Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find much time for wine blogging lately, though, fortunately, the same can't be said of wine drinking. Unfortunately, there haven't been a whole lot of memorable bottles to post about. Fortunately, there have been one or two.

Once upon a time I bought at least a few bottles of Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet every year and, when I could find it, a bottle or two of the Napa, as well. On trips out to the winery, I even managed to score a few of the now-defunct Bonny's Vineyard. Then they started getting snooty with their pricing and there were just too many better bottles out there for less money, so there went another vertical. I can't say that I'm too sorry, either, because as luscious as these wines have always been on release, too many of them haven't aged as well as I would have expected. Once the primary fruit subsides, it seems there's not a whole lot there other than that dill-scented American oak which, while it's a great accompaniment to fruit, just doesn't play well as a solo. My last purchase of the Napa, though, was the '92, which also happened to be first year that the Bonny's was added to the Napa blend. So far from a disappointment, this wine just blew me away. The fruit was still there, still ripe but developed and well balanced with the oak and what remains of the tannins. Unfortunately (back to that again), I took no notes and now can't even remember what we had to eat with it. It's been sitting on the buffet as a reminder to blog it for several weeks now while its memory has faded to little more than a determination to open another one soon while I know the getting's good.

My other pleasant surprise (and now for something completely different) was a 1980 Robert Ampeau Meursault Perrieres. As much as I've heard about the legendary longevity of Ampeau's whites, I really expected this bottle to be little more than drain-o by now, especially as it had spent some years in less than ideal cellar conditions. Not only wasn't it shot, it was truly lovely, with elegant fruit and a sort of grace about it that commanded . . . respect. Again, I have no notes to jog my memory as to the particulars but suffice it to say that I was reminded, again, of why great Burgundies are held in such high esteem. I'm certain that this bottle was not treated with the care it deserved and yet, more than 23 years past its vintage date was showing beautifully.

Have I raved here about the Arrowood Malbec before? Yes, I see that I have. Well, it was time to try one of the '94s, and I don't know about being less massive than the '93s but, again, it's still a baby. A delicious baby, but a baby. I just love this wine and haven't been able to find it for years, so maybe it's a good thing that they're taking forever to come around. This time we tried it with a grilled flank steak marinated in chimichurri. Yeah, it was sort of an Argentinian theme. Worked, though.

Ok, one last quickie. 1995 Contino Rioja Crianza. This wine has just been consistently fabulous ever since I first bought it, so I kept going back and buying as much as I could find. Last year, I came across a batch of the '96 Reserva. The one I tried needed time to integrate. But the '95 Crianza was wonderful right out of the gate and it's never closed up or shut down since. Large, dark, smooth and supple with beautiful balance and dark, earthy fruit, it's really sort of out of its own league. This is by no means a classic Rioja. It's dressed up for the international stage. But like the '95 Artadi Vinas de Gain (which hasn't held up nearly as well, IMO), it delivers a boatload of flavor and drinking pleasure with a definite Tempranillo twist. Highly recommended.