corked

Had chilled 2 - first bottle was corked. Drank with about half the crowd as an aperitif, great way to start easing into Summer.

Consistent with prior notes. Crisp acidity, dry, strawberry/bright red fruits and citrus on the mid palate. Good right from the bottle but does open more after about 20 minutes medium and creamy finish.

Second wine of the evening, consistent with prior notes : gold color. Toasted oak nose. Bright citrus flavors, pineapple, vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, baked apples. Mild acidity Medium finish and mouth feel. Crowd pleaser...

With Valerie and her girlfriends - great dinner and wine in our cellar....

First bottle of this from most recent allocation. I have been to Stagecoach Vineyard on a trip to Napa - really spectacular setting - and love Aaron Pott's wine. This is (I think) their first white. From what I know of Viognier its a finicky grape so it needs someone as good as Pott to make it this well

Classic Viognier, more like the French versions of this varietal that I have tasted than the Americans. Intoxicating, fragrant nose - white flowers, tropical fruits, apricots. Nice mouth feel, fuller bodied, not as sweet as the nose would suggest. Pears, peaches, violets, white flowers, a liqueur like quality on the finish. Crisp acidity.

Not for everyone, for this crew it was love it or not...more because I think the average palate is more geared to a different flavor profile for whites. I thought is was absolutely great - well made and unique wine - but you have to like the varietal.

This was after a Viognier, so it brought the group back to a more traditional flavor profile.First bottle from this lot, consistent with prior notes, but had the opportunity to drink this one over a more extended period. Gave it some time to develop in the glass, nose added complexity over about 20 minutes.

Bright gold color. Citrus, mango, pineapple, baked pears, quince, buttery oak, vanilla. Very big and very California. Well made, Joel Aiken wine, should have a decent drinking window.

First red of the evening, decanted for about 30 minutes prior to drinking. This is a big ripe Calif Pinot, letting it open and settle is recommended. These are the first of this lot opened, purchased at the vineyard a couple years ago.

Fragrant nose, cherry pie, blackberry, red fruits, plums. Palate repeats with raspberry, cherry and spices. Medium/long finish.

Very nice California Pinot, the style is to a riper expression of the grape, nothing subtle in this but still very enjoyable

Opened for a couple of our guests who were sensitive to younger/tannic cabs - this one has enough age to show great California fruit in a settled way. From the bottle, no decant, drank over an hour.

Great deep red color, slight bricking.Consistent with prior notes - nose - once it opens a bit - is dark fruits, spice, oak and earth. Black cherry, blackberry/cassis, herbs. Sweetened tannins, medium/long finish.

Elegant and well aged cab - from a lot I purchased directly from the Lail's with excellent provenance. Drinking great right now, with a decent arc in front of it.

Drank after the 97 Lail J Daniel. Short splash decant, does better with a couple hours to open but still great.

Rich blood-red color to the rim, no signs of aging. Nose was cherry, earth, cedar, chocolate. Palate was dark berries, plums, blueberry, cassis, cedar. Smooth mouth-feel, plush on mid palate. Tannins are integrated. Drinks well but will hold for a while.

Bordeaux/Calif wine done well - elegant and restrained. Higher Merlot content makes this lean towards Pomerol in style. Verite has been a consistently great wine, IMO. Bought these bottles at auction for ~$125, the price for recent vintages at release has gotten ahead of itself.

Pulled this one towards the end of the evening. Past bottles have been consistently good, this wine has aged well - splash decant for about 15-20 minutes...longer decant would benefit

Nose was dusted cherry, pencil/graphite, oak, earth. Consistent with prior notes black fruits, chocolate, cedar Sweet and integrated tannins. Smooth mouthfeel

Excellent wine, in a good place now and seems like it will last a while. It will continue to mellow but my guess is it wont add too much more complexity.