Memorial Day Addendum

Here's two more wines and one clarification to add to last week's wine blowout.

First, the clarification. I referred to a Spanish Rioja. The wine we drank with the lamb was in fact the 2001 Sierra Cantabria Rioja Crianza. Beautiful, wonderful Tempranillo with just a dash of Graciano in it. I think I need to drink more Spanish wine this year.

And moving backwards in time, the first wine we cracked open--when I was washing vegetables and prepping sauces--was the 2004 Crossings Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. Light and crisp, with a touch of citrus aromas, but it's not overpowering. Sauvignon Blanc is rapidly becoming my favorite white grape.

Finally, on the second day of the festivities, Tom picked up a bottle of the 2004 Marquis Philips Cabernet Sauvignon on my recommendation. I've had this wine in an earlier vintage and loved it, but wasn't as impressed this time around. Good leather and chocolate flavors in addition to abundant dark fruit, but there's a strong vegetal nose that's hard to ignore. Sometimes that's a good thing; I guess I was just in the mood for a big fruit-forward classic Australian red.