A dinner guest brought the 1996 Woodward Canyone Cabernet Sauvignon, Dedication Series, Columbia Valley 13.8% This is the first bottle he's had out of a case purchased on release, and it's showing beautifully right now, and in fact it's more youthful and robust than Pete expected. '96 isn't considered a good vintage up here. But this wine is excellent: deep maroon color with huckleberry, black cherry, tobacco, mint and wood spice on the hugely expressive nose. Same on the palate, mouth-filling, great finish. Handsomely balanced with silky tannins and fully integrated oak, Pete needs to be in no hurry to finish the remainder of the case (unless, of course, he brings them to visit me).
When I saw what Pete brought I went and got this 1987 Hedges Red Mountain Reserve, Columbia Valley out of the cellar, a wine that predates Red Mountain being singled out as it's own AVA and a wine that I hoped would make an interesting ramp to the Woodward Canyon which I would give pride of place to at dinner and while we gnoshed on some toasts spread with sauteed wild mushrooms and herbs. Fill into the neck. Color was good for its age, dark garnet color with but little fading at the rim. Smokey nose of soy sauce, mushrooms and pruney oldness, but on the palate surprisingly bright with red fruits, sweet tea, and iron flavors. After a little hesitation we all deemed it pleasant and drinkable, though we had some concern that it wouldn't hold up in the glass. It faded just slightly, but never went completely off the page and we enjoyed the entire bottle.
After dinner it seemed like we might want just a bit more, so I pulled the Sean Thackeray Pleiades XIII which is essentially the 2004 release. Pete attends our neighborhood wine tastings and if I can count on anyone in that room to choose the same wine for #1, it's Pete (like last week, he voted for the ESJ Gamay, too), so I thought this would be a pretty cool wine to show him. He'd never heard of Thackeray before. This is my 2nd to the last of 16 bottles and so much have I loved every single bottle that I would only pull a bottle now for the most special guest, and Pete didn't disappoint. He was truly bowled over--never had anything like it, and had no idea that such a wine was possible. He said, "I didn't know it was possible to taste so much in one sip." The wine's perfectly at peak: it shows insanely complex fruit (red fruit, orange peel, dried figs and dates, fresh herbs and pie spices) both on the nose and palate, and the tannins are very resolved. I can't believe I never got around to buying any IV.