1999 Belvedere RRV Reserve Unfiltered.  Crystal-clear goldenrod.  Incredible butter and cinnamon toast, cream cheese frosting sweet richness.  German chocolate cake heavily coated with pecans and maybe even walnuts.  Heavy toasted almond like 20yo Champagne which has lost its fizz.  Little brightness.  I feel like there was a pretty good oak program on this and residuals remain.  Crisp and clean and seriously heady with volatility headed into the motor-oil spectrum.  Shockingly bright on the tongue–mouth-filling and rich, packed with candied fruit and leather.   Elegant, concentrated and sophisticated, and with a little heat–but I would be shocked if it was over 14-0.   Banana-peel bitter finish provides a nice counter-point to the concentration.  14-1  ♦♦

2001 Cottonwood Canyon SMV.    Milky pale canary.  Seriously: NOT clear at all.  A little latex and wet cork but under it a nice citrus and over-ripe pineapple.  Tropical with petrol and acid. Oak visible, alongside healthy mineral and pastry crust.  Bright and fruity, but at the same time stiff and steely with briar undertones.  I am shocked at how ‘un-aged’ this is in both colour and smell.  Considerable alcohol present in the nose.  This thing HAS to be 14-5.  In the mouth, fairly thin on the fruit and heavy on acid, alcohol and dare-I-say almost a tannic finish.  14-9!!!! OMG  ♦

Belvedere was tasted in barrel and purchased on futures at the winery in early 2000 and picked up 2001.  Cottonwood Canyon was purchased at the winery after tasting in 2010.  I wish I had tasted the CC young, but in that regard am handicapped on this side-by-side.  Obviously, I found the Belvedere bright and interesting in 2000 and the CC bright and interesting in 2010.  Today, they somewhat swap places.  The Belvedere tastes every inch the 15yo–pancake syrup–almost sickeningly rich and concentrated but fading somewhat in the mouth.  The Cottonwood Canyon has clarity and funk issues but is bright and alive in the mouth and I still can’t believe it is 13yo.  The Belvedere is like the fat luxury automobile ready for the junkyard and the Cottonwood Canyon is the barely-running Camry.