2001 Domaine de Atauta, Ribera del Duoro: Purchased after reading raves in the Rare Wine Company catalog and stored well since, this was my first taste of this RdD. Opened on Friday (without time for decanting)to pair with a Spanish dish of chicken braised with vinegar and garlic, we found it too taut and tannic to drink so set it aside. On Saturday, we weren't home for the evening, but we did taste the wine and found it spicy and complex, quite open and delicious. That condition, unfortunately, didn't hold until Sunday, when we found harsh, empty flavors and couldn't finish a glass. Decant for a few hours first, but drink up.
1991 Montecillo Gran Reserva, Rioja: What we drank when the Atauta bombed on Friday. Nice old Rioja flavors and fine with the meal, but overall tired and unexciting. Another bottle was better about two months ago but not significantly so: wouldn't hold additional bottles if I had them.
2005 Buisson-Redon, Bordeaux: A local wine consultant recommended this wine very highly for the vintage and price ($10), so I bit. Overly simple and grapey on day one, vinegar on day two. PASS.
1997 Gloria, Bordeaux An orphan I didn't realize I still had. Smells and tastes more of mud than fruit and leather. Drinkable, but well over the hill.