A half- bottle of 2002 Ch. de Sales (Pomerol) did not appeal. Soft and light, lacking in concentration. A bit of green tannins, meager red plum fruit, pass even at $10/375. De Sales is a buy only in very strong Right Bank vintages. C+ With pasta with a bolognese sauce, the 2002 Antinori "Santa Christina" Sangiovese (Tuscany). This had been brought by a neighbor as a hostess gift one night. I have liked this inexpensive wine in past vintages, and had hoped maybe this one got some declassified Chianti juice due to poor vintage. Nope, just good poor juice. A bit thin with red plum and cherry fruit, low acidity for Sangiovese- a little (unpleasant) herby note underneath. Revisited next day, remarkable imitation of bad prune juice. C/C+ The wine used in the sauce was better, the 2004 Anselmi "San Vincenzo" (Veneto). This once-Soave is a step behind the excellent 2002, about on same level as the very good 2003. White peach and pear fruit, a little hint of almondy nuttiness, no apparent oak. Good juice, done right. B/B+
On "date night" I took Betsy to a local (Tarrytown) restuarant we had heard good things about (Jack and Dyl's). We need to talk to those that recommended. Actually, food wasn't too bad- Betsy didn't care for her smoked pork chop, but her fried artichoke hearts with truffle aioili wasn't bad (though maybe not best way to feature truffle flavors). My liver was ok, and my shrimp/corn fritter starter wasn't bad (fritters were too thick, raw in middle, and sauce was too sweet). But service was at best ok (and originally worse- we were there 8-10 minutes before getting acknowledged, then waited a while for our reserved table). No corkage allowed, and wine list limited. I thought crisp white would best suit our choices, but only SBs were remotely crisp (doesn't Sauvignon Blanc and liver or pork chops sound icky?). So I got a red, the 2004 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel (Lodi). Overly sweet, thick blackberry & raspberry fruit, a little vanilla milkshake. Not awful for price point, but let's just say close to half a bottle was left. 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.