I think this might have been my first ever Merlot Rose but it does raise the question on why more ppl don't do it. Wine is really nice. Very bright. Get lots of strawberry. On a hot summer afternoon it's just about perfect and certainly a nice way to ease into an afternoon of wonderful wine and wonderful ppl.

So I think I have to eat my words on not liking Napa Chardonnay, because in a blind tasting I really did enjoy this one. It's very light and crisp. Good acidity. Almost got some pear flavor to it. Hints of stone. Would not have expected it to be a Chardonnay - suspect it was done in stainless steel of some sort. Overall it scored a 2.85 (avg score divided by price) and was the winner of our QPR tasting (provided by the hosts so they passed on the distinction).

One of my favorites of the blind QPR tasting this suffered a bit because of its higher price tag and also because one person did not find it to be as agreeable. I liked it. Came across as almost a touch sweet although I suspect that was more white fruits and flowers as it was definitely a dry wine. Very easy to drink and great for a hot summer day.

Riesling was my foray into white wines and they will always have a special place. Love the strong acidity that holds them together and the neverending shift in flavors. This was straight up sweet and that was also quite enjoyable as an afternoon sipper. Winner of our QPR white wine tasting.

Poured much deeper almost orange color than normal. This wine was clearly a bit oxidized. Created quite a distribution of opinions - from someone scoring it a 99 to someone scoring it a 65 in our QPR blind white tasting. I liked it. Coming on the heels of a JJ Prum riesling it was less accessible, but just a bit deeper.

This was a funny wine for a QPR blind white wine tasting. It seems that I am still not really taken with the white burgundy. It was a nice version of it, but I think maybe just a bit heavier and the oak a bit more obvious. I don't think I do it justice though as it was well enjoyed by much of the table.

This really came across as an Alsatian Riesling so was surprising to hear it was really from Washington. It's very light, get some rock candy, stone. It's a refreshing wine.

Poured from a magnum. Interesting - usually I think of Cristal as being a bit more in the light vein with floral and fruits. This was mostly toast although it worked quite well for it.

The beginning of just a crazy line-up of wines. This was very good. The nose is shockingly alluring although it felt like the palette didn't quite keep up to that level. Started a bit musty (as you might imagine from a 55 year old wine), but that blew off and then it was old cigarbox and leather. Enjoyable.

I think this might have been my WOTN which is saying something given the strong line-up. Very rich wine. Get some red fruit and black plum (amazing there's still fruit in a 50 year old wine) in addition to some of the tobacco and leather. Wrote excellent a few times in my notes. Very much enjoyed.

This wine in any other tasting could have been a contender for WOTN. Very silky. Similar Bordeaux flavors of cigar box and leather. Really beautiful, almost velvet wine.

My second interaction with Harlan. Coming off of a line-up of old Bordeaux the fruit jumped out much more quickly in this. It's also young (despite a multiple hour decant). Lots of black and blueberry. Softer wine. Would have liked to see it with another 10 years or maybe just another few hours of decant. I liked it though.

For some reason this was just really on for me that night and so ended up being my runner up to WOTN (behind a '66 Palmer). The fruit on this was just so entoxicating. Very bright and red and perhaps after the heavier bodied wines this provided a bit of a contrast with the lighter Grenache. If this isn't a good year would love to see what a good year really tastes like. As it is, glad we have another bottle to enjoy in the future. Had opened and decanted for prob 2-3 hours.

Bright cherries still poking through, could get some age on it and also some of the oak. It's nice. Has a deeper flavor to it than I would have expected for a Pinot. Surrounded by some very big wines, but held its own.

I was really looking forward to trying this wine again. It was one of my favorites. Based on past experience though I should know better than to try to combine the old world and new world since the transition to whatever one is drinking second is always a bit tough. This came across as more sweet and vanilla based than I remembered. Still very enjoyable and a nice full mouthful. Excellent wine, but not the stand out for me in this line-up.

It's amazing how much of a calling card this wine has. It's one of the few that I think I might actually be able to pull out in a blind tasting. Very funky. Get the bandaids and the stinky feet and all of that. But there's a softness to it and with age it seems to be softening even more. Enjoyable.