'94-'97 Chateau Soverain Vertical

[Stealthman]

Not quite armed with the expansive tasting knowledge some here have, but over the past month here are our experiences with a few Soverains...
1994 Reserve- Ah me gersh, damn this was good, very balanced, loads of fruit, wonderful hints of tobacco and smoke (these two tastes I know and love). One of those bottles that you stand upside down over the glass and patiently watch every last drop roll out wishing you could wring the bottle. Unfortunately the winery is finally out of this great stuff, wish I would have put away more, one remains...
1994 AV- Loads of fruit, classic Soverain style, but very tannic. Softened up a little after 2 hours. Will be interesting to see if this balances more in the future or will always be a biter.
1995 Reserve- Coming around big time, the last time I had this, a year ago, it was just a good wine, today it is filling out very nicely developing a porty fullness that bodes this wine a wonderful future, though it is not your typical Soverain.
1996 Reserve- Where the '95 was last year, good potential, still a baby.
1996 Stuhlmuller Vineyard (Library Reserve)- More balanced than the Reserve, more fruit, more finish, gotta like where this one will be in 2004 or so.
1997 Reserve- Classic Soverain on speed, time will tell how long it takes this baby to settle down, but I bet this runs for a long while.
1997 Stuhlmuller Vineyard (Library Reserve)- Very racy like it's sibling, just a little more refined, fruit+, with underlying tobacco and leather hints will take a filet mignon to perfection in 5+. The winery limits to one per person per day so I guess I'll be runnin' to Geyserville often this summer!!!
As an aside, tried the 98 Syrah and 99 Mauvedre last week as well, both solid efforts, the Syrah is light and flowery, not unlike B.V. Ensemble, the Mauvedre is the perfect compliment to a spicy pork loin. Yummy stuff.

[winoweenie]

Souverain has been and still is one of the superb P/Q wines on the market. The other Sonoma producer that is equal is Geyser Peak.These babes give lots of Bangie-Buckie. WW

[Stealthman]

I agree whole heartedly. It amazes me (though I ain't complaining) that though it's only available at the winery, over one year after release, they still have the '96 Library Reserve available and they only made 160 cases, yet those folks over at Silver Oak will sell out 45,000 cases of their '96 AV in less than a year. Talk about the power of image, Laube even rates the Soverain higher than the S.O. AV (and rightly so).