Monday I grilled some lamb chops, while Betsy made mashed potatoes, spinach, & salad. I was only having a small glass of wine with dinner, as I was picking up friends from airport later. So opened a 375 of 1998 Ch. Dalem (Fronsac). Pleasant dark berry merlot, but a touch muted - closed? Some slightly rough tannins. After my trip to JFK, had another sip with some cheeses. A bit more open, some leather with the blackberry & cassis fruit. Good, not great. There was about 1.5 oz in the bottle, I recorked but didn't bother putting in fridge. Tuesday I started to dump, then decided to taste. Some obvious oxidative flavors, yet also nice nuances of cedar, saddle leather, and flowers in with the still vigorous dark fruit. I've got a couple more of these, plus 1 750, not planning on touching for a few more years. B now, potential for B++
Betsy needed some dry white wine for a bolognese-ish sauce, I opened the 2003 La Noble Chardonnay Vin de Pays d'Aude. Pretty sure when I bought this cheapie there was a shelf-hanger with a "great value" quote from Parker. Even at $7, this was no deal. Overripe fruit, kind of canned fruit salad. There's an almost cooked fruit note to this, but not like a cooked wine. C+
With the pasta, the 2001 Feudo Monaci Salice Salentino. Deep purple color, very ripe black cherry fruit with a little chocolate and herbs. If this was a $20 wine with pretensions I'd be ragging on it as overripe and flabby, but for a $6 pasta wine this is a "go back and get some more. " I can deal with fruit-forward for this price! Besides, it tastes of its place (as I imagine Apulia). 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
Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply