We celebrated a friend’s birthday party yesterday. Some of the bottles were just too darn good to not mention on this thread.




From left to right:

06 Paloma Merlot (Napa Spring Mountain)
02 Quintessa 1.5 ltr (we did not drink this one, as it was his gift)
01 Dominus 1.5 ltr
04 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
05 Palazzo
06 Wallace
07 Charles Krug Chardonnay
Not shown that we also drank:
06 Jericho Canyon Sav Blanc
06 Charles Krug Cab Sav Rose
05 Chateau Reignac


We started out with the Jericho Canyon Sav Blanc. This is a fantastic bottle. Very crisp nose with lots of flavor. A must get if you like Sav Blanc. It’s not too expensive either…

Next was the Krug Rose. This is the first rose I’ve ever had that uses Cab Sav fruit. Very good. Very unique. Another must buy if you like rose.

The Paloma was next. This is the only bottle this vineyard makes that I’m aware of. It’s hard to get. I was fortunate enough to score six of these. If you like Merlot, this has got to be the best Merlot I’ve ever had. If you get an opportunity to buy one, do it.

Next up was the Lafite. This is the first time I’ve ever had a first growth. I must say, it was fantastic. I’ve never had a Cab Sav that had tannins that felt like velvet. Incredible earthy nose, amazing pallet and a finish that just lingered on and on……

We changed things up a bit with the Wallace. It’s a very nice Shiraz from Australia.

The Palazzo was next. Holy crap what a great bottle! This is the only bottle they make. It’s a blend with 70% Merlot, 22% Cab Franc and 8% Cab Sav. Another must buy.

The Dominus was next. We had that with dinner, which was pot roast that I cooked in a crock pot all day. Dominus is one of my favorites. It’s always good.

We capped the night off with the Reignac. Another blend. It’s 75% Merlot and 25% cab sav. This one we probably shouldn’t have opened. All of our pallets were a bit saturated by this point. However, I have to say that this bottle is one heck of a bargain. It had the nose of a good Napa cab with some earthy tones and the pallet you'd expect from a French wine, but plenty of fruity berries as well.