'Tis The Season

The 2004 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Spatlese, Rheingau is awesome. Displaying the vintage's super-high acidity with awesome minerality. Just starting to show petrol. The 2003 Ramey Chardonnay "Hyde Vineyard" is always one of my favorites - and in my mind, one of the best Chardonnay's in California. This vintage is showing almost a little too much oak... there is a tiny bit of wood tannin on the finish on this wine, and it's not flattering. The lush fruit is there, but the minerality is overpowered by oak. The 2001 Jadoot Pommard rocks... what a great, moderately priced Burgundy this is... showing pretty earth and a structured backbone. The 2001 Opus One does not rock... we tasted it after the 2003 Joseph Phelps Backus Cabernet Sauvignon (which does rock), so that might have had something to do with it.. but it came off thin. The Backus is intense and very, very powerful. Lots of fruit and spice. I don't think this will last all that long, but it sure is fun now. The 1995 Chateau Pichon-Baron was tightly wound and seems like it's ready to explode. The 1995s have had a very, very long sleep and are just starting to awaken. The length is impressive, and the pure fruit has been replaced by blackberries with cigar box, tobacco, and loads of graphite. Lots of tannin on this one, though. The 1990 Chateau Certan de May, Pomerol was not showing well in two bottles tonight. Lots of stewed fruit and earth with little of the great elegance the other bottles have shown. The star of the night, and a fabulous wine, was the 1986 Chateau Haut-Brion. Very, very cedary with tons of mushrooms and classic Haut-Brion bacon fat. A powerful wine, it's also very dirty - in a good way. All of that gravel comes through on the long finish. While not close to the great Haut-Brions I've had, this one is pretty good.