2005 Pride Merlot / Le Papillon restaurant -> Happy Birthday, Julie!

This evening, Julie and I went to Le Papillon for a special birthday dinner.  The ambiance was very pleasant and romantic, the service was top-notch, and the food was presented nicely.  We started with two amuses-bouche (duck pate, and bacon-quiche), then had a small appetizer (buttery cod), Ratatouille as the main appetizer, the soup of the day - a tasty cream of tomato reduction, and for the main course, I had the "Pepper Seared Filet of Beef with Brandy Demi Glace", and Julie had the "Grain Mustard Crusted Rabbit with Golden Chanterelles and Tarragon Jus".  For desert, we had a chocolate-gram cracker-whipped cream thinger, that was pretty tasty!  Overall, I'd rate the food a 9/10.

The wine we had with the meal was a 2005 Pride Merlot - the wine list showed it as an '04, and I assumed the '05 would be similar to the 94pt '04.  We were both a bit let down - from my post on CellarTracker: "Very fine and velvety fruit, with little or no tannin backbone.  Fruit and character disappeared 30 minutes after opening, leaving a soft and unremarkable wine.  94pts the first 30 minutes, and 88 thereafter."