Gold. This has a big, fat nose of brioche toast, cream, honey, orange blossom, and the least note of wonderful oxidation. Lovely. The palate has lots of mousse still, but it is not at all aggressive. Really nicely balanced with the big sweet fruit of the vintage. Extremely long and detailed farewell. Terrific and good to go. Has a delicious note of '82 sweetness kissing goodbye. (From magnum)

Very pale straw. Primary yeast, bread, steel on nose. Palate is lean and distressingly light in body. Hard to read tonight; judgment reserved.

Straw. Textbook Bollinger nose: huge, yeasty, penetrating minerality, copper wires with some electricity in them. Palate round and rich, but with very fine acidity; primary; elegant mousse. Really well structured. Good length, though still an infant. Hold for 5+, or better 10+, because this has miles to run. Delicious wine.

Golden straw, with an edge of green yet. Huge, packed nose just spitting minerals; honey, oak, lilacs, and butter. What a great nose this has, but still very young. The palate, too, is young, textbook Leflaive, oaky but with wagons of fruit being carried. Magnificent texture, showing '02 ripeness but with perfect balancing acidity. Gloriously long, full of salty caramel and buttery richness. Splendid. Hold for 3-5 and then check back, as this is just getting started.

Gold. Big nose full of hazelnuts, flowers, and steel foundry minerals; lacquer; lovely oxidation. Palate is cool, resolved, refined and just exactly what you want; orange blossoms, cream, and hazelnut butter. Yum! Long. Drink now or hold unto eternity.

Gold. This was wickedly closed, so I left it sitting in the glass for ~3 hours. Now, at last, it has turned into Chablis on the nose (it was much closer to Puligny earlier). Quite tropical, but in great control, cream and grilled pineapple. The palate is mellow and resolved, extremely rich, and perhaps could use a little more acidity -- but Raveneau or not, it is a 23 y.o. 1990 from Les Clos! (And I don't require, or necessarily even want, that combination to be a model of precision) Good length. Ready plus, but not going anywhere quickly. Lots of butter (and more pineapple) on the finish, atypical but delicious.

Deep gold. The nose is chock-a-block with beeswax, honey, and buttermilk -- then, with a little swirling, lots of complicated, interwoven aromas reminding me of lemon oil, lacquer, nutmeg. This is quite bewitching on the nose. The palate is decidedly less appealing, tequila and heat; medium length with ponderous body. Awkward, but not terrible. This could be in one of those Hermitage Blanc sinkholes of timing or it could be somewhat compromised, hard to say, but regardless: judgment reserved.

Perfect blood red, opaque but with beautiful luminosity. On decanting, this was overwhelming with bacon on the nose, 2 hours later this character has fortunately moderated -- now, a little heat, cranberry, a surprising and very welcome streak of herbal greenness, cherry cough syrup; shows plenty of oak, but it definitely under control, nothing crazy. The palate is much the same, velvety, unsubtle, rich; cherry liqueur. Buckets of ripe fruit, but like the oak under control and not crazy ripe. Very fine tannins. Good+ length. A very nice wine that I like much more than I expected to. Delicious. Wait 10+ years and maybe some nuance will develop.

Shockingly deep blood, a touch of brick but I suspect that's just Nebbiolo, not age. A rather snarly nose, grippy, somewhat volatile, and very very very unready; meat and iron. The palate is a little more forgiving than the nose, but not much. Extremely tannic, a ferocious beast 20 years from ready. Savage and massive; colossally structured. Not a thing wrong here, just hold it. This would have benefited from 12-24 hours double-decanting. Spectacular like K2 -- discrete and deadly.

Opaque blood, very dark, some brick. Extremely deep nose, gutty, saddle leather, cherry liqueur, blood/iron, plum pits, fireplace embers, baking spices from Nonna's kitchen, fresh ground coffee -- it just goes on and on. The palate is approaching ready (especially in contrast to the '89), warm and rich, broadly textured, and rendered very long. Cherry compote and a hint of orange zest. I saved my glass for hours and it just kept improving. Obviously. Glorious balance. Now a suave, sagey green element is emerging. Totally effortless and f*cking brilliant. Just beginning to be ready and will improve for many, many more years. Fabulous!

Pretty! Pure ruby. Giant, perfumed nose of high-toned cherry, cranberry, rose, mint, and massive mineral stoniness. There is definitely a moderate, appropriate edge of volatility. Just a lovely, lively, fresh nose. The palate is very dry, brilliant with acidity, and perfectly evolved sweet cherry fruit. Tannic. Medium bodied with fine, pure length. Really extremely charming and right in my wheelhouse. Fabulous. Drink. Why oh why doesn't Gaja make wines like this any more...? (My wine)

Bricked blood, still deeply colored. An immense nose of seawater just floods from the glass; saline, tarry seadock, cedar, steak tartar (meat and salty capers), cocoa, and coffee. Cripes what a giant nose... The palate is completely resolved, plush and mellow; more cedar, milk chocolate, seaweed. Terrific length. Utterly and totally Rioja. Hard to judge because it is SO what it is, as expressive of its type and terroir as a wine can get (like Haut Brion is). How can you compare this to anything else...? By that analysis, this was nothing short of a great wine.

Perfect ruby. The nose is huge and hugely floral, perfumed, essential rosewater; altogether remarkable -- I didn't expect this kind of glory! The palate is tannic and taught, very much a virile '78; excellent sweetness, red plum skins, pie cherry. A fine texture. Medium bodied, with very nice length where it shows a bit simple, but very good nonetheless. Excellent wine! An immaculate wine on both nose and palate, skirting perfection for its type and absolutely a point in maturity. Again rosewater, perfumed glory. Jeebus this is good...