1996 Shafer HSS

Dinner at 老正興.

1996 Shafer Hillside Select - opened this prematurely due to a cracked neck on the bottle.  Very, very tannic.  Powerful, full-bodied with good fruit and spicy finish cloaked under the tannins.  This would be great in 10 years.

2000 Mitchell

Drinks at Brown.

1997 Mitchell Cabernet Sauvignon Sevenhill Vineyard - not bad.  A little young, but still drinkable as it was forward.

La Mouline and Musar

Dinner in Tokyo.

Shafer Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch, vintage unknown - very nice and smooth.  Not over oaked.

1993 Musar Rouge - it was very different, and smelled strongly of acetone, medical disinfectant, plus weed, earth.  It was smooth and well balanced.  Not bad.

1991 Guigal La Mouline - the nose is there but still not typical of this wine.  A little disappointing.

1991 Chapoutier Le Pavillon - this was less impressive.  Good syrah, but nothing more.

1991 Gaja

Dinner in Tokyo.

1991 Gaja Barbaresco - not bad. Typical acidity.  Good fruity nose.

1990 Gaja Barolo Sperss - this was much better, and you can see the 1990 as a superior vintage, with much more concentration and velvety tannins.  A joy to drink.

1995 Kistler

Dinner in Tokyo.

1995 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - this was pretty good, almost like a premier cru Burgundy with decent concentration.  Nose was sweet and opened up well.  Nice, but a little too young to have a long enough finish.  This was my first Kistler and it was very good.  At one point the spicy finish was very evident.