To begin:
2007 Dom. Chandon, Unoaked Chardonnay Monterey County:
14.1% alcohol; it may be unoaked but it still smells like wood with chardonnay fruit and maybe a little hint of lees; slim in the mouth with flavors that follow the nose; moderate length. There is something vaguely manufactured about this wine although I can’t put my finger on it. Not my style.
With vegetable stuffed baked potato:
1999 Bizot, Vosne-Romanee Les Réas:
12.5% alcohol; a complex and interesting nose with fruit, earth and other vinous aromas; feminine on the palate but still intense and complex, it reminds me of walking by restaurants with a different cooking smell coming from each; balanced and long. Not as spicy as I would have expected but savory and something I could drink often. Superb with the dish.
With cheeses:
1995 Edmunds St. John, Syrah Durell Vnyd.:
14.4% alcohol; quite feral on the nose, solid fruit and some mineral, very expansive and wonderful to smell; medium bodied and balanced but packed with layers of flavor and complexity, showing some age but not in a tired way, intense and wild; medium length. The development here is remarkable and reminds me why I like good syrah so much.
A recent re-release.
(Aside: I recently had this same bottle and it had an unpleasant menthol character so I am now guessing that the previous bottle was corked. This certainly was not and had no menthol note at all.)
Best, Jim