Tonight, two friends -- through a comic series of miscommunications -- dropped by unexpectedly to give Andrew a gift and have dinner (!!) with us. I rushed home from work with some takeout pizza to find Jean and our friends with two bottles on the sideboard.
2004 Luneau-Papin Muscadet SeM VV 'Clos des Allées' nose: minerals, melon, palate: rich, deep, round, long finish
Yellow in color, but still fresh and lively, this wine was a deeper expression of Melon de Bourgogne than we get in our "everyday" Muscadet bottles of Pepiere and Pierre de la Grange. No sign of oxidation but fully open and ready to drink, this wine was a joy from start to finish.
2004 Ridge Geyserville (75% Z/18% Car/7% PS) nose: blackberry, tar and black pepper palate: medium body, acidic backbone, rich fruit, slight trace of oak
This was the finest Ridge Geyserville I've had since the '99. Unlike many of the more recent vintages, this bore only a slight trace of oak and came across as leaner and more structured than many have. Very fine and in a good place right now, this will likely improve for another 3-5 years (Paul Draper says until 2016 and who am I to argue?)
No more '04s till next year's birthday! Mark Lipton