Yahtzee!

Not a night for great wines (though a few went out, I didn't taste the 1997 Gaja Costa Russi again)... the 2000 Keenan Chardonnay was done... very bitter, not a nice bottle of wine. It's a shame this estate went where it did, but my goodness - these wines have come back since 2002. Try the '02 reds - spectacular stuff. Just down Spring Mountain Road from Pride... The 1996 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafite (rouge) was good - a beautiful Graves nose with cedar, crushed stone and black fruits. Unfortunately, the finish was a touch rough - a bit of underripe tannins. The 2005 Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is ripe, jammy and powerful. Not quite as balanced as the 2004 which was superb, this wine needs a good year for things to start to come together. The 2003 Patz & Hall "Hyde Vineyard" Chardonnay (magnum) displayed lots of butterscotch, peach, ripe apples and clove. The oak needs to integrate better as the finish was a bit dry with loads of oak spice. I think in a year or two this wine will eventually sort itself out and become fabulous. The 2000 Domaine Serene "Evenstad Reserve" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon (3-Litre) is fully mature and was beautiful... lots of black and red fruits, though much more earth-driven at this time - clove, black earth and cinnamon. Great stuff, especially out of the big bottle.