Tonight, with temperatures predicted to fall below 0°F, we hunkered down
and cooked ribeye steaks. With this red meat orgy, I opened:

1994 Ch. Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape
color: dark red-purple, going ruby at the edge
nose: mild barnyard, dark fruit, olives
palate: medium body, good acidity, smooth tannins, dark fruit, herbs

I opted for this wine rather than the usual option of a Cabernet-based
wine because I felt that it would remind us of the warm Mediterranean
climate and it did, but it also went very well with the steak. Most
likely, that is due to the atypically high percentage of Mourvedre in
the encepagement, as I usually find the red-fruit profile of
Grenache-heavy wines more suited to game and smoked meats. This was the
last of our '94 CdPs, though some '89s and '90s still linger in the cellar.

Reporting from the frozen Midwest,
Mark Lipton