash, and figs. Wine was the
1999 Jadot "Bressandes" Beaune 1er. Very light at first, high acids, almost dilute. Put on some weight in glass, filled out. Fairly tart red fruit, mostly cherries and raspberries. Nice with the food, and held well for entire evening. Light but persistent tannins, good acids. Some faint earth and meat notes. Pleasant, but a bit of a disappointment, I had some good expectations and this never really grabbed me. Lacked exubernace. I had thought a lesser '99 1er might be drinking well now. Maybe it's just awkward phase, but my only one, so I'll never know! 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.