Saint Julian

This was a brutally hot vintage and winemakers had to deal with over ripeness from the heat and under ripeness from the vines shutting down.  Yet, some did make wonderful wines and this is one.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, chocolate, cigar box, spice and smoke.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good, lively acidity.  On the palate, this is mature and drinking well.  Deep with layers of cassis, tobacco and spice and some char.  Long finish.  This won't get better but should go another ten years.  Great on its own but better with food.  T

Purple in color with ruby swirls, Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cigar box and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity.  Drinking well and closer to maturity.  Layers of cassis, earth, tobacco with some char.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now but will work better with food.  A Lamb stew would be a classic pairing.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  

From a difficult vintage, this was outstanding.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, black olives, spice and slight graphite.  Medium to full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries with some underlying earthiness.  Great acidity.  Long finish.  This is complex but needs some air to unwind.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Great on its own, but this will be better with food (but let it breather for a while prior to serving).  This would be great with lamb, of course, but a smoky, black bean burger would be very nice

This is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 2% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is tight but with air opens to show Cassis, spices, slight vanilla and char.  Medium to full bodied.  Good acidity.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cassis, plums and spice.  Juicy.  Moderate finish.  This is drinking well but will improve with a few more years of good cellaring.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  Shepard's Pie would make a nice pairing.

Kirkland wines tend to be good values and this fits that category.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is tight but opens with air.  Cassis, slight funk, and spice.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this drinks easy with nice cassis fruit.  Some spice.  Moderate finish.  For $18, its hard to find a better Bordeaux.  A nice choice for mid-week meatloaf.  Drink over the next three to six years.  

At a recent tasting, I liked this far less than the group I was tasting with.  It is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, and some spices.  It does have a lovely silky texture.  Some depth.  Medium tannins.  My issues were that I found it on the flabby side, lacking in acidity.  It gave the wine an easy drinking quality that, for the money, was disappointing.  Not a bad wine, in fact a good wine to be sure.  Of course, as I said, others, whose palates I respect, liked it far more.  It w

This was from the crazy hot, 2003 vintage. Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, slight leather, damp earth and spice.  Full bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is ripe but certainly not over ripe.  No prunes or raisins.  A really amazing Bordeaux that is just getting to maturity.  Loads of cassis with some spice and a bit of Bordeaux funk.  Long finish.  This should continue to drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  This went well with roasted root vegetables and rice.  

Another slowly developing 2000 Bordeaux.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cigar box, leather and spice.  Full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  On the palate, black cherries and cassis with some leathery notes and underlying forest floor.  Nice complexity.  Good finish.  Drink over the next five to seven years.   Better with food, this would work nicely with Beef Wellington.  

This is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc from the excellent 1996 vintage. Great showing.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, black cherries, spice and some mint on the end.  Full bodied.  Great velvety texture.  Medium tannins.  Perfect balance.  On the palate, this is complex and deep yet still seemingly youthful.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and would work well with all but the lightest foods.  Deck breast would work very well.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

Always fun to get a chance at drinking an older wine.  1967 was a long time ago.  The Beatles released Sgt.