February 17, 2003
Sunday Night or Time to open another bottle of wine!
Well, we were supposed to join Good Friends for dinner last night but the responsibilities of parenthood interfered. Son needed a ride home from work and we couldn't find a relative that could stand in for us. Son won't get his license soon enough I'm thinking.
Anyway, I opened a bottle of 2000 Chateau Haut-La Pereyre and was absolutely amazed. This wine cost $9.99 and was purchased at a place called Vintages in West Concord, MA. The tasting notes in the link are right on the money though they don't mention the peppery bouquet and the incredible fruit on the pallette with a final zing of pepper in the finish.
I also tasted this wine using the new Riedel Crystal Bordeaux wine glass that Beautiful Wife purchased for me at the Wine Expo. We compared the taste and impression using the Riedel and another nice crystal wine glass. The difference was amazing. The wine didn't so much as taste different but was bigger in the Riedel. The bouquet was bigger too which really enhanced the wine tasting experience.
Another cool thing was that this was the first wine I've decanted. We used the decanter given to us by our Good Friends shortly after their wedding. They purchased their wine glasses in sets of four and each four included a decanter. The decanter looks similar to this 
and the picture also contains the wine glass mentioned above. When you pour in the wine it hits the sides of the narrow neck and then streams down the side to cascade into the wide bottom. I wondered what it would be like to pour using this since I tend to drip even pouring from the bottle. The wine poured out in a steady, thin stream and I didn't have dripping issues at all. It really gave us a chance to admire the color, smell the bouquet and it greatly added to the whole experience.