Weekend Wines

A nice set of some really nice stuff... The 1997 Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvingon from 3-Liter was very good. As a good number of the 97s are continuing to dye off, this wine is till drinking so well. Cedary black currants... The ZD Abacus is a great wine... a blend of every vintage made of ZD Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Its not a blockbuster wine, but rather a soft and silky Cabernet that shows grace and beauty. Expensive? Sure... but it's really good. The 1952 Chateau Margaux goes to show you what fill level really means to great wine... The fill was the lowest of 10 bottles we've opened and this was certainly the 2nd or 3rd best bottle of this. Amazing how that works... All cedary flowers... it's like walking into a great cigar store. The 2004 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Berg, Wachau, Austria is so pretty... a petroly, apple and pear driven youngster. Already showing that beautiful oiliness that defines riesling, this wine has a long way to develop, but was a joy to drink on its own. My favorite wine of the weekend though was the 2004 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Botella Vineyard, Santa Barbara... wow. This is about as great as SB Pinot gets... smokey rhubarb and strawberries with a sweet, earthy finish. Powerful but elegant... a beauty!