1985 William Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

My barrel tasting notes on this wine from 1987 read as follows, "staggering aromas of tar, blackcurrants, smoke, and violets; great color; fascinating richness ... very serious wine ... Bill Hill's finest wine to date?" Based on that tasting, I rated it a potential 92-95 and purchased it for my own cellar. In early tastings after bottling, the wine appeared closed and high in acidity, and totally unlike what I had tasted from barrel. This recent tasting confirmed my worst suspicions. Nearly ten years later, it is a disappointing, thin, attenuated, stripped wine that reveals none of the character it displayed in 1987. Undoubtedly, fining and sterile filtration did the damage. A loss of over 20 points in a wine's potential rating is nearly unprecedented in my seventeen years of professional wine tasting. This bottle was no different from others I have tasted. Thank goodness for charity wine auctions!