Saturday I was dining alone with Betsy away (I tried to round up a
couple folks last minute, but failed, sigh) and marinated some ahi in a
Vouvray/soy mixture to grill and steamed some broccolini. I pondered the leftover 2004 J. Christopher Pinot Noir, but decided I'd follow my own recent matching suggestion and try Merlot. I grabbed a bottle of the 2001 Ch. Haut-Corbin (St. Emilion). Slightly dull blackberry fruit, a whiff of oak, average finish. The tannins seem hard for a medium-bodied wine. I tried a glass Sunday and it seemed a little more fruit-forward and less tannic, but this reminds me of some '96 Right Bankers that never really blossomed. Too bad, as I had liked the 1990 of this and generally like Right Bank '01s I was happy to have this cheapie ($15) in the queue.
Glad I just got one, most of this bottle to the vinegar crock. B-/C+
(the J. Christopher was actually better with the tuna in this case than
the Merlot, with the oak and tannins integrated, though it seemed a tad
hot on day 2)
Sunday I spent the entire day running a quarterly membership meeting,
and couldn't even think about cooking. I ate a couple leftovers, and
then looked in the collection of frozen food we keep on hand for the
teenager. I grabbed a pizza with goat cheese and kalamatas, and decided
on Sauvignon Blanc. Surprised myself by being out of NZs, took the 2002 Plantiers du Haut-Brion Blanc (Pessac-Leognan) instead. This actually seemed less SB-driven than previous vintages, seemed more Semillon, with that slightly honied note (even though dry wine). Round ripe apple and apricot fruit, some toast. Not a great match, but an ok wine, though I'm not a huge Bordeaux blanc fan. B , we'll see what it's like on day 2.
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.