Despite unseasonably warm weather this past month, the leaves have
changed color, the skies have clouded and the red wine has been brought
forth from the cellar! ;-)

With broiled rack of lamb:

1999 Hochar Pere et Fils ("Baby Musar")

nose: berry fruit, minerals, pencil lead and a sappy quality
palate: medium-full body, fully resolved tannins, dark berry fruit with
some plumminess, more of that sappy element and excellent balance

It does bear some resemblance to its more ambitious stablemate (mostly
in its slightly resinous character), but also to a good Cru Bourgeois
Bordeaux. Excellent with the lamb and a decent bargain at $17 locally.

With apple-smoked duck:

1999 Grand Tinel CNdP

nose: classic kirsch and smoke with a slightly gamey element
palate: medium body, initially quite acidic and tight, but opening with
time to show rich cherryish fruit with great structure and a
medium-long, gamey finish

I'd dithered over whether to pull a Pinot Noir, Crozes-Hermitage or CNdP
with the duck, eventually deciding to avoid Pinot Noir for fear of being
overpowered by the smoke and the Crozes for having darker fruit than I
wanted with the duck. In the end, Jean and I both found the match to be
excellent, with the duck noticeably enhancing the wine (a 4 on the Hoare
scale). This is a wine on the lighter side of the CNdP scale, and one
that's still not showing a lot of the meatiness that some of our older
bottles have. This wine probably has another 5 years of peak drinking
time ahead of it, so it'll be fun to follow.

Mark Lipton