A small cellar raid last night and friends chose the following wines. My only rules to the cellar raids are nothing pre-1990 and there must be at least two of the wines in the rack. Anything in the "orphan bin" is fair game.
2005 Peter Michael "Belle Cote" Chardonnay-pale gold in the glass. Firm acidic nose with strong fresh lemon juice notes and unmistakable mineral aromas. Medium bodied in the glass with moth coating glycerine in abundance. Big apricot, peach and lemon notes on the palate with chalk like mineral on the finish. This is chardonnay on steroids but still very well balanced and burgundian in nature with a firm vibrant acidity. "A-"1995 Raveneau Chablis "Valmur"- The nose on this wine cold have easily passed for a riesling from Alsace with a fair amount of petrol/diesel aromas and a slightly floral note. Really smooth on the palate with the initial impression of creamy lemon curd and butter then a blast of bracing lemon juice and wet stones. Very interesting wine with a personality that changed with every sip. "A-"
1995 Le Bon Pasteur-from magnum. The wine was a bit more aged than I would have expected but it had a good cork and I bought a few mags on release and it's been well cellared. A bit brickish and cloudy at first and pure Bordeaux on the nose intially with plenty of cedar and leather notes. The palate was a bit tight. After for an hour the wine transformed into a bright nose of fresh red berries and plum a hint of smoke and the ever present cigar box and graphite. Medium bodied on the palate there was still plenty of sweet red and black currant flavors, a bit of vanilla and a spicy black cherry flavor at the finish. Well resolved tannins made it velvet on the tongue. "A-"1991 Cafaro Napa Cabernet Sauvignon- I bought a case of this and a case of merlot at the winery while under the influence. The Merlot fell apart years ago and I haven't had a bottle of the Cab in years so I figured this would be DOA. I was wrong. The wine was still quite deep purple and thenose had plenty of cassis and blackberry with a touch of dusty cedar. Smooth on the palate with very ripe black fruit flavors and a touch of black coffee. "B"