First wine of the Primal Cabernet Battle, paired with chicken liver mousse with grilled gluten free bread, red onion jam, and house made red wine pickles.

Nice intermingling of cassis, anise, raisins, and cedar along with hints of prune and cigar tobacco in the background, in a way that only an aged cab can blend all of these together on the nose.

The palate shows all of the above along with hints of cola, spicy sarsaparilla, black pepper and bell pepper. Ridiculous development on the nose and palate, I found myself jotting down new notes after every sip I took as something else new would capture my senses. Enough acidity left and oak treatment to give it good structure and impressive length at this point, but the best thing about this wine is the elegant and ethereal way in which all components have integrated in the 17 years since it was vinified. The transition across the palate was seamless and left no taste bud alone on its travels. Truly a wondrous experience!

My wine of the night, A+ effort from Ridge. Ended up buying a bottle from the somm for a flat $100 out the door.

Second wine of the Primal Cabernet Battle, paired with grilled NC duck breast, baby bok choy, and a pomegranate reduction.

Deep, rich cassis cordial with plums and anise with hints of blueberry, plum skin, and oak vanilla. Lots of tannic bite and structure but the acid hasn't quite kept up. More primary than the 98 Ridge and I didn't note much, if any, tertiary bouquet. Its aged but not "classic aged Cali Cab".

Overall it has held up over time but hasn't really developed; a B+ evaluation isn't unreasonable.

Third wine of the Primal Cabernet Battle, paired with molasses-black pepper glazed short rib carnitas topped with a cabbage slaw and wrapped in a corn tortilla.

Even though the wines had been decanted for at least 5 hours, that wasn't enough for this 2000. By the end of the dinner, not to mention some olympic level glass swirling, the nose had finally opened up with primary notes of red currant, cassis, and oak-anise but that was it. Forget about the palate, still way too tannic, even with the carnitas. Promise and potential? Sure, but we aren't there yet.

B- eval due to the tannic domination but that merely reflects how this wine is drinking now. I caveat that I don not evaluate on perceived potential and look forward to the opportunity to revisit at least 5 more years in the future.

Fourth wine of the Primal Cabernet Battle, paired with braised lamb, red wine jus, brunoise veggies and creamy polenta.

Some blue / black fruits on the nose and palate but the dry, dusty tannins shut everything down. Multiple hours in the decanter, additional time in the glass with vigorous swirling, and the addition of lamb could not coax anything else out of the wine. Consensus at the table- waaaay to early to have opened these bottles. This borderlines on being undrinkable now; B- overall, maybe another 5 years will help other aspects of the wine develop.

Surprise wine of the Primal Cabernet Battle, supplied by the somm at the end since there was no dessert course. Served from a 750 mL.

Light apricot in color. Honey and orange-citrus dominant with notes of candied orange peel, nectar, orange marmalade, apricot syrup, and some white peach. Mostly balanced but the sugar was noticeable; not cloying, but not as well integrated as it could have been. Acidity wasn't as "bright" due to the vintage and not much complexity considering its age. Solid representation of the vintage, but there are better 2003's out there (like the 2003 Château Suduiraut IMO).

Overall: B.