Although Jean took two weeks off from drinking wine as part of a dietary
experiment, she took a brief respite with me to have wine with grilled,
butterflied leg of lamb (heavily garlicked):

2000 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvée Réservée"
nose: dark rapberry, a hint of kirsch and minerals
palate: smooth, medium bodied, harmonious with just enough structure

Jean wanted a "special" wine for her brief hiatus from abstention, so
this was the choice after she rejected a Bandol as not special enough.
This was really a comfort wine for us and really in a lovely place right
now. Even though it was from the hot 2000 vintage, it didn't seem
flabby, alcoholic or overextracted by any measure.

Last night, we celebrated the end of her self-imposed abstention by
opening a recently arrived bottle of:

2009 Marcel Lapierre VdT "Raisins Gaulois"
nose: juicy Gamay fruit, minerals
palate: juicy, bright, light

A bit deeper than the '08 version, this is still a lovely wine. It
comes across as a quality Beaujolais-Villages in character and depth.
Really nice QPR for the $11.99 I paid for it.

Mark Lipton