Ah, New Year's Day. What a great day to do virtually nothing - just
walk the dog, minor household chores, traditional black eyed peas and
greens for lunch, etc. Probably the one day a year I do no work
(though dog and I visited office). Then over to friends for a nice
dinner party.

Starter was Betsy's shrimp in a red pepper/fennel seed/garlic
marinade, with a couple of sparklers

NV Sciarpa Prosecco
Light, crisp, though there's not a lot there. B-

NV Domaine de Montbourgeau Brut (Cremant d Jura)
This is a buy again. Fresh Chardonnay fruit, pear and green apple,
some light yeasty notes, good acidity, just a hint of the dosage. B+

We sat for a salad and the 2004 Balbiano "il Barbarossa" Freisa di
Chieri Superiore. This was a bottle Ron brought back from a concert
tour in Italy. My prior experiences with Freisa were mostly the
lightly frothy style, though I've also had the Vajra Kye. This is a
still wine, midbodied, some noticable but well integrated oak, rich
red fruits, good acidity, some supple tannins. I enjoy, and fun to try
something out of the norm. B+/B

Main course was prime rib roast, with gravy, potato gratin, and green
beans with almonds

2004 Muga Rioja Reserva
Lots of cherry and raspberry fruit, oak sticks out a bit. Not bad with
the meat, but by itself All Oak, All the Time. B-

1986 Ch. Meyney (St Estephe)
An old favorite pull through. Had been standing up for couple weeks, I
dropped it by day before, then decanted when we arrived. Solid
blackcurrant and black plum fruit, leather and a little animal funk,
some remaining tannins, good length. I've argued for '89 as greatest
Meyney ever, but this may be the contender. A-

2006 Vega Sindoa Cabernet-Tempranillo (Navarra)
Sweet, anonymous, oak and caramel. I remember liking the Vega Sindoa
wines as good values in the late 90s, not sure if the difference is
mostly in me or in the wines. C+

2007 Delas "St-Esprit" Cotes du Rhone,
Solid, stolid. Ripe red fruit, typical, a tad low acid, perfectly
acceptable CdR but hard to get excited by. B-

Loved the food, loved some of the wines, loved the conversation more
than both.

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.

On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:07:32 -0800 (PST), DaleW >
wrote:


>
>2004 Muga Rioja Reserva
>Lots of cherry and raspberry fruit, oak sticks out a bit. Not bad with
>the meat, but by itself All Oak, All the Time. B-
>
I had a bottle of Marques de Caceres 2004 reserva New Years eve. noted
that it seemed a little weak, and the oak not quite in liine though
not as much as you describe as that would have me pouring in the sink.
This one opened up, married well with the Porc au Prune, and was
despite its initial dissapointment a good match.

On Jan 2, 3:23*pm, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
> On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:07:32 -0800 (PST), DaleW >
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >2004 Muga Rioja Reserva
> >Lots of cherry and raspberry fruit, oak sticks out a bit. Not bad with
> >the meat, but by itself All Oak, All the Time. B-
>
> I had a bottle of Marques de Caceres 2004 reserva New Years eve. noted
> that it seemed a little weak, and the oak not quite in liine though
> not as much as you describe as that would have me pouring in the sink.
> This one opened up, *married well *with the Porc au Prune, and was
> despite its initial dissapointment a good match.

Traditional ham, black eyed peas, greees, cornbread, and Pierre Peters
Champagne for me and 6 of our friends

On Jan 2, 3:23*pm, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
> On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:07:32 -0800 (PST), DaleW >
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >2004 Muga Rioja Reserva
> >Lots of cherry and raspberry fruit, oak sticks out a bit. Not bad with
> >the meat, but by itself All Oak, All the Time. B-
>
> I had a bottle of Marques de Caceres 2004 reserva New Years eve. noted
> that it seemed a little weak, and the oak not quite in liine though
> not as much as you describe as that would have me pouring in the sink.
> This one opened up, *married well *with the Porc au Prune, and was
> despite its initial dissapointment a good match.

Oh, and I have been disappointed by Muga since they went California
style several years ago.

On Jan 2, 5:58*pm, lleichtman > wrote:
> On Jan 2, 3:23*pm, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
>
> > On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:07:32 -0800 (PST), DaleW >
> > wrote:
>
> > >2004 Muga Rioja Reserva
> > >Lots of cherry and raspberry fruit, oak sticks out a bit. Not bad with
> > >the meat, but by itself All Oak, All the Time. B-
>
> > I had a bottle of Marques de Caceres 2004 reserva New Years eve. noted
> > that it seemed a little weak, and the oak not quite in liine though
> > not as much as you describe as that would have me pouring in the sink.
> > This one opened up, *married well *with the Porc au Prune, and was
> > despite its initial dissapointment a good match.
>
> Oh, and I have been disappointed by Muga since they went California
> style several years ago.

Me too.

lleichtman wrote:

> Oh, and I have been disappointed by Muga since they went California
> style several years ago.

Muga is an enigma. Torre Muga has been spoof city for a long while now,
all new oak and overextraction. Prado Enea, OTOH, has been quite
traditional up to recent years (and may still be -- I haven't been
keeping track). The Reserva is quite modern, too; in fact, apart from
the Prado Enea they all are. Weird.

Mark Lipton

On Jan 3, 9:52*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Jan 2, 5:58*pm, lleichtman > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jan 2, 3:23*pm, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
>
> > > On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:07:32 -0800 (PST), DaleW >
> > > wrote:
>
> > > >2004 Muga Rioja Reserva
> > > >Lots of cherry and raspberry fruit, oak sticks out a bit. Not bad with
> > > >the meat, but by itself All Oak, All the Time. B-
>
> > > I had a bottle of Marques de Caceres 2004 reserva New Years eve. noted
> > > that it seemed a little weak, and the oak not quite in liine though
> > > not as much as you describe as that would have me pouring in the sink..
> > > This one opened up, *married well *with the Porc au Prune, and was
> > > despite its initial dissapointment a good match.
>
> > Oh, and I have been disappointed by Muga since they went California
> > style several years ago.
>
> Me too.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

The Prada is still quite traditional. The Torre Muga and Riserva both
have a "bubblegum" flavor to me.