Opened last night with a weekly wine group tasted single blind.
1995 Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet-\bought on release and stored at 55F. Still quite dark purple with a totally clear rim. Somewhat tight nose but typical Napa dusty nose a bit of spicy black pepper and cassis notes. The wine was medium bodied on the palate with black currant, cassis, a bit of espresso. Fairly well integreted tannins still have a bit of grip. The wine was missing a little in the mid palate but overall was tasty. I'd drink them if you have them over the next five years. A solid B on the Dale scale.1998 Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage-bought on release and stored at
55F. Very light red in the glass with a slight brickish tone. Atypical nose for Hermitage showing a "juicy fruit" chewing gum aroma, a bit of red berry a little white pepper and a bit of Brett. Somewhat light bodied on the palate with stawberry and red raspberry being dominant but certainly not even close to any La Chapelle I've ever tasted in the past. My impression is that this was a bad bottle as the tasters guessed that it was everything from Seghesio Zin to a Jadot Beaujolais Villages.