My turn to do dinner last night. I did duck breast over frisee, with green beans (using duck fat) and leftover soba and couscous. I opened the 1996 Alex Gambal Volnay 1er Cru * with tempered expectations. I had gotten 3 of these cheap, first corked, the second best described as pedestrian. This was quite the surprise, a very nice mature Burgundy. Rich black cherry fruit with a little red currant, earth, mushrooms, and a hint of black tea. Nice texture. It isn't a worldbeater in concentration or finish, but a nice Sunday night wine. I'm quite pleased. Not sure if my experience with previous bottle was worse due to time, bottle variation, or the limits of my tasting ability. B+
* this is a generic 1er, apparently mixture of vineyards
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency