I remember spotting these half-bottles bottles in a wine mega-store while on a business road trip. These were the only half-bottles of California red wine in the entire store. Having tasted the 2004 vintage, I was excited about my find … at least until I looked up the rating when I got home. I know that 90 points is a respectable wine score for any wine, you just expect a little higher when you are buying a recognized wine maker in a great vintage (and paying $42 for a half-bottle). Discouraged, I tucked the two little bottles away and forgot about them … for nearly four years. Tonight I opened one and was pleasantly surprised. Had the wine been rated today, it most surely would have scored better (92?). While this wine featured the vintage-typical red fruits like cranberry and black cherry with some currant on the finish, the surprise was the development of the flavors of baking spices (like cloves), all nicely integrated in a mineral wash. This elegant wine delivered beyond what I had expected.
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