Some notes from recent meals:

Opened with a dinner of pan-seared venison loin medallions:

1998 Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz

nose: blueberries and black pepper
palate: rich, soft tannins, berry fruit, moderate acidity
remarks: Jean, tasting this blind, guessed a 5-year-old Languedoc red.
To me, this wine had a classic Syrah profile but none of the funk one
normally gets from the N. Rhone. It was a great pairing with the
vension, which brought the fruit out of the wine. I'd guess that this
could last another 3-5 years, but I don't see it getting any better than
it is right now.

With a dinner of take-out BBQ ribs and sides on a wickedly cold night:

2001 Ridge "Three Valleys" Zinfandel

n: initially, butterscotch and berryish fruit, later becoming briery
p: initially, soft and oaky (rather unappealing), but rapidly becoming
firmer and deeper, becoming much more classically Ridge-like
r: This was a bottle that got lost in the cellar. I was worried that it
was OTH, but one should never fear too much about a Ridge wine, I
suppose. Counteracting the unpleasant surprise of the '98 Santa Cruz
Cab, this was a very pleasant surprise.

1996 Castello bi Bossi "Corbaia"

n: fairly simple, dried cherries
p: soft, dusty cherry, fairly low acidity, short finish
r: This was a Christmas present from my well-meaning research group.
The local fine wine retailer has a penchant for Italian wines but uses
the Wine Speculator as a guide. I see from the Web that this is a 70/30
Sangiovese/Cabernet "SuperTuscan" but could easily pass for a CC (not a
Riserva). Not really my style but a decent pizza wine (which is what we
consumed it with -- homemade pesto/five cheese pizzas)

Mark Lipton