Second up in our epic wines last night was the Comtesse.  Unfortunately this bottle was sitting in my wine chiller and was slightly cold when first opened.  The wine lacked a tail end kick, no tannins or bite….  I waited for it to warm up to room temperature and bam!  There they were, tannins, acidity, a nice finish, all I could ask for.  The wine was super smooth, nuances of tobacco, cassis, leather, all the secondary notes that get me excited about aged Bordeaux.  The wine was sublime.  It hit every note, showed it’s power, but also its grace.  This is a seductive wine with very soft edges, yet it holds an immense amount of complexity and evolution.  I wrote about this wine three years ago, the 2001 Comtesse got 92 points from me back then and I promised to drink one every 6 months.  I got sidetracked, sorry it took so long to drink another- I won’t make the same mistake again!  This wine has gone up to 93 points in my opinion and is nearing its peak.  On sale for $125 it is not cheap, but it gets 5 stars from me for the sheer enjoyment it provides.  Salut….

Last night I had an old College friend over for dinner.  We ate Brisket, as can be seen in my previous post.  While it was still cooking we have heavy hors d’ouerves and I opened up a stunning set of wines.  The 2001 vintage from Bordeaux has been quietly sitting in my cellar and I really should get to drinking them, time flies and most wines fade.  So, we started out with the amazing 2001 Chateau Cantermerle, which has been drinking well for a decade now.  The first tasting note I wrote was in 2011, the wine has only gotten better and more defined.  The secondary flavors are in place, the fruit is still present and the tannins are fully melded.  A great 91 point wine that I really enjoyed.  I purposely did not write notes, I just wanted to enjoy the moment and relish the wines.  A quick check online shows this one available for $55, making it a 5 star effort even at 16 years of age!  Well done.  Salut….