I am way, way behind on notes, so apologies that these are from early May... These were drunk with a small group of guys one evening over some cards and take-out food.
1975 Château Greysac Medoc. From magnum. This has a dull murky color to it and offers some light red fruit, a faint bit of earthy funk and some soft tobacco leaf in a light and easy-listening sort of package. In the mouth, it is mostly resolved, with a tangy acidity giving a little lift to the gentle dried red fruit flavors. The finish is crunchy and perhaps a bit dry, but the wine as a whole sips pretty easy and tends to grow on you over time, especially on the nose. It still gives some simple pleasures, but it is riding into the sunset.
1995 Château Canuet Margaux. There is a much more structured bouquet to this wine—with a considerably cooler and refined profile. It has a certain tight classicism to it, featuring aromas of menthol or mint, tobacco, red currant, plum, lead pencil, jalapeno and a hint of soy. In the mouth, it is again pretty rigid and hard-nosed—with a cool vein of chocolate and black cherry flavor riding atop a fairly smooth texture and supported by some chewy tannins. There are no flairs or bells that come with this, coming across as more foursquare than exciting. It shows more life than I expected, but I don’t think additional cellaring is going to do a whole lot for it, either.
1982 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley. For me, this was the clear and obvious WOTN. It is still totally youthful, yet it offers up copious amounts of complexity on the nose, where one finds all kinds of mince pie, soy, fruitcake and woodsy undergrowth aromas that still manage to feel tightly-coiled and capable of ever-greater development despite the obvious layering. It is similar on the palate, where it feels cool and savory, but also funky and almost mysterious in a way. It offers a great mouthfeel, complex personality, and outstanding balance—all the while pumping out cool and delicious flavors of black currant, mint, spice cake and a certain leafiness that really works. Tannins are still there, for sure, but they fit in without problem and the wine seems capable of many more years of life—easy.
1983 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley. This is a really interesting and thought-provoking wine, but hardly the qualitative equal of its older sibling. It has a fascinating and unrelenting aromatic streak of hickory-smoked bacon, maple candy, brown sugar and cream sherry running through more typical sheets of warm cherry and red currant fruit. In the mouth, it continues with that hickory smoked profile and a savory edge. It is exceedingly juicy and mouth-watering, with mild but persistent tannins. It has a nice structured feel and that juicy vein of acidity keeps it fresh and inviting. I certainly prefer the 1982, but this, too, would appear to have the makings for holding in the cellar.
1984 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Napa Valley. This one is taut and fairly youthful on the nose, where it offers up aromas of fine spices, dark red fruit, cedar, ash and menthol. In the mouth, it is finely red-fruited—with a lot of cedar, mint and tobacco notes. It has a nice acidic twang and a swath of fine tannins still hanging around. The fruit is decidedly warm, though not quite roasted, and it really needs that acidity to keep it from turning a bit treacly. It pulls it all off, though, and offers a good amount of drinking pleasure.
2006 Stags’ Leap Winery Petite Syrah Napa Valley. Served double-blind. This wine is very dark-colored and jumps up out of the glass with overt aromas of camphor, creamy blueberry, blackberry, chocolate, brown spice, earth and sweaty leather. It delivers a burst of rich yet high-toned berries in the mouth in a big-boned package supported by chalky tannins. I find myself liking it more than most Petite Sirahs, and find no real obvious alcoholic burn to it. There is still wood to be resolved, but I think this is pretty nice, at least to my taste for this variety.
-Michael