Thursday was our 10th anniversary, busy day for both of us kept us from wanting to stray far from home. So we went to the excellent The Cookery (http://www.thecookeryrestaurant.com/) for dinner. We went strictly with specials (and mostly with meat!), I started off with the salad of brisket and red onion confit on arugula topped with a poached egg, while Betsy had restaurant cured tasso ham with grilled bread. I had a pasta instead of a main- gemelli with spiced tripe sugo, chickpeas and tomato, Betsy had a ribeye with escarole and roasted potatoes (plus got "stickabutta pie" in pecan crust to take home).
The Cookery is corkage friendly, I had carried along a couple of 2001s to choose from, went with the 2001 Montevertine. Lovely bottle of (mostly) Sangiovese, a riot of cherry flavors (red, black, and dried), leather, earth, with hints of violets. Good acidity, smooth refined tannins, in a good place- my only worry was that it would show a tad backward, but this is drinking very well. A-. Wine was great, food was great, company even better.
Tonight she made dinner, a lovely spread with steelhead, fried rice, and broccoli in oyster sauce. I continued with the 2001 theme with a bottle of the 2001 Roumier Chambolle-Musigny. I'm liking this even better than a very good bottle a couple months ago. Floral, pretty, sweet black cherry fruit with accents of sandalwood, spice, and earth. Lovely balance, great texture, drinking very well. A-
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.