We opened these two bordeauxs over the last two weeks. The 98 Lafon Rochet last week was tight with drying tannins, not in as good a place as it was several years ago when we Open Miked it on this board. Bob and I each had a glass and then recorked the rest to try in a day or two, hoping it might relax into something better rather than give despairing thoughts about having left the wine for too long. Which we didn't get around to until last night. Last night it was certainly better, more full on the palate with better defined fruit, but the tannins were gritty and unhappy. The wine just isn't in a good place for current drinking.
So we put that aside and opened up a '99 Cantemerle to serve with our main course of sauteed chicken and radishes on black pepper couscous (recipe on FLDG). The greenish temperament of the Cantemerle was a great pairing for the mustard and tarragon in the sauce. The wine itself has lost the spiciness it showed as recently as about two years ago, but it's picked up more leathery secondary nuances on the finish and it's a nice trade-off. Drinks very well now.