Golden. Great Californian oaky nose. Crystallized ginger, vanilla, creme brulee. Broad, dense and very complex with an unusually (for such a big wine) terrior driven presence. Very long finish with a zing of alcohol at the end.

Youthfully purple. Graphite, mint, soy and hoisin aromas. Excellent mellow energy on the soft palate. Clear finish. Not a blockbuster, but classic claret. This is in a really great place right now.

This was dark and all about simple but very nice fruit and oak. Tasty but to me, not so special at the price. Lost against some more interesting, very new world bottles (my favorite of which was the '07 Ream Becksffer Dr Crane)

At the risk of never being invited back to Jason's (which I hope does not happen!), I didn't like this wine. It is over extracted, almost port-like in its heavy prune, super-ripe fruit, and high alcohol. Tasted from screw cap and cork, with the screw cap tasting more clean, to me.

My favorite of the new world cabs. Pure, nice, old-vine complexity, lots of depth, but mostly closed with bakers chocolate and a very long finish. At age 10 this, I'd guess, hasn't entered the prime drinking window. Wait 10+ more years. Note that I am starting to enjoy the complexity of older wines even more (not the case for most tasters).

Perfect cork. Mid shoulder fill. Some outside bricking. Interesting aromas of cob webs, metals, and cedar. Palate is crazy complex. Almost no fruit, but a beef broth-like consistency with eucalyptus, aluminum, tin, and fish sauce. Finish was 30 seconds with nice energy. Many of the room's comments weren't resonating with me (thin, acidic, and glad to try, but wouldn't every buy), but I enjoyed it.

Still quite youthfully dark. Incredible American Syrah aromas, with campfire, BBQ chared beef, anise and plum. Huge palate with baker's chocolate, dense red and black fruits, and a very long finish. Some heat at the end but it resonates.