Dave was joining us for dinner, it was a cool rainy day and Betsy made braised short ribs, garlic mashed potatoes, and spinach.
Cooking wine was a party leftover, the 2007 Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon (California). Sweet red plum fruit, a little green herby note, rather short (and not very CS-ish) but competent and drinkable red, better than most under $10 CalCabs I've tried recently. C+/B-
Dinner wine was the 1998 Ch. La Louviere (Pessac-Leognan) rouge. Black cherries and currants, mostly resolved tannins, fruit is still lively but there are some nice mature notes of cigarbox and damp earth. Holds up well over 3-4 hours. Some lead pencil/graphite, good length, balanced acids. Not a powerhouse but a classic cruiserweight Graves. A-/B+
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.