It amazes me how fast bottles in my cellar have become 10 and 20 years old! Some of those older bottles that I am anxious to sample are:
1.) Hargrave Vineyard (now Borghese for about the last 5 yrs) 1996 (a
great year on long island NY) Reserve Merlot and QED (it means
something impressive in Greek?) Cab Sauv Bottlings. They both came
in two different versions having been aged in either Alliers or
Wisconsin oak.
I am curious to see how they've aged and what the differences are
between the French and American oak.
2.) Some of the 1985 Cabernets that I purchased way back around 1987
as futures when '85 was being touted as the California vintage to end
all California vintages (ha! there have been dozens of these since from
all over the map, but I was young and impressionable!) Most of the
vintage charts I've seen still list these wines as TANIC!
So I am anxious to see how my 85's are in 2006...among others,
Carmenet, Laurel Glen, all the Phelps bottlings, & Diamond Creek
Volcanic Hill...will definitely be interesting. I should invite Robert
Parker! His unbridled enthusiasm for this "greatest California vintage"
convinced a young me to snap these up before it was too late! Hmmm
...sounds like 2005 Bordeaux, every year there's a new one!
3.) 1989 Kalin Cellars Livermore Valley Chardonay. This one has been
in the cellar for a bunch of years. I remember reading long ago that
Kalin produced a Burgundian Chardonay that was quite likely capable
of long and fruitful cellaring...we shall see.
Tom V
