1996 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa) What a lovely wine! You don't find many Napa cabs that come in at 12.8%abv. The grapes are just perfectly ripe here with flavors of dark fruits and dried herbs. There is a fine blanket of dusty tannins with a bit of lift in the finish. Very delicate and truly beautiful.
2005 Schloss Wallhausen Riesling Spätlese (Nahe) The sugar is still pretty crunchy and flavors primary on this one but there is decent balance and lots of fruit. The fruit shows signs of both white fruits and tropical notes. Plenty of acidity and structure for this bottle to age well.
2005 Domaine d'Orfeuilles Vouvray Les Coudraies (Loire) This wine is much more round and inviting than the Wallhausen. Lots of lemon pudding yumminess, some flinty minerality, and a bit of red grapefruit citrus acidity peeking through the baby fat sweetness. This should age pretty well too.
2004 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard (Willamette Valley) This wine is starting to show some development and doesn't really seem to be shutting down at all. Showing lots of dark cherry fruit, some earthiness, fine grit tannins, and substantial structure. Nice balance yet fairly plush.
2000 Domaine Philippe Charlopin-Parizot Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Vieilles Vignes (Burgundy) This is the type of wine you can inhale all day. Cherry, forest floor, dried mushrooms, earth. Then there is this super elegant mouthfeel, inviting structure, nice balance of fruit, acid, and minerality, with a hint of tar in the finish. Very nice.