No pox here, thank goodness. This shows a particular ripe yellow fruit character with a little bit of funk that I'd chalk up to 2006 rot. The palate is quite fat, and the oak start poking out once this gets to be a touch warm. Moderate acids. This is a very quiet bottle of chardonnay, in that nothing in particular stands out at all. More importantly, drink up. This is only going to lose the last bits of acid it has, and ain't getting any better.

V.12, disgorged April 2014. Lovely nose that features yellow fruit. Very rounded texture, with lots of sweet fruit, but at the same time, amazing balance between the fruit and the chalk. I really liked the slight touch of sweetness in balance with the ripe acids.

Served blind. So much spice. Lychee, flowers, and honey. Called it as Gewurztraminer immediately. Based on the fruit on the palate, I guessed around 15 years old. Shows a bit of botrytis (or is it just the grape?). Very dry, and the acid doesn't show at all. The lack of oily texture had me thinking less that this was Alsatian, but what do I know? I drink Gewurztraminer about once a decade. A touch of heat on the back end. Not my style of wine, but really interesting to try nonetheless.

Served blind. Lots of stank in an old Burgundian way, along with a hit of rust on the palate had me thinking over-the-hill red Burgundy. High acidity but lots of fruit at the same time. Then, with air, this just fell completely apart.

Served blind. Super crunchy red fruit that had me thinking 2008 red Burgundy... but wait a minute, they only tasted like this on release. A bit of added fruit and juiciness made me think that this was new world. There's a slight touch of oak on the palate, but it's the lovely bright red fruit that stands out on this bottle. I had pegged this to be at most five years old, too...

Served blind. I unhesitatingly called this a Burgundy. Whoops. Well, following the train of thought, I did agree that this was slightly more rustic and the tannins a bit coarser, so Cote de Beaune, and given the lovely red fruit and fresh acids, I had it pegged as a 2001. This was screaming juicy cherries the whole time, too. What an amazing bottle...

Served blind. Easy call of Bordeaux blend at 15-20 years old. Thought it was old world though, based on the dustiness, as well as the more restrained winemaking style. A touch of cassis, and some prominent American oak, that suddenly flipped me to Rioja. Quite fruity and opulent and restrained at the same time, but it's the acid on this that made it such a convincingly good bottle.

Served blind. Bordeaux blend for sure, with a very heady eucalyptus note on the nose that brings me to Montelena or Heitz. Dark and ripe, and still showing quite primary, though a touch of softness made me think this was about 20-25 years old. An extremely silky and elegant bottle of wine, to be sure.

Quite high-toned on the nose, if a bit dark-fruited at the same time. Heaps of black fruit, but this never gets jammy, but there is admittedly a touch of heat on the palate. The stems seem to show quite prominently here as well. A few of my dinnermates guessed old world syrah (I imagine they were playing the player a little bit).