2001 Cinq Cepages: never been much of a fan of Cinq Cepages, but we opened one to go with a mole-crusted pork tenderloin last night and liked it quite a bit. It was less brutish than expected and nicely in middle age with chocolatey, plummy fruit and, by turns, each of the component grapes putting in an appearance over the two hours we sipped it. Tannins were okay and the finish was just a tad short, but overall a good experience for a wine I'd be uncertain about aging for much longer. I'm probably being too skeptical.
Might throw in that about a week ago we had the 07 Conn Creek, 08 Hall and 06 Sherwin Family Napa Cabs on the same night. Didn't take notes at the time, but I liked the Conn Creek a lot better than I thought I would, was expecting more of a vanilla pudding but the wine was actually one of the dryest in the bunch with a lot of that dust thing I'm such a sucker for. Saw that K & L has it on soldie right now for $16.99--fantastic QPR. My favorite was the Sherwin, a producer like the Hall that I've not had before. It's more spicy red fruit than black, especially for a Napa wine, and less about the top notes than the bottom--the depth of flavor and the long, long finish. Quite elegant in a classy, understated way. The more overt and black-fruited Hall was everybody else's favorite, though, mostly because it was the thickest and the sweetest methinks, and I was apparently the only one annoyed by its cheap, short cork. It's like the owners didn't start out with very high hopes for what they'd done.