And a few others.
2013 Graham Beck Chenin Blanc The Game Reserve, South Africa
Rich, ripe pear on the fruit, fleshy, decent acidity but it's verging on off-dry due to ripeness. Not what I hoped for.
2014 Graham Beck Chenin Blanc The Game Reserve, South Africa
Delish and refreshing! True to the grape, dry with great acidity. What a change from the cloying, overripe '13.
2014 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Vin de Pays de Loire-Atlantique Cuvée Granit
A rouge. Fabulous nose of minerals and cassis but the tight palate lags well behind on initial open. After a glass apiece in which nothing changed, we re-corked it and tasted periodically over the next week. But time failed to bring about betterment and tonight we fed it to the rhododendrons. Not what I'd hoped for.
2006 Ravenswood Zinfandel Teldeschi Dry Creek Valley
Black fruit and coffee; starchy and ungenerous on the midpalate, tannins far more evident on the second glass than the first. Missing that essential zin spice. 15.5% alcohol but oddly that didn't stick out. Drinkable but hardly worth having hung onto. Drink up!
2012 Raats Cabernet Franc Dolomite Stellenbosch
Not decanted. Initially, jumps out of the glass with sweet and black cherry fruit, dust, coffee and clunky tannins. Rustic. Herbal notes develop with time, and the rusticity softens considerably without becoming elegant. More new world than old but not decidedly either (which is what So Africa is so good at). A fun ride, but I'm glad I only had one bottle. Agree with concensus drink-by date of 2017.
2003 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma
Black, opaque color. Mature nose of earth and dried mint; on the palate, more of both with black cherry and coffee. First glass better than the second, with soft acidity and negligible tannins. Too, it throws quite a bit of mint. I'm thinking it's last days are here. Drink up.
NV Monmousseau Touraine Cuvée J.M. Brut Chenin Blanc
Dryer and more focused than I remember from earlier this year; very good.
2001 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou St. Julien
An excellent bottle; required an hour decant to open up (and more would have been even better). Great nose; leaning more toward red fruit than black, plenty of stuffing. Acidity and tannins in a good place. Not thin (as another reviewer complained) but classic lighter weight St. Julien. Next bottle: 2018-2020.
1998 Château Lafon-RochetSt. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend
All black fruit and earthy, with just a hint of barnyard. A bit of work to drink as it has aubstantive body but is very dry on the palate following the Ducru above. Maybe it needs food (we didn't have any at that point). Not entirely sure where it's going from here.
2013 Chad Pinot Noir Reserve
Maturation is slow but purposeful: last night the earthiness I mentioned previously came through as chocolate, which faded out over the course of a glass. Cola note remains prominent, as does good acidity. Half a bottle reserved for next day gains weight and depth. What a nice deal for $19 this has turned out to be.