We felt like sipping on an extra nice red wine last night to cheer up a heartbroken friend whose 70 year old husband has decided to leave her for some twit he knew in high school (thank you, classmates.com).
So out came a 2000 Donadei Cabernet Sauvignon, a higher end Washington state wine I purchased directly from the winery and have kept in temperature controlled storage since. Sadly, it's in a fairly advanced stage of oxidation, nothing but putrifying prunes and soy sauce. I didn't deserve that!
So back to the cellar I went for a slightly newer model, the 2001 Donadei Cab, and a 2000 Karl Lawrence from Napa Valley just in case. We ended up drinking both. The 01 Donadei was good, but there are a bit of oxidative flavors peaking around the corner. Bob and the friend both argued with me about that, they didn't detect it at all.
Until they tasted the completely fresh and one-year older Karl Lawrence, that is. This is more a progress report than a tasting note, because we were sitting outside in the salt air with a fire pit going, but for those holding this wine know that the 2000 is coming along beautifully. Drinks well, full of robust blackberry fruit, and not yet at peak.