This sparkler was perfectly in my wheel house - aged enough but plenty of crisp citrus and a hint of almond. Incredibly well balanced. Color was still a bight yellow and the fruit was alive and jumping.

This gets close to one of the best wines of the year for me. If I were to guess, it is in the 4th inning of its life. There was barely a hint of age when poured into the glass. Deep rich red color filled the bowl. Amazing crushed raspberry, some kirsch and an earthiness that permiated the mid-palate. The weight in the mouth was like a fly-weight boxer. Powerful but moved with elegance. A special treat from a generous friend. A tattoo on the brain kind of wine.

Close to a perfect glass of pinot noir in my mind. Definitely was a hair better than the DRC 87 G.E. that we had right before it. If the first was a fly weight boxer, this was a prima ballerina. An elixir of raspberry, some plum, truffles, loam and an exquisite minerality formed a slow moving experience that I wished had lasted the whole night, I had to restrain each sip because I ddn't want it to end. ONce again, the generosity of a friend made this once again an aha moment to always be remembered. Not surprising, the wine of the night.

This may have been the most unfair follow in the history of our wine group. We transitioned from two DRCs with the last being the 87 La Tache. This wine was slow oxed for about an hour. The fruit had a youthfulness on entry. Plums, black cherries, some wet stone and some mushroom. Great mouthfeel. I sensed that on the finish there was the beginnings of some prunes but just barely. I think that for my taste, this wine has just past peak and I would consume them over the next year. This wine must have been a powerhouse in its youth. It still packed a punch, but not a wheelhouse right. I just realized that we drank this in May 2011 and I scored it a 94 and it was the WOTN. Once again, it is all about the line-up.

This wine finished a line up of amazing young European beauties. It was served from magnum. I decanted it 4hours before we left for dinner. Re-bottled it and then decanted it at the hosts house where it sat in decanter another 2.5 hours. I have a tendency to like younger wines than the rest of the group and absolutely loved this young wine. I still have a 750 and a 3L and I will wait ten years before opening the next one. Great balance in this young puppy. Red cherry absolutely dominated. It had such pure ingredients though that I think age will continue to take the small amount of heat that some felt out of the equation later. What a bargain this mag was in Lou's early days.

This was the finisher of the evening. It was brought by Dan who received it as a gift from Lou K. The wine had a rich golden color that was very inviting. Flavors of roasted pineapple, orange peel and a delicious honeycomb were woven in a great medium bodied mouthfeel. The wine was young but extremely sophisticated. I would search this out.