2005 Jean-Claude Chatelain Pouilly-Fumé Les Vignes de Saint-Laurent-L'Abbaye (Loire Valley, France) 12.5% – appears light white gold, smell big fresh white grapes, very sweet, melon, mouthfeel tender acidity, good flow, taste juicy but bit of chunkiness to it, sweetness remaining clean, great tart apple finish, toned down acidity works nice in background, pastiness lurking, quite drinkable, soft and understated, but wine really came to bat when consumed with fish, it felt incredibly fresh and quenching, acidity perked up a bit, wonderful pairing that made wine shine
2003 Ramazzotti Dry Creek Valley Ricordo Red Wine (Sonoma County, California, USA) 14.5% (75% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 5% Alicante, 5% Carignane and aprx. 2% Golden Chasselas) – appears dark cranberry maroon, slight clear halo, smell zippy leather jacket, stored canvas, library, fresh herb/rosemary, with air, some cough, rich fresh berry, lovely, mouthfeel silky, easy and nice, taste big bold spicy raspberry at first, bit toasting lovely spice, as wine opens up the spice tones down a bit and the fruit melds into a wonderful blackberry flavor just before the fruit turns fully ripe, wonderful depth to that flavor, quite dry and occasionally tart on the finish, bit parching there, wonderful as it all works together, there is a bit of sweetness upfront which at first made me fear syrupyness, but as it worked out the wine felt like taking a particularly fresh bite of fruit with every quaff, lovely wine that I had as food, but could imagine going well with lamb or pork
2003 Counterpoint (Laurel Glen) Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma Country, California, USA) 13.5% – appears crimson, slight halo, dark, smell deep thick berry, dark spices, bright and chipper, with air, bit more cherry, hanging strawberries, mouthfeel thin glider, taste bare amount of spice, very nicely integrated, big rich deep cherry and raspberry, spice builds to crescendo, easily goes down, finishes much lighter than I would expect, bit chalky finish with lingering spice, good on the intro, but wine completely fell apart with food, had to set it aside and return to it once the meal was done, overall not impressed, wine felt far too fragile, some promise but not solidness I was looking for