2000 Cristom Pinot Noir Reserve – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola – Amity Hills (4/15/2010)
Tasty, tart bing cherries. Color still vibrant. Refreshing with an acidic zing and elegant fruits. Supported by dark earth, green herb, and mushroom flavors. Very nice now but no rush. (88 pts.)

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Butterdragon Hill on 5/2/10

Starting to see a little bit of flowering

2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon – USA, California, Napa Valley (3/28/2010)
Full throttle, big, syrupy blueberry, milk chocolate, new oak. Cloyingly sweet. I found it overbearing and rather one-dimensional though I know this style is (or at least has been) very popular among some critics and collectors. I bought these wines early in my collecting “career” and now am disappointed more often than not. My opinion is that this style is unbalanced. Checking in on the wine on Day 2, it is all prune flavor. (85 pts.)

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2006 Piron-Lameloise, Domaine Chénas Quartz – France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Chénas (3/22/2010)
Sour, unripe plum with — perhaps only by the power of suggestion — a quartz, stony line. Unpleasant by itself, but worked “okay” once the meal of flank steak marinated in BBQ sauce started. Pass at prices greater than a couple of bucks. (79 pts.)

2005 Domaine Ruet Brouilly – France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Brouilly (3/24/2010)
Lovely dark color to this medium bodied wine. Long, slow legs. Initial grapey flavor develops nicely with air to cherry, sweet balsamic vinegar, and pine needles. Good value at ~$18 from a local grocer. Respectable daily drinker and party wine for guests. (88 pts.)

2008 Domaine de Colette Régnié Sélection Vieilles Vignes – France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Régnié (3/23/2010)
Thin, not much flavor. Tart cherry, hot alcohol. Simple and forgettable. (75 pts.)

2006 Dominique Piron Brouilly Domaine de Combiaty – France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Brouilly (3/22/2010)
Brett. NR (flawed)

2006 Dominique Piron Morgon Côte du Py – France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (3/21/2010)
Tart black cherry, fig, crushed mint leaves, and a touch of black pepper. Light to Medium bodied, silky texture. Nice wine with no sharp edges. Excellent QPR for $17.99 from Whole Foods (Oakland). (85 pts.)

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1998 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – USA, California, Napa Valley (4/5/2010)
This was one of my favorite wines from the 98 Napa vintage. It seriously over-performed for most of its life, but, like an aging rock star, the live concert isn’t quite as good as it once was and depends on nostalgia to make up for the shortcomings of overage. Initial notes were promising — deep cherry, raspberry, wood smoke, and saddle leather but grew too astringent within 30 minutes of opening. Flavors continued to thin out leaving just a stemmy, cherry shell of its former self. Drink up if you still have them.

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