2003 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel

This was a nice treat tonight that tom246 and DW brought to Under the Moon in Bordentown tonight, but what is really funny is the fact that I almost brought an '04 of this same wine. What are the odds? This too was popped and poured tonight as there was no time to decant, and again, this wine could definitely benefit from a 1-4 hour decant in my humble opinion. This dark color in the glass, and a great Chateaunuef-du-Pape like nose. Another floral nose, with some good earthy aspects and spice to it. The fruit profile consisted of plum and black cherry, with hints of black licorice, and a hint of pencil lead. On the palate, this wine still seemed pretty tight to me, but opened up over the course of an hour and a half to two hours. Nice dark fruits on the palate ranging from sour cherry to blackberry, with a nice spice and subtle hints of leather. The alcohol seemed to be integrated nicely, with a nice acidity. The finish still seemed tight, but that just proves that this wine has some years left in the bottle, and is only going to get better. Regardless, a nice bottle of wine that has unlimited potential, and leave it to Tablas Creek to bring a little taste of Rhone to the United States. I'd hold these another 1-3 years before revisiting, but in that time frame, I think it is going to evolve nicely! Huge thanks to tom246 and DW for bringing this wine from their cellar tonight! Cheers!

2003 Antica Terra Pinot Noir

I have to say, that this is a little piece if Willamette Valley heaven. If you happen to love aged Oregon pinot, this is a classic example, and if you have more than one in your cellar, I would encourage you to open it now. If you're down to your last one, I'd still tell you to go ahead and pop that cork as I really don't see this wine improving much more with time! . The 2003 was the second to last vintage for the old owners of Antica Terra, before Maggie Harrison bought the winery. Maggie took over at the reigns in 2005, and ended up declassifying all of the fruit from 2005, and I a not sure if they sold it off, or what they did with it. . We actually had this wine, the 2003 before we had every tried one of the wines that Maggie is making at Antica Terra. Based on how these 2003's showed, it really gave me inspiration that Maggie would craft some amazing wines from this vineyard. Te vineyard is definitely producing fruit to create incredible wines, and you can see that I was indeed correct from reading my posts about the 2007's that we enjoyed over the 2009 holiday season. . Great dark color in the glass, with a nice nose of strawberry and cherry, with subtle hints of spice and anise. Some swirling in the glass shows some blueberry tones, with a faint hint of blackberry. A bit of menthol rounds out the nose. . On the palate, as expected, this isn't your typical fruit forward California pinot noir, although, for Oregon, I think that this is showing more fruit on the palate than most, but I think that is from the time it has spent in the bottle, and the maturity that this wine now has. A nice medium acidity round out the mid palate, with hints of oak and spice, creating nice vanilla tones. The tannin is this wine is showing just a tad, and adds a really nice element. The pleasant finish lingers on for abut 25 seconds making this wine yet another Oregon winner. . This paired well with Zelda's mustard chicken tonight, a Colt's win, and hopefully what turns into a Viking's win as they just tied it up at 21 in the 3rd. All in all, another great Antica Terra offering, even pre-Maggie, and worthy of 92 points. It's been a great weekend for pinot! 92 points, and I don't se this wine getting any better with time. Cheers!

2003 Château Malmaison Baronne Nadine de Rothschild

Brought to La Mezzaluna - Princeton tonight, and allowed to open up for about an hour on the table. Nice dark color in the glass with hints of dark fruit, mainly blackberry.

On the palate, this wine has really mellowed out from the first one that we had, which I find a little hard to believe, but maybe it was bottle variation, or maybe it was because of the rumor that others have stated, that there are different bottlings done at this Chateau, and the labels are then put on later. I wish I knew.

This wine did a complete 180 from the last one that we had. The acidity and tannin were nicely integrated, and the fruit was shining with more dark fruits, with hints of jammy raspberry, strawberry, and a bit of oak.

The finish was much smoother than the last bottle, and I actually would not have guessed that this was an 80% merlot to 20% cabernet sauvignon blend. I thought that the cab had dominated. All in all, a nice wine with a smooth finish worthy of 90 points. Cheers!

2003 Chalone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Monterey County

A nice QPR that was very enjoyable at Delorenzo's! A nice cab for the money, and a great QPR! Typical cab notes, with hints of dark cherry and blackberry on the nose. On the palate, a nice dry cab, with hints of red currants and blackberry, with a short, dry finish. Overall, a great QPR worthy of 86 points. Cheers!