FIRST FLIGHT

1978 - Patrick Campbell's pre-commercial "homebrew." Dark garnet, clear at the edge. Lovely grapey and mint aromas; juicy fruit, tartly acidic. "Meaty" and rather Rhone-like, prompting us to tease Patrick about possible Syrah in his cuvee (they're all pure Cabernet, of course). Patrick later discloses that it was made without malolactic fermentation, which seems to have had the effect of "fossilizing" it. Tasted blind, you'd never guess it was almost 20 years old.

1979 - Also "pre-commercial." Dark reddish-violet, looks young, but the aroma and flavor are more appropriate to its age: Jammy fruit, berries, hints of coffee and leather. Good fruit, tart, holding up well.

1981 - First commercial release (there was no 1980). Jammy and ripe. Earthy fruit, some tannin. Very slight cork "taint" detracted, communicating itself as funky, "swampy" character on the nose, more evident as musty TCA on the palate.

1982 - Dark ruby, bronze edge. Lovely cherry-berry and herbal aromas with hints of leather. Good old-Cab coffee elements. Complex, "oldest" in character of this flight, but it's aging well.

SECOND FLIGHT

1983 - Dark ruby. Leathery scent, old-Cab flavors, very tart. Not holding up well; Patrick recalls it as "the vintage from hell."

1984 - Dark reddish-purple. Mint and veggie aromas, good old-red bottle bouquet. Full black fruit, cassis, still some tannins showing.

1985 - A clear stylistic break occurs at this point, as this and all the wines thereafter show significantly more extract and power while retaining their finesse -- a Laurel Glen trademark of which Patrick is justifiably proud. He jokingly attributes the change to having stopped paying attention to the UC/Davis "rules." This is a very dark wine, garnet at the edge and almost black at the center, with delicious aromas of cassis and anise. Flavors follow the nose, full and rich, showing perfect balance and the promise of still more potential with time.

1986 - Dark fruit, opaque. Cassis and cedar nose, lovely, perhaps a bit closed. Ripe fruit, full tannins, firm acidic structure; very fine wine indeed, but it still needs time.

INTERIM

1985/86 Counterpoint - Patrick is at pains to point out that Counterpoint isn't a "second label" but a true "second wine" of Laurel Glen, made by sampling and selecting all lots and then blending separate cuvees for Laurel Glen and for Counterpoint. (He also rarely -- in 1990 and 1993 -- does the same with a special barrel to make his limited-production "Reserve.") This is a ruby colored wine, rather light in comparison with the regular bottlings, with a nice cassis and veggie aroma and ripe, jammy fruit flavor over lemon-squirt acidity. Good wine, holding up well, but maybe a little jarring in the sequence of regular LGs.

THIRD FLIGHT

1987 - Very dark garnet, black at the core. Cassis, eucalyptus, and an odd caramel note. Juicy fruit, tannic and tart. A bit of a fallback from the remarkable 1985 and 1986.

1988 - Opaque garnet, a bit hazy (the only wine of the evening less than fully clear). Closed, tight, tannic, yet doesn't seem full in body. Another "vintage from hell," Patrick says.

1989 - Dark garnet in color, almost day-glo bright at the edge. Very leathery, "barnyard." Brett? Yup. No controversy here; Patrick freely acknowledges its presence.

1990 - In my opinion, another stylistic break occurs at this point, with every wine from here on (except the 1991) attaining that overworked accolade "world class." Very dark reddish-purple, even at the edge, shading to black at the center. Cassis and mineral notes, reminds me of the classic Haut-Brion nose. Extracted, perfectly balanced black fruit, subtle and perfect in its balance; best of the night, until ...

INTERIM

1990 Reserve - Mike Miles' contribution to the evening's deliberations, and we're in his debt. My second tasting of this wonderful wine, having enjoyed a bottle with Patrick in Santa Rosa last summer. Just as good as I remembered; if the man were more ego-driven, he'd send samples of this rare, special production out to Parker and the Spectator just to watch them rave. Instead, when he does it at all, he puts a few hundred bottles up in magnums and gives them to friends and special customers. It's a rich, dark wine, opaque in color, notes similar to the regular 1990 but more so; intense and remarkably complex, adding lovely notes of violets to the extracted black fruit.

FOURTH FLIGHT

1991 - Opaque all the way to the edge. Bretty aroma, shows up as leather and a tongue-twisting metallic finish. Something's wrong here, it seems, so a second bottle goes around. It's still bretty, showing more fruit, but still not what it should be. Disappointing.

1992 - Very dark ruby color with an unusual orange glint against the light. Chocolate and mineral aromas cloak cassis. Rich on the palate, quite tannic, very long, clean and delicious finish; half-jokingly, I call it a "dry Port." Great potential, needs much time.

1993 - Very dark reddish-purple, day-glo edge. Eucalyptus, anise and cassis, plenty of good aromas but a sense that it's closed; ditto on the palate, full of tannin and full of promise. A little overshadowed by the '92 and '95, but still a fine wine with considerable potential.

1994 - Black center, scarlet edge. Intense cherry-berry and chocolate aromas; huge, extracted fruit (the zanies at our end of the table are calling it "the Incredible Hulk"), so brawny and young that it's like tasting from the barrel. Buy, buy, buy ... hold, hold, hold.

Looking back over the evening, it was a special treat to see the evolution of this winery and its wines over nearly two decades; and it's a special tribute to Patrick's skill that a wine maker who started at such a high level never rested on his, er, laurels, but keeps on learning and improving and taking already great wines on to the next level, and the next, and the next. And the fact that he's an exceptional gentleman just makes it even better.