1999 Domaine Les Grands Bois, Cuvee Gabrielle, Cotes du Rhone 13.5%
Garnet-red in color as befits its age. Bretty nose with raspberry fruit. Same in the mouth with cactus pear and light herbs. Somewhat awkwardly balanced with acidity overpowering fruit. It improves somewhat in the glass but gets stewy toward the end of the bottle hours later. Drinkable, but a year or three past it's best.
2003 Domaine de Cristia, CdP, 15%
The day before we drank the above bottle, I had gone into the cellar to choose a Southern Rhone and had removed, I thought, the above bottle. It wasn't until the end of dinner that I realized my mistake. In the meantime I'd been cooing over the fresh, warm pomegranite red fruit and youthful vitality of an almost-ten year old CdR. Afterward, it was too difficult to re-react to it as a younger CdP from a demonically warm vintage--it was smooth enough and I was enjoying it and our house guests too much to notice the higher alcohol. I can offer, however, that it's showing very well right now and similar to Coop's '03 Usseglio enjoyed last week.
