This is a much lighter colored wine than only a few months ago having dropped much of it's solids leaving a pale onion skin colored wine that did rosy up a bit with air. The nose is sweaty sock at first with notes of sweet anise, tar, soy, cocoa, and earth adding some complexity. In the mouth the attack is round and soft but the palate is dominated by spiky acidity, the core of earthy fruit still has an echo or two of berries but the burning acidity quickly clears them away, the finish is decidedly earthy closer to wheat beer and apple cider than wine. An intellectual exercize.

Much fresher than the 1989 with earthy notes recalling fresh mushrooms, asian spice notes, tobacco, nuances of fine tea and very floral herbs de provence in the mouth this too is drying and tannic lacking some of the softness of the 89 but making up for it with a better sense of freshness and a nice subtle astingency that keeps the wine interesting texturally. Also seemingly at peak

Very animale on the nose, wet animal with shavings of dark chocolate, roasted strawberry, old wood soft entry then turns drying, still aggressively tannic, nice mint tinged roasted orange on the palate surrounded by earthy and leathery notes, a bit tough and rustic showing better with food. This would appear to be at peak.

The nose here offers more interest with its clear notes of herbs and spices over a smoky base, there is quite the array of torrefaction notes, roast coffee, toast, cigar ash, leather, and a nice mineral sense lacking in the younger wines. Very lithe in comparison with the ripest tannins by far, great mouthfeel with lots of earthy, savory notes being dominated by tobacco and roast herb notes, the finish is quite short though. Again a wine seemingly at peak with some very good qualities yet neither complete nor particularly compelling.

This opens with a bit of must, dirty and a bit sour even some salinity here, seemingly mourvedre dominated with notable roasted cherry fruit, sweet and round in the mouth but retaining astringency, which is not necessarily a bad thing here, sweet and savory with lots of coffee tones to the sense of roasted red fruit on the palate offering up a layered yet feathering mouthfeel which leads to a finish that is a touch short. Again this is seemingly at peak which is a bit surprising, forgetting for the moment that this was $8 back in the day and probably not intended to age this long, this small horizontal must illustrate something, thinking there was a change in style over the course of time, the tannins here are sturdy and the wines were well endowed enough to last and improve for this long but the more recent versions seem to lack a bbit of depth, havingly seemingly traded it in for a little less rusticity. Oh well I have no more as far as I know. Glad I saved these though.

While label Central Coast Zin this was in fact a 69%Santa Clara Zin/ 31% Monterey Petit Sirah blend that clocked in with a whopping 13.2% abv. Lightish color but really beautiful and vibrant with great gradation and a rosy core. Roasted apples first on the nose with intense anise, limestone, mossy green notes, moist earth, something slightly herbal and finally a bit of dark, peppery,plummy fruit. The entry is soft and very lush with vibrant acidity, just lovely with a purity and focus that one rarely finds with zin, very berried fruit on the midpalate with a citrus edge finishing a touch short. Still brawny but in no way does this make me think of California, the superb acidity, seamless mouthfeel, lengthening finish with it's notes of golden raspberries and an faint edge of diaper. I don't know what I would have called this blind but this wine has no right being this good. Brilliant and better than the 77 Roudon Smith Cab from last year. I only wish I had another bottle.

This also had fantastic color with great depth and a lively red/garnet core - what a seductive nose with roasted yellow fruits, caramel, spicy clay notes, red licorice candy, red raspberry, and a hint of roast meat offer up a particularly complex array in the mouth this is vibrant and juicy with intense green herb notes over structured, vibrant fruit that features notes of roasted ranier cherries, red twizzler, and red raspberry all leading to a delicate finish which is showing the first signs cracking up with it's bare peak at the remaining acidity and slightly coarse tannins. A very complete package none-the-less and an excellent aged Brunello.

very earthy nose, slightly volatile with notes of slightly cooked fruit and lots of white mushroom and leather - sweetly fruited with lots of furry tannins remaining, quite tannic in fact and out of balance for the remaining fruit which is particularly meaty and bloody supported by refreshing acidity. Not up to snuff and a far step below the 1990. Bottle looked to be in good shape but this has been better.

very bright nose with floral and herb notes dominating the early going, a bit of varnish but lovely spicy salami notes over red cherried fruit - soft in the mouth and finally showing a nice resolved mouthfeel as this was a bit stern and unfriendly for quite some years. Airy in the mouth with vividly bright cherry fruit leading to a long finish, really showing a slick, layered mouthfeel with great purity but lacking a bit of complexity. Great cherry fruit.

A touch maderized at first, very violetty and high toned with contrasting strong notes of oyster shells and caramelly oak notes. Quite soft and well integrated in the mouth with a lovely mouthfeel but the flavors are delicate and on the earthy side, a touch astringent with lots of furry tannins right up the gumline, chewy with a bit of a roasted edge to the plummy fruit. A bit pedestrian.

The nose was a bit reticent at first with a light note of oak over cherries in alcohol, strong licorice and spice over lovely notes of slate and asphalt. Mouthfilling with great acidity and almost resolved tannins, a great depth of black fruits, still a tinge of oak through the mid-palate and a bit tough as it airs but with refreshing minerality on the end of the palate and leading into the finish. Showing less evolved than the last bottle and less satisfying. The direct and almost piercing acidity really adds much needed lift and vibrancy to compensate for a slight heaviness imparted by the remaining oak notes. This is still young though and if the last, more advanced, bottle is any indication this will continue to improve.

Lovely ripe nettle notes at first on the nose, then tarry with nuances of cocoa and caraway, slight VA, sandy and cigar ashy mineral notes. Big and round entry with slightly soft acidity, chewy if a touch simple and quite drying and astringent without adequate buffering material. Nicely clean and focused flavors with dark, roasted strawberry toned fruit and a bit spicy notes recalling the nose but ultimately a bit too simple to be outstanding.

Wickedly herb dominated nose tonight but with great mulberry and limestones notes , captivating hints of smoke and earth. Lush cherry fruit in the mouth with strong notes of menthol and limestone, high toned, acidity a touch lower than ideal but still vibrant, lovely insinuating black spicy, heady stuff, very powerful and dark tonight with almost bitter notes of licorice root backed by great sweetness of red fruit offering a compelling contrast, finish is quite long but marred slightly by the alcohol, there is a slight edge of over-ripeness which impacts the midpalate but doesn't particularly detract from the whole. This will benefit from additional cellaring, say 3-5 years before trying again.

Whoa, this explodes from the bottle the moment i open it with intense bacon, roast meats and black pepper. We get to this at the end of dinner, served just before the cheese course and by the time the nose has added notes of granite, oolong tea, nilla wafer, ash, dill, and smoked meats. The intensity and purity as well as the complexity in the mouth are fantastic with rich, smoky fruits in classic medium bodied mouthfeel that cannot restrain the flavors, vibrant acidity yet not out of balance coupled with lovely gentle tanins, juicy black raspberry fruit turning a bit more blackberry with time and conveying a sense of bloody, iron richness, the finish is long and retains the fruit of the midpalate with spicy and roasted herbal notes. Compelling stuff and in the context of Chave a steal. For me at least the acidity while high is in balance and the wine closing in on peak drinking. Bravo.

Tons of cocoa and roasted lingonberry on the nose and in the mouth with a soft, moderately sweet entry that was a bit simple with rounded edges and a bit of red licorice tone to the fruit. Nothing special but certainly mature and a good drink.