I am taking some good customers out for dinner and would like to bring this bottle of wine. It is in a 1.5L magnum. Should I decant this before going to the restaurant and then pour it back into the bottle? If so, how much time would you give it?

Or should I just take a 91 Beringer Reserve, also in magnum format?

I think this is a great bottle of wine that is at its peak now. I'd give it a little air time, maybe open 2 hours before you go and taste to see if it is corked. But it is not throwing lots of sediment. Nor is it overly tight.

a

fine- Here's a recent TN of mine on this wine. It's ready to go, but I think from the magnum I would probably decant an hour or 2 as whiner suggested.

As for sediment, I suspect that whiner likes to shake his before serving because the one I had recently threw quite a bit of sediment. It was the fine grainy variety, but the last 2-3 pours all had it, and my glass had quite the mud puddle at the bottom (I got the last of my undecanted bottle). My bottle was not stood up for any significant time (maybe 3 hours), but it had been resting peacefully on its side for a couple of years and I'm pretty good about standing them up in the correct orientation.

grossie,

Don't you know by now? I stir mine, in the bottle.

I haven't tasted this bottle since leaving DC, but I don't think this is much more sediment-y than any other good Cab based wine from '97. (Certainly a whole lot less than the Chappellet PHEV -- what I had this next to the last time I tasted it) Nevertheless a short decant and effort to remove sediment probably won't hurt...

a

When you say open it 2 hours before. Do you mean just pull the cork and let it sit, or should I pour it into a decanter, let it sit for 2 hours and then pour it back into the bottle?

Thanks

just had this 12 days ago but it was from 750ml. very nice bottle but was drinking better towards the end of 3 hours meal.
if its a mag.... depends on how many people and how long the dinner is going to be? if the meal is going to be over 3 hours with few people, i would decant it for maybe hour ahead of time and ask for decanter at the restaurant and watch the bottle change before your eyes but...if you have bunch of people and normal diner (2 hours or less) i would decant it for 2+ hours before taking to dinner since it would most likely your group will empty out the mag within hour.

I think the character of this vintage is beginning to change. I have had 2 within the past month and I believe that some of its fruit is muting and is being replaced by a more substantial almost French terroir feel to it. My earlier bottles seemed sharper and better defined. That being said, I think a magnum will have preserved much of its earlier characteristics. I definitely do not believe this wine is going dumb. It is still a joy. I personally do not decant Insignias preferring them to evolve more in my glass and in half emptied bottles.

Dick

I tasted the '97 two weeks ago and think 2 hrs to decant would be fine. Unlike rbond, I thought it was still a fruit foward wine (about like what the '02 will be like in 8 yrs.)and could still be cellared for a few more years. The '94 is pouring exactly how rbond is describing however.