Starts off Just Like It Ended...

This year it's a game of "Who can beat #1"... Last night the 2001 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon was showing brilliant. Decanted a full 4 hours, this wine is immense. Will something beat it this year? We'll have to see... and have a lot of fun trying! The 2001 Silver Oak Alexander Valley wasn't even close. While I'm not a big fan of this wine, I will say it's starting to show a little bit better. It lost some of it's anise and has developed a nice cherry finish. I don't think this wine is going to age very long, though. So drink up! The 1975 Chateau Pichon-Longueville-Baron, 2nd Growth, Pauillac had a glimmer of hope right out of the gate... then faded as just as quickly. All spice, not fruit... the wine is dead. RIP. The 1995 Chateau Pichon-Longueville-Baron, 2nd Growth, Pauillac was excellent, however. Classic Pauillac, with tremendous power and tannin. At 10 years old, this wine is still such a baby. Just starting to show tobacco, cedar, and leather - this is a fruit driven wine right now. It put a fight up to the Shafer, but didn't carry the power to the finish long enough. Last, the 1995 Chateau Clerc-Milon, 5th Growth, Pauillac was a wonderful wine. Showing more intensity than I expected, this could be the best Clerc-Milon I've ever had. Black fruit still shines through, and the color was still quite dark, with just hints of ruby red showing on the rim. A very, very nice wine.... not too bad a night!