Light golden in color.  The nose is clean with slight lemon notes.  There is some lumber on the nose too.  On the palate, this has little fruit but some.  There is a bitterness.  Decent acidity.  At around $8, it drinks ok with or without food.  No obvious faults but nothing amazing either.  

A birthday/birth year wine.  Iced tea in color.  The nose is nice with nuts, orange peel, and slight chocolate note.  On the palate, this is a bit nutty with some alcohol showing.  Good acidity.  Complex layering.  Long finish.  Like all 1958's, this is not quite mature but doing quite well.  ;-)

From Magnum.  Consumed over 4 days, it was probably best on day 3 and day 4.  100% Grenache.  16.4% Alcohol and not noticeable.  Purple in color.  The nose has cherries, dark cherries, some coffee grounds, spice and slight floral notes.  On the palate, this is not as big of a wine as expected.  Wonderful seamless texture.  Delicious.  Dark cherries, cherries, spice along with light tannins.  Long finish.  Will work with a wide variety of foods.  This is still quite young and has a few more years until maturity and a good decade or more after that.  One of the top examples of California Gren

81% Syrah, 8% Petite Sirah, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Touriga Nacional and 1% Graciano.  Inky purple in color.  This is very different for an SQN wine.  It does have 15.8% Alc but there is no sign of that.  The nose has black raspberries, blueberries, some roasted meats and herbs and black pepper.  On the palate, this is almost elegant.  It has a refined quality but also the intensity and concentration one expects.  Black raspberry and blueberry fruit on the palate with underlying coffee grounds and char.  Great texture.  Long finish.  This is still quite young and has some upside even as good as it

Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper and violets.  On the palate, this is almost seamless.  Black raspberry fruit, some black pepper.  Great juicy but lush texture.  Complex.  Long finish.  Needs big or spicy foods but there is enough acidity to handle them.  This is delicious and so easy to drink now, but should continue to mature for another 5 to 7 years and be good for at least a decade after that.  

Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is nice with cherries, cassis and chocolate.  Also some dustiness.  On the palate, this is very elegant.  Not the big fruit bomb I was expecting.  Cassis, layered with chocolate and char.  Great texture.  Nice balance.  Good finish.  Will work with a wide variety of foods.  Seems to still be youthful.  There might be some upside but it is delicious now.  

62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color.  The nose is dusty with cassis, tobacco, and slight cherries.  On the palate, this has cassis and cedar over some tobacco and clay.  Nicely layered, this wine is drinking great right now.  Another Napa Cab that drinks like older Bordeaux with some years.  If you like mature wines, this is at peak, if you like fruit powerhouses, this is past.  It is balanced and very food friendly.  Drink up.  

Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, it is slightly dusty and cedar.  On the palate, this still has some tannins left and plenty of fruit but is fully mature.  Cassis with some black olives.  This seems like a good bottle.  There is a nice complexity to it.  Very smooth.  Very food friendly.  Blind, i think most people would guess mature Bordeaux.  Of course, with a wine of this pedigree, there is always a lot of anticipation, but I think this is probably the wine producers were trying to  make back in 1997.  It succeeds at that if a very different wine from most 1997's.  

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Petite Verdot, 2% Malbec.  Purple in color, slight ruby at the rim.  The nose is dusty and warm with cassis and spice.  Soft texture.  Good acidity.  Nice cassis fruit with an underlying earthiness.  Some plums on the finish.  Nicely layered, it unwinds in the glass.  It seems open but then keeps on opening more.  Still some upside here.  

This has really come into its own and is drinking quite well right now.  Still youthful and not yet at peak though.  Purple in color.  The nose is bigger and excellent with cherries, violets, black olives, black raspberries, slightly meaty and spice.  On the palate, this is primary but deep.  it starts to open in the glass but still needs a few more years.  Lots of concentrated black raspberry fruit, cherries with just a bit of earth and spice.  Nice balance.  Long finish.  It needs heartier foods right now but should last for another 12 to 15 years at least.