My dear wife is out tonight with some of her lady friends, so the pups and I revived an old PB.com tradition: Bachelor night. Long time readers will recall that this involves steak, potatoes, and a small dose of the obligatory green vegetable. Tonight, however, the green vegetable component was limited to the tarragon that went into the Béarnaise sauce that topped my filet mignon and boiled baby yukon gold potatoes.
This evening's principal libation was the 2004 Beringer. I had bought a half case when it was released and tonight was the first to be opened. I decanted it about an hour before dinner and sampled a glass throughout the cooking process. Purple shading into a deep ruby. Modest sediment. The bouquet took a while to open up, but eventually developed some seriously complex associations. Cedar, leather, cassis, and black cherry. On the palate, it was medium to full bodied with a long finish. Again, cedar, leather, cassis, and black cherry were the dominant flavor associations, as well as blackberry and mocha java. Well balanced. Still has plenty of structure to support aging, but is drinking well now. I'll probably space out the remaining bottles over the next 8-10 years. Grade: 93
Followed, of course, by our old friends tawny port and a Dunhill Peravia.
