This wine shocked my system. The nose was hardly recognizable as a chardonnay to me. Maybe I don't drink enough California Chardonnay these days, but this was just outrageous. Candied nose of peaches, mangos, nectarines and marzipan. Would love trying a wine like this wine some age on it as it was just unapproachable at this point in its evolution.

Wow, what a champagne. Incredibly dense nose of caramel, brioche, cream, pear, and hazelnut. The palate was intensely acidic and fruited...so much baby fat here. Will need some time - say 3-5 years at least - to loosen up a bit. It was so energetic that the cork almost rocketed out of the bottle when Keith was opening it. Shows great promise.

A very strange Chablis. The nose was big and formless with pear, bruised apple and mineral tones. Some of us commented that we couldn't believe this was a Chablis as the mouthfeel was incredibly round and fruited and didn't have that blissful saline and stone quality that many Chablis have. With some air the flavors mellowed out a bit and became a bit more elegant so I'm just hoping I drank this during a weird stage of its life.

Pop and pour. Drank this alongside a couple other 2010 Chardonnays from around the world and it may have had the least personality of any of them. Nose was driven by oak, butter, lemon and pear. It palate seemed blocky with big oak, pear and apple tones. It was smokey too and didn't have a ton of minerality. Not my style of chardonnay which disappointed me as I've had good experiences with the Rivers-Marie chard in the past.

Deep and dense nose of crystalline peach and pear jump out of the glass. Deeper there's a nice lanolin and exotic truffle note that's really beautiful. Loved the depth and finesse of the palate with complex and layered peach, herb, and subtle spice notes.

Still drinking incredibly well. Palate is just packed with tropical fruit and acid. The mangos & peaches are on overload at first and then your palate is set on fire by the acid at the end. Incredible drinking experience - should be a VERY long distance runner.

This was a beautiful, albeit painfully young, bottle of Chave Hermitage Blanc. The palate was certainly reserved at this point and displayed soft melon, mineral and orchard fruit tones - but, my oh my, what beautifully pure fruit they have here. Usually young Hermitage blancs come across blocky, astringent and oaky, but this was just pure and transparent...a wonderfully complex wine already. Give this some time, say another 10 years or so and this should be a blockbuster.

This was popped and poured. Had a nice perfume of lilacs, dry aged beef, dark fruit and some earth. With time, the nose deepened a bit but this isn't a powerful Chave, but one with far more restraint and cooler fruit. Despite not having the power of other vintages, I really like this - a very Burgundian expression of Northern Rhone syrah.

I was very excited to try my first wine from Ray. This was pop and poured. Noticeable oak on the nose hid the fruit to some degree, but the sappiness of the vintage was able to peak through with some air. This also had nice spice notes on the nose with dark fruit, nice floral lift, and some underbrush. The palate was very silky featuring elegant red fruit, fresh herbs, and underbrush - always love it when wines combine the silky red fruit with earthy notes. Will be nice to try this with more time.

Pop and pour. Aromas of oak, spice, dark fruit blast out of the glass - the aromas were so dense that they seemed to have a physical prescence to them. The palate wasn't my cup of tea - just too alcoholic for me...hard to get back the stinging sensation in my throat and mouth. Others preferred this far more than I did, just a stylistic difference and it's just so young at this point.

Pop and pour. Enjoyed this a good deal. Definitely a powerful and ripe wine - two descriptors that I usually don't associate with wines I like - that displayed nice balance and energy on the palate. The palate was exotic with nice blackberry, plum, spice and beef notes. Big and powerful, yet even for this AFWE I can find things to like here.

An impressive showing. Nose had some tar, earth, herbs and dark fruit. The palate was the real treat though with airy dark fruit, pipe tobacco, herbs and crushed stones. One of the better wines of the night.

This was my first Dark Lord and it sure lived up to the hype. The nose was truly exotic with tones of spices, subtle orange marmalade, dark fruit and coffee tones. While I enjoy Stouts, it's not the style I usually gravitate towards, but this was a whole different story. Its silky palate was captivating and its flavors seamlessly woven together. Great dark fruit, nice spices and a nutty aspect that was compelling.

I've enjoyed 2005 Sauternes in general, so no surprise I was a fan of this one. Luscious nose of apricot, caramel and graham cracker. Palate was beautifully rich with nice balance and acidity...just a great way to end the night.