My boss found a slightly leaking magnum in his cellar so we had a little party to liberate it. Of course we had to have a few other wines to compare it against.
2006 tablas creek roussanne - hay on the nose with peach. It was stony and rich on the palate with flavors of white grape and a slightly oily texture. Very nice.
2001 hartwell cab sld - the leaking magnum. came on strong out of the gate with mocha, oak, plum, hazlenut, and black pepper aromas. very elegant on the palate with black cherry, clove and green peppercorn. Soft structure and ready to drink. it could last another 5-7 years no problem, but i don’t see it getting a whole lot better. Damn tasty as it was it kept improving throughout the evening.
2000 Newton Le Puzzle - very deep smoky nose with oak and blackberry. Mocha, blueberry, and liquorice on the palate. This was more brooding but drinking well with an hour of air. Could still improve some more.
1997 Corison Cab - Very aromatic with black currant, blackberry and graphite. Very rich on the palate with raspberry liquer flavors and texture. Red fruits on the finish. This was drinking extremely well but no rush. Hopefully some more aromatic complexity will emerge with age. This was showing very well!
Then we drained a bottle of dessert wine from my friends vineyard in Virginia and headed to the basement for some excellent Rock Band playing