Once again, we invited a number of our friends over to our house to
drink a number of our wines under the pretext of a "cellar clearance."
Whereas in years gone by this was indeed a way to get rid of wines that
no longer matched our tastes, these days we have few of those wines
left. However, there's always a reason to have a good party in
mid-Winter, so we invited 20 of our closest friends over, inviting them
to bring an appetizer to share. The wines we opened we

Bordeaux/CalCab flight:

1994 Chteau Pontet-Canet (Pauillac) (3/2/2014)

A classic Pauillac nose: herbal, tea leaf and pencil lead. The wine
itself was medium bodied, slightly tannic still with a nicely acidic
backbone. Very good now, it'll probably continue to develop for a few
more years before reaching its plateau.

1995 Chteau Montrose (St. Estèphe) (3/2/2014)

Initially, I was concerned that this bottle might have been slightly
corked, but as it continued to open my fears were assuaged. A lovely,
masculine nose of licorice and cassis was accompanied on the palate by a
highly structured (but smooth) mouthfeel and some herbaceous qualities
overlaying the dark fruit.

1999 Paoletti Non Plus Ultra (Napa) (3/2/2014)

A classic nose of California Cabernet: vivid cassis fruit and a hint of
capsicum to add complexity. The wine had great structure, with modest
tannins remaining and fine acidity. A real pleasure to drink.

Cal vs. Rhone:

2000 Chteau de Beaucastel Chteauneuf-du-Pape (3/2/2014)

Surprisingly forward for this winery, the 2000 is drinking quite well
now, though still quite primary. Drunk in comparison to the 2000 Tablas
Creek Esprit de Beaucastel, I thought that the similarities were
striking: dark cherry fruit in the nose, with a slightly meaty side
note. Good acidity and medium body with smooth tannins made this very
drinkable at this stage, but by no means profound or complex.

2000 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel (Paso Robles) (3/2/2014)

Drunk alongside the 2000 Beaucastel, it showed bright cherry fruit in
the nose and had a smooth, silky mouthfeel with plenty of forward,
cherryish fruit. Very nice now, it showed no signs of fading and was
surprisingly similar to the 2000 Beaucastel at this stage of its
development.

New World Pinot Noir:

2005 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard (Willamette Valley)
(3/2/2014)

Quite lovely and understated. Bright, red cherry fruit is overlaid with
some smokiness. Fairly dense for a St. Innocent Pinot, it maintained
balance and avoided any sense of overextraction. Nicely balanced acidity.

2006 Dierberg Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley (3/2/2014)

Good varietal character with a clear California emphasis on fruit.
Medium body and moderate acidity. Fairly simple, but an honest
expression of PN.

2008 Rippon Pinot Noir Mature Vine (Central Otago, New Zealand) (3/2/2014)

An interesting lactic note in the nose was followed by a nose of brambly
black cherry fruit. Very good acidity and a few gritty tannins suggest
that this wine has years yet to go.

Syrahs from around the world:

2006 Finca Sandoval Manchuela (Spain) (3/2/2014)

Identifiably Syrah in the nose, with a sense of jammy blueberries. On
the palate, it had plenty of acidity to counterbalance the very forward
fruitiness of the wine. Not in any sense heavy, this was a very honest
rendition of the grape(s).

2007 Beckmen Vineyards Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard (Santa Ynez
Valley) (3/2/2014)

Brambly blueberry fruit in the nose and a very smooth, slightly creamy
feel to the wine. Not a true "blueberry milkshake" rendition of Syrah,
but closer to it than a STGT enthusiast such as myself prefers.

2007 Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème Vieille Serine Domaine de
Pergaud (3/2/2014)

Yes, this was infanticide, and even after several hours of airing the
wine was still quite tight. The remainder was recorked and revisited
three days later. At that time, it was totally open, with a lush sense
of juicy fruit and a hint of licorice. The palate had also smoothed
out. This wine definitely needs quite a few more years to show its best.


Mark Lipton