Neutral nose, minerals on nose, lemon, white stone fruit; palate is medium body, medium to medium-plus acid, limited flavors; short finish. Uninspiring but drinkable. 80

Tasted blind. Light yellow-golden color; nose is moderately aromatic, slight oak, slight butter, slight underripe white fruit; palate is medium to full bodied, medium-plus acid, slight tart citrus peel, slight underripe white stone fruit; medium length finish. Would guess this is chardonnay from an old world cool climate, likely recent vintage (within last few years), likely near burgundy but from an outlying region. 83-84

Tasted blind. Lemon-yellow color; nose is aromatic, sweet white fruit, almost sugared; palate is medium bodied, slight RS but mostly dry, ripe peach and pear fruit, medium to medium-plus acidity, 12-12.5% alcohol; finish is medium length. A bit too much body and low acid for Riesling, so this pushes me more towards a high quality Muscat, possibly Alsatian. Enjoyable. 87-88

Deep ruby without bricking; moderately aromatic with ripe black fruit, slight smoke; palate is full bodied, smooth ripe blackberry and jammy fruit, almost chocolately on the palate, tannins are moderate but smooth and well integrated, alcohol is medium 14%?, medium-plus acid, persistent through the midpalate; finish is medium-long. Thinking Syrah, less likely Merlot given smoothness of the tannins and the fruit spectrum, less likely Grenache blend given body, alcohol, and tannins. Difficult to tell where it’s from, seems high quality but doesn’t have the complexity or greenness of the old world nor the black pepper quality, possibly Australian Shiraz. On reveal was Amarone, 15.5% alcohol, drinks really easily. 90-91

Deep ruby with minimal bricking; nose is moderately aromatic with red cherry, menthol; palate is medium bodied, rough medium-plus tannin, medium-plus acid, high alcohol at 14.5%; finish is medium length. This seems young, needs time to integrate, not that complex or deep at the moment in its fruit character. Seems like an Italian, most likely Sangiovese, seems thinner than most Brunello so possibly a Chianti Classico. 80-84

Ruby-garnet with some bricking; aromatic nose with red cherries, earthy, mulch, slight green bell pepper; palate is full bodied, blackberry, medium integrated tannins, medium acid; medium length finish. This seems like an aged (>10 year old) cabernet franc or bordeaux blend. Possibly a bottle from the 80s or early 90s, Chinon or other Loire valley Cabernet franc? Could also be Bordeaux but has the ripeness of the right bank but the cabernet franc and green complexity of the left bank. Excellent quality overall and drinking well. On reveal this was an 08 left bank bordeaux. It had been Coravined 8 months prior, which would explain the significant advancement in age, though it was still very enjoyable. May not be a representative note, but 91 today.

Coravin 2/14/16: Medium clear ruby; nose is moderately aromatic, blackberry, smoke; palate is medium bodied, medium-plus tannin, black fruit, medium-plus alcohol (14.6%), fruit fades substantially through the midpalate; finish is short-medium. Drinkable, but nothing that stands out for me. 87-88