Last night with a light dinner, we opened:

'98 Morgan Reserve Pinot Noir
nose: cloves, orange peel, sappy, fruit
palate: good acidity, medium body, good fruit, exotic aromatics
[after 24 hours] sappy PN fruit

I've never before been able to find the scent of cloves in a wine, but
this one fairly screamed of it immediately after being opened. There
was a also a pine/orange peel note that added extra intrigue to what I
was smelling and tasting. Despite the exotic nose, the wine was
appealing and not overly bizarre for a Pinot Noir. There was no sign of
oak, presumably indicating that whatever new oak had been present
initially had been well integrated during the aging process. All in
all, quite yummy and unusual for a CA Pinot Noir.

Tonight, with a dinner of cherrywood-smoked pheasant, sauteed portobello
in a red wine reduction, sweet potatoes and sauteed green beans and bok
choy, we opened:

1990 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape
c: light garnet with browning at the edges
n: a huge whack of bright cherry fruit
p: lively acidity, a bit of petillance, slightly tannic, intense
kirsch/cherry fruit, a noticeable lack of Rhone funk

Initially, I was concerned about this wine as the capsule and cork
showed signs of minor leakage. The browning edges also reinforced this
concern that the wine might be prematurely over the hill. About 1/3 of
the bottle was initially decanted to remove it from sediment and that
decanted wine was tasted, immediately dispelling any notions of
premature aging. In fact, this was a deceptively young-seeming wine,
with few secondary or tertiary aromas and some still noticeable tannins.
It matched beautifully with the smoked pheasant and the sauteed mushrooms.

Mark Lipton