We've been breaking into our stash of '94 Chateauneufs this week. Last year, I thought they were starting to fade, but it seems they were actually just coming back from a nice, long nap. A few nights ago, the Vieux Telegraphe seemed almost like a pimpley adolescent, young and aluring and just a shade premature. But a very enjoyable bottle nonetheless. I think we'll wait a while before we pop the next one. The Vieux Donjon tonight seemed a shade more approachable. Unlike the VT, this one had loads of sediment at the bottom. But the fruit was equally pure, the finish almost as long and the tannins more resolved. These may last for years, but I've had far too many disappointing experiences lately with wines held too long.

A probable case of over-aging (though it could have been a bad bottle) was our last '95 Au Bon Climat Les Bauges Pinot Noir earlier this week. We bought two of these and included the first one in a tasting a few years ago. It was scrumptious but immature. This one was nothing short of putrid. It was full of sour, vegetal smells and flavors and they just compounded on the finish until I had to go wash out the taste with something strong. What a huge disappointment, as I was expecting big things from this wine. I'm back to suspecting that California Pinots don't age well. Drink them for their young, effusive fruit and enjoy. Especially those from the Central Coast.

But, as always, there's an exception. When the ABC proved undrinkable, we tried our last bottle (alas) of the '93 Lane Tanner Sanford & Benedict. We found a bunch of these on close-out and every one of them has been a true pleasure. Yes, the fruit was a little more profound a year or two ago, but this was still a great bottle of wine. Beautiful, balanced fruit, sublety and nuance. These (LT) wines do age, and very gracefully, at that.