2001 was the vintage that put Paloma on the map with their Spring Mountain Merlot.
Had a 1994 Kenwood Artist Series last year that was excellent. I thought the Artist Series were from Jack London vineyard or did they come from Montecillo? Either way it wasn’t expensive and worth trying if stored properly.
Nice
I did have some OTH WH CS from the 80s about 6 years ago
https://www.winebid.com/BuyWine/Item/9042571/1994-Whitehall-Lane-Leonardini-Vineyard-Reserve-Me~
Under $20 each recently. I can afford only cheap stuff. 
I remember buying several vintages of this wine at WineLibrary back in the day…great Cab, happy to see that it is still drinking well!
Victor with the old school Whitehall Lane label. Well done!
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So funny. No wonder I recognized the label. I had a 94 Morilsoli Whitehall Lane Cab for my 21st Bday back in 2015. What a wine. The wine was fabulous and I loved it. The wine had great acidity and beautiful fruit with a long finish. Hope you enjoyed the Merlot as much as I enjoyed the Cab!
Meant to reply to Victor but seems like I can’t lol
Try to find some aged Spring Mountain Vineyard. I know a bunch of it hit the market maybe last yr when they were headed for bankruptcy but their backlog of ex-estate wines was awesome and some of the stuff we tried from the 90’s was awesome. Just try to find a vintage chart so you know that youre buying an age-worthy vintage!
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Thanks James I will check it out!
A steal. Stonestreet Legacy 1994, which recently fell out of bed.
Picked up a few of the 2006s from a local retailer for like $60/bottle - what a steal
I bought this 1994 Legacy for $25 per bottle last week.
The current $36 price is still a steal.
Apologies for the long post but felt compelled to share.
I brought the below wine to a blind tasting at Domaine Chicago among 30+ wines and 25+ people. Theme was “Judgment of Paris,” so a bunch of BDX varietals and BDX wines all served blind. I was stuck at work and caught the back half of the tasting.
Decanted off sediment at 430am for about 20min, then back to bottle in fridge until 730p. Headspace was probably low shoulder. Tasting started at 6 but I arrived at 8p after work (long day). Took off the cork to let the wine to breathe and come up from fridge temp. Finally, it was time for this to be poured…
True to my OCD, I insisted folks finish whatever drops of wine were in their glasses before pouring. Some took it a step further and rinsed out with water, for which I also insisted to finish the leftover drops LOL. Mixing was minimized as far as large tastings go.
Once in the glass, the dynamic of the room took a turn…eyes widened, folks turned to their neighbors, and mental wheels spun about what this could be. To say people liked this would be an understatement. Over a third of the group scored this 5/5 (highest score), a lone few gave 3.5, and the remainder (about half) scored between 4-4.5.
Seeing how well this showed, before revealing the wine I got on my high horse and gave a little shpiel ( 
) and essentially said “not everything expensive is good, here’s a ~30yo wine from an unknown producer that many of you loved, it was $30 on winebid.”
- 1996 Wing Canyon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder (6/22/2024)
Decanted off sediment at 430a for ~30min or so, back to bottle in fridge until 730p. Took off the cork and let come up to temp until about 9p or so. 13% ABV.
Nose shows lots of tertiary aged notes--fallen leaves, damp moss, earth, maybe the slightest hint of dried fruit somewhere. Palate was another story...boysenberry, mountain earth, shrubs. Supple mouthfeel with resolved (but not absent) tannins and a gentle amount of acidity to keep things alive. Medium to med-light body with beautiful integration and elegance. Finish was gentle and reflected the grace of this wine. Gorgeously aged and developed mountain fruit.
I really enjoyed this, as did many others. Definitely at the tail end of drinking and probably beyond peak for many. For me, this was an absolute case in point of two things, 1) let aged wines breathe, they need it the same way a young wine does. 2) slow-ox!!!
93-94, a steal of $30 on winebid. Write off an old wine from a comparatively unknown producer at your own risk. A great vintage is the rising tide to lift all boats.
Drink now, please decant and please let it breathe. (93 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
This prompted tons of discussion about the glorious Napa wines from the 70s 80s 90s in the 13-13.5% ABV range, how well they’ve aged, and some frank questions about the current gamut of >15% ABV cabs at $250+.
I did not expect this response. One of the attendees was surprised when I told him “I brought this knowing nothing about the producer and with never having tried the wine.” He was probably right, but it’s 1996 Mt. Veeder Cabernet at 13% ABV, how bad can it be?!
I really love blind tasting for this reason–shun those labels, leave wallet-pride at the door, and focus on what’s in the glass. And lastly, please prep your wines ahead of time and let them breathe!!!
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Renaissance, 1990s - early 2000s.