TN: closeout Syrah, base level Alsace Pinot Blanc
 

With David home, Betsy's been pulling out all stops at dinner. Another
meal based on Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking:
fried squid
shrimp-fried rice
duck breast with Szechuan pepper, salt, and lemon
carrots braised in the duck fat (not from cookbook)

Squid and shrimp called for white, while duck is usually means red for
me, though the Szechuan pepper and citrus isn't exactly wine friendly.
Dave prefers red. So I went for a fairly inexpensive white, and a half
bottle of closeout red

2006*Schlumberger "Les Princes Abbes" Pinot Blanc
Peaches and melon, some mineral, I'm not a PB fan in general but this
is a nice wine for something like $13. Good acidity, nice length, not
especially complex but good food wine. B

2005 Havens "Hudson Vineyard" Syrah (Carneros) (375 ml)
Some oak, tight, a little hint of barnyard on opening. With a bit of
time in glass it opens up, dark berry fruit, some spice, some vanilla.
This is fine for the $10/half closeout/bankruptcy price, but I
wouldn't have been happy with this at normal retail. B-
We'll see what it's like tonight

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an
excellent*wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I
wouldn't*drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I
offer no*promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
consistency.**