Several wines from the past week:

2000 Karly "Buck's Ten Point" Zinfandel
n: pepper, cedar, slight tarry note, loads of berry fruit
m: rich and fruity on entry, just enough acid to keep things clean,
pepper, loads of cedar and just a hint of tar

[Sealed under a fake cork and not dead after 2 years' cellaring!] This
was a wine that we bought at the winery a few years back. Since then,
it's taken on a bit more heft and rounded out nicely. The cedar was too
much for Jean, who found it overwhelming. I, OTOH, found the wine to be
a good, straight-ahead Zin.

1997 Clerc-Milon
c: dark garnet with slight brick at the edges
n: initially a bit reticent, opening up to show plummy fruit, minerals
and a lovely herbaceousness that I associate with Bordeaux
m: medium-full body, plenty of fruit, good structure, minerals,
herbaceous finish

A portion of this wine was poured into a carafe to aerate, but the
aeration seemed to diminish the secondary aromas to us, so the majority
was poured straight from the bottle. A beautiful wine, but our
penultimate bottle of '97 (another closeout special, I think). Even
though this was from a light year, the wine had depth and character. It
went fabulously with a roast chicken.

1999 Clos de Caillou Cotes du Rhone Vielles Vignes
n: CORKED!!!!

For Christmas, I received a gift of a French TCA-removal device. The
device works by placing a plastic "filter" in a carafe that one pours
one's corked wine into. Needless to say, I fave it a try with the
corked CdR. After an hour in the device, there was indeed a notable
reduction in TCA mustiness. Jean and our friend couldn't detect any; I,
a TCA sensitive could get only the merest hint of it.

n: cherries, smoke, minerals
m: medium body, great acid, a slightly gamey tang, rich fruit

Compared to a glass of the untreated wine, this was a vast improvement.
More details to follow about the device.

Mark Lipton