Amber and unctuous, a first nose of ripe pineapple and smoke, later followed by passion fruit and pear. This is a dense mouthfeel chardonnay, deliciously oaky, almost chewable as some dense reds tend to be. A long lingering finish of oak and butterscotch, this '96 still has the goods. 93

Dick

Just curious, Dick. Have you had this wine previously? I find I like this and all Chardonnays best at 3-4 years after vintage date. If you had this a few years ago, do you rememeber your previous impressions?

No, my notes indicate only one in my cellar. I drank it because I felt it was getting long in the tooth and was concerned that it might have already been too old.

Dick

Thanks for the notes, Dick. I just stood this one up in the cellar yesterday morning, awaiting a nice deck day. I was afraid this one might be gone, so I hope to try it soon. I will post notes when I do.

Mike

We had our last '98 a few weeks ago, a Martinelli Road Chardonnay. It was still good, but it was more vibrant a couple of years ago.

Regarding Beringer PR Chards, I had the 1994 bottling in March '02 and I was shocked at how good it was at 8 years old. It was a true delight to drink. I also had a '92 Peter Michael bottling the same night and that was also excellent.

IW

Finally got around to opening this tonight. I have to agree with Dick's notes on this one, though I would score it at 91.

The last one of these I had was two to three years ago. While not as vibrant as it was then, I think "unctuous" describes it perfectly.

After the last one, I wanted to lay it down for a while, because I thought the oak was still overwhelming. While it is still oaky, the oak is not dominant, as it was then, and this is much more enjoyable to me at seven years old then it was earlier.

Mike