Wines from Emma's Birthday Dinner

I'm not going to score these, and my comments are from memory, as we polished off these wines during my daughter Emma's birthday dinner without my having a chance to sit down and take notes. She requested "expensive pasta," which is our name for a pasta dish that calls for copious amounts of diced soppressata and diced prosciutto, along with lots of diced fresh mozzarella. Throw in tomatoes, lots of chopped fresh herbs, and use top quality pasta, and it takes the dish out of the thrifty realm of pasta with garlic and oil. Hence, the name. She also invited our friend (and my co-worker) Brian over, so it wasn't just Liz and me who finished off the wines.

2003 Ridge "Three Valleys" Sonoma County red -- Mostly Zinfandel, this blend was lighter than I expected from Ridge, although it had the aromatic complexity I expect from Ridge Zins. Beautiful ripe black fruits and smoky gravelly scents on the nose, primarily. Medium bodied, with nice but lightish flavors and average length. Would have been nice for under $10, but it was $18.99 on sale at Whole Foods, and therefore a bit pricey for this level of quality.

1999 Domaine Le Galantin Bandol -- I previously reviewed my last bottle of the 1998 of this wine here, and this was my last bottle of the '99. Similar aromatic and flavor profile to the '98, although a bit lighter and less complex. Still, it was a great buy (I bought about 6 bottles at around $12/per in 2001 I think). The '98 started out tighter, earthier, and more austere, but got deeper, softer and better over time. The '99 started out fruiter, softer, and more accessible, and it held up beautifully. But it didn't really improve at all over time, it just changed a bit.