12/9/2023 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

Still delightful at nearly age 32, the Elderton Command Shiraz begins with a big, new oak influenced bouquet of butterscotch and vanilla with hints of plums, then transitions to a palate of velvety, caressing black fruits, sweet new oak, cascading minerality, and a long, smooth finish with touches of lingering acidity. This is truly a spectacular New World wine.

10/25/2022 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

In a double blinded tasting of a dozen top end French and Californian “Rhône blends” from 1990 to 1998, the Geyserville came out on top. Despite the strong competition (eg., Beaucastel, Vieux Telegraphe) the Ridge rose to the top due to complexity, seamlessness, and shear drinkability. Yes, these were all quite different wines, but the age and “commonality of purpose” made for a delightful comparison.

2/21/2022 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

Still a delight, smoothly cruising a long plateau of drinkability, the 1987 Mondavi Reserve remains an alluring, full bodied, complex red. The palate exhibits a brooding quality with significant depth to the sweet black fruits, earth, tobacco and leather. The finish is long and smooth with a few spicy nuances. Although the 1991 Reserve presents a bit more clarity and complexity, the 1987 is a star in its own right.

2/21/2022 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

What a nice surprise at age 45! Yes, some of the wine’s prior vibrancy and tension has departed, and the bouquet is muted, but the palate remains vital, smooth and liqueur-like, with sweet black fruits, cedar, spice, and leather. It will likely make it to 50, but it seems unlikely to benefit from 5 more years in the cellar.

2/21/2022 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

February 21, 2022 - In a tasting of mid-level 1991 Cab-based California wines this red was delightful, placing third. With a sweet bouquet of black fruits, cedar and vanilla, followed by a full bodied palate of cherry fruits, smoky oak, and earthy hints, this wine reveals the continued uniqueness of northern California’s 1991 vintage.

2/21/2022 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

February 21, 2022 - In a tasting of mid-level 1991 Cab-based California wines this red was delightful, taking first place. With a sweet bouquet of black fruits, spice, cedar and vanilla, followed by a full bodied palate of cherry fruits, smoky oak, a coffee note, and earthy hints, this wine reveals the continued uniqueness of northern California’s 1991 vintage.

2/21/2022 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

In a tasting of mid-level 1991 Cab-based California wines this red was delightful, placing second. With a big, sweet bouquet of black fruits, vanilla, and spice, followed by a smooth, seamless, full bodied palate of pit fruits (black cherry & plum), cedar, smoky oak, and earthy hints, this wine reveals the continued uniqueness of Napa’s 1991 vintage.

2/20/2022 - SMWSLT wrote:

In a tasting of 1991 Napa and Sonoma cabs, with one “ringer” thrown in, this wine was delightful: A big bouquet of cherries, tobacco, and earth followed by a full palate of sweet fruits, leather, tobacco, smoky oak notes, & perfect balance. Interestingly, this wine could not be distinguished from the ringer: An equally delightful 1989 Chateau Beychevelle.

11/24/2021 - SMWSLT wrote:

A prominent bouquet of black cherry, licorice, and tar transition to a full bodied palate of sweet black fruits, tar, minerals, and a warm, silky, tart acidity. This delightful 35 year old wine is a testament the negroamaro grape and the Salice Salentino region.

11/16/2020 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

A medium bodied masterpiece, this was a singular and memorable wine tonight. Blackberries, minerals, smoke, and spice, each cascading across the palate then merging into a long, silky, caressing finish. This wine has been at a plateau for nearly a decade. Surely it will lose its fruit at some point; but for now I revel in an "Old World" wine that could only have come from Cornas.

11/8/2020 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

Here we are tonight, drinking a 30 year old wine that has no right to be delicious yet continues to be, defying the odds of age. That being said, this bottle has lost a couple points in the last two years, due to a tad less fruit and a bit more obvious acidity. One new development worth noting today is a pleasing minty, eucalyptus aspect cascading across the palate. This wine remains an Alexander Valley (Sonoma County) legend, joining the 1974 Souverain.

7/13/2019 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

Tasted at a “Bordeaux versus Napa” dinner event, the Montelena was first rate and quite a surprise, holding it’s own against a variety of 1982, 1986, & 1989 Bordeaux. The Montelena was full bodied, powerful, complex, and still filled with plentiful black fruits. It was almost a hybrid of an aged Bordeaux from a ripe year and a rich, velvety Napa Cab. Many guessed it to be a 1982 Bordeaux.

1/6/2019 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

The harmony in this wine, at age 21, grabs you like a tight jazz quartet at bar time: Seamless, resonant, and impressively distinct. I recently had the 1990 Vieux Telegraphe, and this wine strikes similar chords (albeit with less complexity): sweet black fruits, garrigue, scorched earth, and a long lingering finish of spice, stony minerality, and balanced southern Rhône fruit. I suspect it will not decay in the near term, but even if well cellared it should be drunk in the next 3-5 years.

11/18/2018 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

It is hard to imagine a 40 year old Oregon Pinot noir could have survived the ravages of time, much less thrived; but here we are, tasting a surprisingly pleasing and complete Pinot. Mixed in a flight of a dozen old Pinots from Oregon, Burgundy, California and New Zealand, the Amity distinguished itself with balance, complexity, cascading black fruits and a certain indescribable elegance.

Its all there: concentration, complexity, balance, and aged harmony. Was it better ten years ago.....or 20? I do not know. Will it be better in ten years.....or 20? I doubt it. But suffice it to say, tonight it was a joy.

9/26/2018 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

I continue to marvel at the quality and longevity of this wine. Two cases purchased new in 1992 (at a Trader Joe’s in San Diego for $7.99 a bottle) have been one fine investment. Tonight this wine is 80% Left Bank Bordeaux, full of delightful leather, tobacco, and oak notes, with plentiful sweet, forward fruit to betray its New World provenance. I can’t imagine it getting any better, but just the same, I can’t picture it’s decay any time soon. It seems immortal.

6/21/2018 - SMWSLT Likes this wine:

I had this wine last night alongside Mondavi’s 1987 regular bottling. The latter was akin to a delightful left bank Bordeaux. The 1987 reserve was a lush, complex, velvety wonder, including the best of Bordeaux and Napa.

For my palate the 1991 reserve cab remains the benchmark for Mondavi——truly a 97 point wine; but this 1987 is very close in quality, perhaps 95 points.