Enoteca Vin Restaurant in Raleigh had a Sunday dinner with choice of about four entrees at $10 each and 3 oz. (and in some cases also 5 oz. pours for extra dollars) pours of wine at $5.00, $10.00 or $15.00
I went with the prime beef thick hamburger grilled outdoors with lettuce, tomato and thinly sliced red onion on challah roll--mustard and ketchup on the side which I did not put on the burger (chosen instead of crabcakes, fried tomato sandwich or one other selection). I ordered two of the $4.00 side dishes--the roasted summer squash salad and the homemade tater tots (others were pickled cucumber salad or sweet potato salad).
I chose a flight of three red wines to go with the hamburger--two at $5.00 and one at $10.00.
2001 Joseph Swan "Trenton Estate" Pinot Noir
(finally not one but two Swan wines)
$10.00 for 3 oz. pour
Rose red color, some transparency. Color appeared a little faded but it's not that old so that may be the natural color of this wine. I don't have experience with it on release.
Some rose petals on the nose. Medium to long finish. Very nice with a little bit of a brooding note. Spice comes out more on the finish, giving off a delicate pepper note.
2001 Joseph Swan "Trenton Estate" Syrah
$5.00 for a 3 oz. pour
Dark crimson approaching purple color, opaque.
Slightly funky, barnyard nose. Not funky on the palate but not showing much spice. Raspberry flavors on palate. Has some presence and depth on the palate. Funky nose seemed to dissipate after 20-35 minutes. (I sipped the wines slowly and went back and forth among all three rather than drinking one down and then the second, etc.) Light sediment in the bottom of the glass of Syrah.
2003 Barroche Chateauneuf-du-Pape
$5.00 for 3 oz. pour
100 year old vines
Brick red color, almost opaque.
Appealing fruity nose; nice on palate. Short to medium finish. Very fine tannins.
Goes nicely with both the burger and the roasted squash salad. Smooth, well integrated.
I felt the burger went best with the Pinot Noir and the Chateauneuf-du-Pape--less well with the Syrah although still an acceptable match.
The side dishes weren't large or very filling so I had room for dessert. I chose peach ice cream instead of white chocolate pot a creme or meyer lemon panna cotta.
Great idea to simplify the Sunday dinner menu and put the emphasis on quality beef or crabmeat and the wines. It also gave Ashley something of a break from the kitchen as someone else was doing the cooking outdoors.
Other wine choices I passed up included at the $15 price point a 1995 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve and a 1999 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva from Valdicava.
There's just been a weird nail polish/rotten fruit smell w/ the last three or four bottles of syrah I've had. And they've all been different producers/vintages. Now I should mention that I'm mostly noticing this on the second or third day after the wines have been opened, recorked, refrigerated and brought back to room temp. However, I even posted notes from a tasting a few weeks ago, and I wasn't particularly crazy about any of them either.