2005 Strub Niersteiner Brückchen Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Rheinhessen (6/26/2007)
More open than prior bottles & displaying greater baby fat which makes little sense. Anyway there was lots of yellow fruits and that Bruckchen chalky minerality that I love so much. Good stuff & good value. It's also fantastic to have the wine in 375s, as we just wanted enough for an aperitif. Screwcap too - no reduction!
2004 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (6/26/2007)
My second half-bottle of this on consecutive nights. This one more opulent than the prior night's bottle, but still very well balanced & showing classic cassis, cedar and earthy elements with a minerality and austerity on the mid-palate that speaks of Bordeaux to me. In time it will fill in with all those lovely secondary flavors. Great juice.
2004 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (6/27/2007)
Not as rich as the 2004 Pontet-Canet, but again a well balanced Bordeaux with rich red fruit and subtle oaking. I initially found a bit of a butterscotch tone on the nose, but that faded with time. This is classical in style & seems like it will evolve very well for many years to come.
2003 Château Sociando-Mallet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc (6/27/2007)
Opened in the midst of two 2004 Bordeaux, this seemed so much more open and giving, with lots of deep black fruit and none of that interesting green tobacco that so many young Sociandos seem to have (and I like). Not at all a classic style, but still in balance with reserves of fruit and tannin to age effortlessly for years to come.