Week 7
February 11, 2001 to February 17, 2001 

	Sunday February 11,  2001  Yesterday we celebrated my Mother's 79th birthday. That means that my 58th birthday on May 3rd is near. I decided to open a few of our older wines and I was pleasantly surprised. As most of you know, I do not like commenting on my wines. Everyone perceives wine differently so take my comments the way you want. The 94 Zin was possibly the most balanced and had lost none of its body, but maybe some spiciness. It was always a jammy wine and that quality has not demented. The other three wines were 1996: Zin, Carignan and Petite Sirah. At first I was struck by how much fruit was showing in the Carignan. I don't remember that much concentration before. Complexity was much more present in the other two wines. I think the Zin is the most complex, but the Petite Sirah was the most spicy. None of the three wines seemed to be fading. I actually enjoyed the Carignan the best and am happy since I have over two cases left. If any of you have 1996 wines, it might be time to try one or two. The 1996 vintage was not considered to be one of Dry Creek Valley's best, but again I am seeing that the balance in our wines by blending can have a big influence on longevity.  Monday February 12,  2001 Here is a comment I received from one of my valued customers tonight and my reply.    >>I read your comments re. the 1996 carignan and then opened a bottle  tonight. I was disappointed.  The major detectable flavor was bitter.  A  big disappointment. Any thoughts as to why this discrepancy?<< My reply:  I opened another tonight and was surprised also. It is a food wine (check it out with spicy food like we had the other night) and probably needs another few years. The bottle we opened up the other night had traveled to Sam's in Chicago and back after I bought it back (long story). That makes it at least two years older, because of the hot storage. If you have any left, I'll buy them back.  Monday February 12,  2001 We have a new problem in our lives here in Sonoma County: Someone or group has stolen U.S. mail. Actually I found out today that our local small Geyserville Post Office was broken into and money and mail was stolen. I don't have an exact date. We have not received mail two times in the last week. I know for a fact that at least one piece of mail was sent to me and I have not received it. Please, if you have sent us anything recently and suspect we did not receive it, don't hesitate to let us know. This could be things such as shipping instructions or an order for wine.
	Dave
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