Marques de Cacares,

wanted something a little different/special tonight. Opened up early
bright, good red color, tannins left just a little edge on the teeth The
nose is a bit closed but there are some of the heavier aspects lurking
on the finish, looking forward to dinner in 2 hours.

It is our 12th anniversary, that night we had quail at Goodfellows in
Minneapolis accompanied by some Merlot by the glass that defied
description. Tonight lamb chops, Australian, tender maybe, and I am not
making this up, as tender as I have ever had, thank you Costco garnished
by a rub of thyme and garlic. At this point it is a toss up whether the
wine or the chops were the best part of dinner, I will take my time
deciding, meanwhile, the wine, oh yes, by dinner the nose was definitely
with us, ripe ripe strawberries, that chewy leathery texture and by the
end of dinner the tannins were completely gone with just a soft soft
velvet finish that I just made complete with a piece of Lindt 70% dark
chocolate. Take me now I am complete.

The good news, I have another bottle.

--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

"Joseph Coulter" > wrote in message
. 97.136...
> Marques de Cacares,
>
> wanted something a little different/special tonight. Opened up early
> bright, good red color, tannins left just a little edge on the teeth The
> nose is a bit closed but there are some of the heavier aspects lurking
> on the finish, looking forward to dinner in 2 hours.
>
> It is our 12th anniversary

Happy anniversary! Glad the Costco lamb chops worked well for you. I'll
have to give those a try.

Tom S

We buy the Aus lamb at Costco all the time here in NC. It is GREAT!!!!

Honestly the NZ from Sams is better but Costco is more our Demographics.

You could go to Murray Steak in Minneapolis to if you want. I have done
many a dinner then and its GREAT!!!


"Joseph Coulter" > wrote in message
. 97.136...
> Marques de Cacares,
>
> wanted something a little different/special tonight. Opened up early
> bright, good red color, tannins left just a little edge on the teeth The
> nose is a bit closed but there are some of the heavier aspects lurking
> on the finish, looking forward to dinner in 2 hours.
>
> It is our 12th anniversary, that night we had quail at Goodfellows in
> Minneapolis accompanied by some Merlot by the glass that defied
> description. Tonight lamb chops, Australian, tender maybe, and I am not
> making this up, as tender as I have ever had, thank you Costco garnished
> by a rub of thyme and garlic. At this point it is a toss up whether the
> wine or the chops were the best part of dinner, I will take my time
> deciding, meanwhile, the wine, oh yes, by dinner the nose was definitely
> with us, ripe ripe strawberries, that chewy leathery texture and by the
> end of dinner the tannins were completely gone with just a soft soft
> velvet finish that I just made complete with a piece of Lindt 70% dark
> chocolate. Take me now I am complete.
>
> The good news, I have another bottle.
>
> --
> Joseph Coulter
> Cruises and Vacations
> http://www.josephcoulter.com/
>

"Richard Neidich" > wrote in news:%eKng.12390
:

> We buy the Aus lamb at Costco all the time here in NC. It is GREAT!!!!
>
> Honestly the NZ from Sams is better but Costco is more our Demographics.
>
> You could go to Murray Steak in Minneapolis to if you want. I have done
> many a dinner then and its GREAT!!!
>
It is a long drive to Murray's these days as we are in the SE suburbs,
Florida, and sometimes, it is hard to separate the good memories, from the
quality of the food, everything was working last night and each piece
seemed to support the rest.


--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

Joseph Coulter wrote:

Thanks for the notes. It sounds like you had a great evening. I find
the Caceres to be dependable if rarely awe-inspiring, but the '96
Reservas I've had have really impressed.

Happy Anniversary!
Mark Lipton

Joseph Coulter > wrote in
. 97.136:

> Marques de Cacares,
>
> The good news, I have another bottle.
>

Joseph,

Marqués de Cáceres Reserva 1996 was great on release and is drinking very,
very well right now. It has a great fruit and they did not ruin it by
overoaking it as is the norm with most classic Bodegas. Perhaps the 1994
was marginally better, but this 1996 looked like a young wine when was
released in 2001. I really look forward for the 2001, because Marqués de
Cáceres knows how to make great wine in good vintages.

However, I have had a very bad experience with a Marqués de Riscal 2001,
and I found Marqués de Murrieta 2001 a very good wine but a bit overoaked
(at least it was good quality oak and not wet-old-oak). Let's hope it
balances. At the price (12-15 euros in Spain) I think it is worth the risk.

If you like well done Riojas by the big bodegas, I suggest Contino (the
single vineyard Reserva by CVNE). I had a beautiful bottle of the Reserva
2000 and I am really looking forward the 2001. None of these wines cost
more than 15 euros in Spain.

Best,

S.