I walked into a small parcel of wines laid out on our tasting table last Friday. As is customary when we acquire a new cellar, we randomly open bottles from the stash to spot check the condition of the cellar. So, at 2pm on a Friday, we popped the cork on a 1995 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon. This was initially tight with a green, herbaceous note. With some swirling and more air, this blossomed in the glass throwing layered flavors of cassis, plums, dried tobacco, cedar, and loamy soil along with the initial note of savory herbaceousness. The mouth feel became more textured and broader with air. The tannins were resolved, well-integrated and supple. Great freshness. Drinking beautifully right now. That was a good start to my Friday for sure. 6PM rolls around and Louis R walks in for a pre-wine dinner drink. He just picked up a few bottles of Bordeaux from a recent offer and generously opened and shared his bottle of 1998 Chateau Monbousquet. I have become a fan of this little chateau in St-Emilion because of its high quality-to-price ratio. Fresh and ripe with notes of plums, black cherry and blackcurrant. Touch of cedar and coffee. Resolved tannins and supple mouthfeel. Long, ripe-fruited finish. As we were admiring this wine, Andy Erickson walked in, just to say ‘hi’. Andy has become a great friend of Graileys that he makes the time to stop by whenever he’s in town. Simon popped open a 1989 Chateau Montrose to share around the bar. This had a pronounced, funky-earthy nose. This was showing mature notes of tar, leather and humus along with subtle smoke and graphite on the nose. Full-bodied and concentrated. Still some tannins but great balance. Some more swirling revealed additional notes of blackcurrants, blackberries, tobacco, cigar box and licorice. This was a great bottle that is drinking now but this definitely has the stuffing to last another decade or two.