At dinner with friends last night.

1995 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay-Deep golden color. QUite fresh
lemon butter nose. Rich vanilla and lemon curd on the palate. No
sign of age or oxidation. Clean, lingering finish of stones and
minerals. This wine was made during the last few years of John
Kongsgaard's tenure at Newton and he used a lot of his fruit from "The
Judge" vineyard and it is a testement to his winemaking that it's
still fresh and vibrant . "A' on the Dale Scale

1996 Vogue Bonnes Mares.-Vogue's wines take years to evolve and I was
afraid that this one was still too young but I would put it at the
very beginning of it's drinking window. Dark red in the glass with a
fairly tight nose of sandalwood and earth. The wine was deep on the
palate with black cherry, red raspberry and lots of earthy mineral
notes. Every sip was a bit different thatn the one before and by the
end of the bottle the wine was smooth and elegant yet powerful and
full bodied. A very tasty Bonnes Mares. "A"

1979 La Fleur Pomerol-Very brickish color. Sharp, hightones nose with
cedary tobacco aromas. The wine hit the palate with a burst of
raspberry fruit and red currants then fell apart into what one taster
called "rusty nail" and he wasn't talking about Scotch and Drambuie!
The finish was just awful and made the wine undrinkable. Too far
gone. "D"