2003 Antinori Tignanello Toscana
Served blind, at first I thought this was a high-end blend of malbec and cabernet because of the mixture of chocolate and loamy blackberry. My friend, who is not a wine person, then showed us what it was, saying she had bought it recently at a charity auction. Not as good as other Tignanellos I've tasted, perhaps because younger, perhaps because of the heat in 03, but still a fine wine.
2005 Caves des Papes/Ogier Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve de Argentiers 14.0%
Had never run into this before. My friend was dismissive, saying she had received a six pack from her father and not liked it, so she had given the others to her sister. I persuaded her to let us open it, and it was very nice, infinitely more to my liking than the Casa Silva below, her favorite and what she wanted to serve us exclusively.
2005 Casa Silva Los Lingues Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley 14.5%
I found this nauseatingly jammy and sweet, in the worst style of super ripe, fruit forward Andean wine where-it-never-rains-so-winemakers-can-wait(risklessly)for-grapes-to-become-as-ripe-as-they-want. Gives the Montes Alpha a run (for the exits) for its money. Ugh, undrinkable for someone with a palate as delicate as my own
. Marcia noted that this was a hit around the table, so there!