Last night myself and about 10 others had a little get together hosted by our long term storage guy in Sacramento. Wonderful evening that really saw some celler damage
! I hope I feel better by tomorrow...
I took brief notes...somehow...
In reverse chronological order:
'00 Owen Roe Pinot Noir Oregon
Pleasantly tartish nose with some floral notes, crushed roses, etc. Light ruby, elegant mouthfeel, but a bit sour on the tongue, could really use a couple years of bottle time. Medium finish. WS 88, Me 88.
'99 Chateau Woltner Howell Mountain CS
Oaky nose, deep red fruits, slightly elevated acidity, somewhat hollow palate, but moderately complex, little musty mineral typical of Howell mountain fruit. WS NR, Me 87.
'99 Ladera Oakville CS
Good dark color, retiscent dark fruit nose (could have used a couple hours in decanter for sure). Medium bodied, good fruits all the way through, nicely balanced, medium plus finish. WS 92, Me 92
'99 Flora Springs Rutherford Hillside Reserve CS
Medium red color, medium red fruits, elevated acidity. A wine of more elegance than power that needs some time. Some really enjoy Flora Springs, I however don't get it.
WS 94, Me 88
'99 Monticelli Bros. Massimo, Napa CS
This has not been released yet and if I overheard right has something to do with Silver Oaks winemaker. Bright candied nose with some American oak notes. Bright ripe candied fruits somewhat reminiscent of the Showket (I don't know why I didn't pour them side by side), finishes long but very tannic. Think this will debut around $45.
WS NR, Me 92
'99 Showket Oakville CS
Another great showing. Dark ruby, candied nose, candied palate, wonderfully complex, wonderful balance, just plain elegant. WS 93, Me 94
'99 Kistler, Kistler Vineyard Pinot Noir
We were talking about Pinot and I commented how I still didn't get it, but had never had Kistler or Marcassin and this baby appeared. I now get Pinot
! Nice deep red color. Wonderfully fragrant nose with a dash of smoke leading to a start to finish fantastic palate of darker red fruits and berry. Excellent balance, nice medium finish. Lived up to the hype. WS NR, Me 93+
'99 d'Arenberg, The Dead Arm Shiraz
Nicely balanced, smidge of oak, well fruited but not over the top fruit or oak wise as are most young Aussies. Much preferable to the '99 Balmoral IMHO. As WS indicates in their review a wine more catering to elegance than power. Drink now or later, should only get better. WS 91, Me 92
'98 William Harrison Rutherford Cabernet Franc
Big flowery nose with a touch of American Oak. A touch of wild berry in the palate and a nice medium finish. I found the wine didn't quite deliver what the fantastic nose teased at. WS NR, Me 90
'98 Schrader Gaudeamus Vineyard CS
Big earth nose with good dark color. A very unique, eclectic mix of candied cinnaman and deep earthy fruits. Wine showed two distintly different flavor profiles as if they were layered on top of one another without being allowed to blend. A real head scratcher! WS 91, Me 91
'98 Sassoforte Tuscan CS
Reasonably dark with a big chocolate nose. Medium plus bodied with some nice black fruits. Long tannic finish, probably needs at least 5 more years of bottle time to come into its own. WS NR, Me 93
'95 Les Forts de Latour CS
Medium red with deep red fruits, strong French oaking. Medium bodied palate that is fairly closed, but does show some green tobacco. Well balanced though brightly acidic, I wouldn't try again for at least 10 years. WS 91, Me 90
'95 Cheval Blanc Merlot/CF
A little eye popping when this baby came out o' the sack!
Cranberry red, creamy nose of red fruits, toasted French oak and some tobacco notes. It smelled devine. Medium bodied and extremely elegant. A nicely full palate that just lacked that extra bit of fruit to put it over the top. Needs some bottle time to sweeten it up a bit, but the pedigree here is clear. WS 94, Me 93
'94 Groth Reserve CS
Red with just a tinge of orange and slightly cloudy. Bitter dark chocolate nose showing a little raw beef as well. Working its way to maturity (a little early for '94?), but very elegant and full in the mouth, everything is in its proper place here. A really nice wine. WS 96, Me 94+
'94 Flora Springs Rutherford Hillside Reserve CS
Candied nose, light cranberry color, drinks like its fully mature and more. I was surprised at the maturity of both of these '94s (from different cellers), completely opposite my recent experience with many others of the same vintage.
WS 96, Me 86
'93 Chateau L'Evangile Pommerol
Cranberry color, slightly clouded. Nice soft red fruits and sweet tobacco nose. Fully mature but still could hold for 5 or so. Elegant mild red fruits, wonderful balance, no tannin to speak of, medium finish. A wine that would make an ordinary dinner a little more special. WS 87, Me 90
'88 Château Rabaud-Promis Sauternes
Pretty gold color, nice nose of apricots and honey. Nicely elegant in the full mouth with decent acidity to keep the sweetness in check. Long finish, very nice.
WS 93, Me 92
'85 Forman CS
Nice mature nose featuring eucalyptus, American oak, and soft red fruits. The fruit is fading but a wonderfully elegant mature California Cabernet. On the bright side acid wise but wonderfully balanced, the acid just props up the remaining fruit. A pleasure to drink. WS 92, Me 94
'83 Clos du Val Napa
Light red in color, no fruit to speak of, but no really bad flavors either. Not vinegar, just an old wine from a marginal vintage. Drinkable. WS 77, Me 75
'78 Heitz Martha's Vineyard
Good color but gone, I has suspected as much, it's sister bottle wasn't much either 6 months ago, unknown provenance before I got them last year. Too bad. WS 91, Me NR
'70 Mondavi Napa Unfiltered
This was not gone
! Orangey red in color with a very mature nose of red licorice and green olive. More fruit than expected and quite delicious with food though clearly past its prime. WS 87 (in '01), Me 86
Gosh I wish I could have tasted everything
It's quite dangerous having a tasting right next to everyones long term storage. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and some of the labels that got brandished about as the BAC's rose found their way back into their lockers safely, though there was a magnum of '99 DA 1147 that I really would have liked to sample.
