Wine and Food with Friends on a Random Friday Night

Had friends over for dinner last night. I decided to grill some beautiful prime New York Strips, Cowboy-cut Ribeye, and a couple of types of fish. Alongside, I served hand-cut/baked/sweet potato fries, arugula/fennel/orange salad, and savoy cabbage. The wines were lovely with the food, and we had a string of three very nice bottles.

• 2001 Argiano Solengo Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
  Great bottle. Relative to other bottles of this wine I've had, this one was very backward and youthful. Showed that tell-tale Italian funk, brooding red and dark fruit, and nice earthiness. The texture is somewhere between velvety and silky, with nice, fresh acidity and smooth tannins. Fantastic wine.


• 2000 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Another winner. Also dark, backward, and brooding, but it shows terrific blackberry and plum fruit with loads of dried provencal herbs, truffle, earth, meatiness and licorice. Still very youthful, so plenty of tannins, fruit, and acidity to go around, but it is drinking spectacularly right now. Lovely bottle.


• 1996 Château Sociando-Mallet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
  Opened this at the end of the evening. Still a baby in my opinion. Just beginning to show tertiary flavors. For now, the tannins still stick out a little and will need another 5-10 years before they'll settle into the right spot. Beyond the strong tannins, this is a very enjoyable wine that shows nice cigar box, black currant, and leather with a little earthiness. The weakest of the wines last night, but very good, still.