It's rare that I would open 2 bottles for just the two of us, much less three, but managed it last night. Betsy had a dress rehearsal but would be home for a late dinner, but I didn't think my dinner wine was best served by being opened early, and I wanted a glass while cooking. So started with a half bottle of 2003 Mayacamas Chardonnay (Mt Veeder, Napa). Nice clean brisk Chardonnay, no butter here, nice base of pear and citrus fruit with just a hint of vanillin oak. Good acidity, fairly big in the mouth, nice wine for my tastes. B+
So dinner was a roast chicken that shared the pan with some potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower (all accented with thyme and garlic), plus some lseaweed salad leftover from previous night and some sauteed arugula. The planned wine was the 1983 Ch. Giscours (Margaux). OK, I know Giscours had a sucky rep in 80s and 90s, but I've enjoyed '70 and '79, generally love '83 Margaux appellation, saw it for $20, and needed to fill out a shipment. Not expecting a stunner, just hoping for a decent mature claret. Cork came out cleanly with Ah So, only about bottom third soaked, decanted, time to try. Damn. Even with tempered expectations, a disappointment. Tired thin black plum fruit, still some woody tannins, a bit of ashtray. Not so much over the hill as never tried to go up it. I'd had a long day and just didn't feel like suffering through this. Opened another wine, though I admit a taste at end of the night actually showed a bit better than this. Still, at peak the best I could say is C/C+
Replacement wine was a Burgundy (didn't have any more mature Bdx standing up), the 2004 Camille Giroud Bourgogne. No sign of the green meanies here, big for Bourgogne, black cherry fruit, moderate acidity and some tannins that are a little hard, nice enough but comes across as a tad clunky. More about Pinot Noir than Burgundy for my tastes. Still, not bad. We'll see how it does tonight. 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.