By: AJ McClellan

We had a few good members around the table yesterday, each with a great bottle of wine in hand. I was very impressed with the Dominus, while it needed some more time in the bottle, I thought it was drinking very well on the night.

1997 Dominus – This bottle was drinking great! It would be fun to put this up against the 94 Insignia that we had the night before…. Both were great examples of killer Cali Cabs. The 97 was a little stiffer and not quite ready to drink, I would give it 3-5 more years in the bottle for optimum drinking age. You can tell that all the components are there for a great bottle of wine; it’s just that a little more time is required to coax them out…

1987 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin 1er – I rather enjoyed this bottle, although Simon slighted it calling it thin and lacking of a mid palate. While I can agree with Simon’s assessment I thought the wine was quite pleasant and an easy drinking….

1978 Marques de Murrieta Gran Reserva – This was my first experience with this wine. I am told that the last time this bottle was opened (last week) it was drinking very well with plenty of life. However, I felt that this particular bottle was at the end of its life showing dry scraps of fruit and flimsy tannins that were struggling to hold the wine together.

2007 Altivo Secret Malbec – A nice little Malbec. Big ripe fruit with weighty tannins and a moderately complex palate. The wine punched far above its price point and showed a surprising balance.

1999 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Les Combettes – This wine was stunning, as Leflaive usually is. Big pineapple with toasted buttered popcorn and a crisp minerality on the nose. The palate was crisp and clean with a long finish and subtle complexities.