TN: CRB Numero 5, 2nd of Cos, '02 Lagrange

With pasta and pesto, the 2004 Clos Roche Blanche "Numero 5" Sauvignon (Touraine). Rich Sauvignon catpee-gooseberry nose, with some grapefruit-Fresca=A9 notes over gooseberry and green apple fruit (I like Fresca, the only soft drink I ever buy). A little too cold at first, as it warmed some mineral-flinty notes appeared on a fairly long finish. Now, at some point I seem to have some memory (real? imagined?) that an earlier vintage of the #5 was supposed to be a section that got some botrytis, but I don't get any sign of that here. What I do get is some rich ripe deep Sauvignon Blanc fruit (to tell you the truth, blind I would probably guessed NZ, but damn good NZ), but with the mineral notes adding a lot of complexity. Nice interesting wine. B+

As noted before, I picked up a half-bottle of the 2002 Pagodes de Cos (St. Estephe) for $9 since I had quite liked the 2002 Cos d'Estournel. Opened a half while baching it Thursday. Lots of oak, and surprisingly big-hard tannins for a second. But there's quite a bit of cbuttis and blackberry fruit. Might be decent if the oak integrates in a few years. I might pick up a few more 375s next time I'm through Scarsdale for 2010 or so, but if they sell out before I get there I won't cry. B-B-

With a small steak and a red-wine & shallot sauce, the 2002 Ch. Lagrange (St. Julien). Dense deep blackcurrant-cbuttis fruit, earth and leather on the nose, but not quite as expressive as a few months ago - I think this is shutting down a bit. At moment a B-B+, but this is an excellent structured wine for the price ($22) that needs to allowed to rest a bit.