2001 Dead Arm

Next week is the eighth anniversary of my engagement to the Now Spousal Unit. I like to celebrate the date with her, because our birthdays, wedding anniversary, and anniversary of our first date all fall in August and September, so it’s nice to have an occasion on the opposite side of the calendar. The actual anniversary will be busy for us, and today was a beautiful warm day, so I picked up some thick New York strip steaks, cut to order, from Froehlich’s and warmed up the grill.

To celebrate our engagement in 2004, we had dinner at Bistro 45, and enjoyed a (very young) half-bottle of the 2001 d’Arenberg Dead Arm shiraz. Since then, we’ve bought about 3 bottles of each vintage from 2000–2006, and we drink one each year. This year, we were back where we started.

My note:

Decanted off moderate sediment 1 hour before serving. Clear dark red. Relatively subdued nose of red fruit, black licorice, menthol. Huge on the palate, with a core of black fruit coming in waves, tapering to a long chocolate, coffee finish, then a final wave of seawater. Tannins rather soft. A massive wine. (92 points)

We enjoyed the steaks with a salad with dried fruits and gorgonzola.

We dined outdoors on the deck, using our new outdoor table for the first time, and it was a lovely, clear evening.

It’s supposed to snow 2.5 inches Sunday night.