| | Because many of us were not invited to a monumental tasting in town we decided to do a little mondo tasting of our own. We encouraged $150++ to make sure we had some incredible wine. For how great this was it paled in comparison to what the first group drank, but we definitely had a better variety. The wine was served with some insane lamb shanks and celery root mash.
All wines were served double blind. Reception wines Thank you MP for the Billecart and Landonne as reception wines!...and for the food! Killer. - 1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Le Clos Saint-Hilaire - France, Champagne
Golden yellow, larger bubbles, lingering mousse; nutty, red apple, green fruit, tart,; rich and luxurious, good acid, some aged notes, almond, long finish, chalk and yeast on the finish; phenomenal but it never evolved with extended airtime; a brick house of a champagne. (94 pts.)
- 2004 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Reception red!; dark core with light crimson rim; mesquite, green, barbeque sauce, autumnal; lighter texture, still good bit of tannin, red fruit, finishes with Syrah plushness; with extended airtime I also got burnt sugar, anise, and the wine was singing. (93 pts.)
- 2005 Clos de l'Oratoire - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Dark core with dark garnet rim; oak, dark chocolate, red currant, hand lotion; darker, good structure, softened slightly but still solid, big and ripe; this bottle was less evolved or interesting as the last.
Entry wines - 1990 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Very dark almost to the rim; licorice, red fruit, full, obviously a good vintage but this was thinning out, gravel, good but not amazing. (90 pts.)
- 2000 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Cloudy crimson, semi-translucent; orangey, higher alcohol, raspberry, cranberry, graham cracker, big and ripe, aged, spicy, hot stones on the finish; a very different expression and point of evolution than the previous bottle which was amazing. (91 pts.)
- 2004 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Dark crimson with light orangey rim; powerful, sandalwood, oak, fresh and dried red berries, classic; leather, softer texture but still lots of power; noble and delicious; really surprised how amazing this lower-tiered Barolo from Luciano showed; need to get some of this. (94 pts.)
- 1990 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Dark dense core with crimson rim, sediment evident; diaper, damp earth, gravel, blue cheese, soft and smooth, dark fruit, a little cedar; thinning out slightly but still very full from the vintage. (94 pts.)
- 2001 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Blackish purple almost to rim; plum, prune, tobacco, a little floral but this wine is about power; underbrush, wild, dark, brooding, a little concrete, lower acid; still so young and not my preferred style of CdP so it was difficult to rate, others really appreciated it.
- 2001 E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Dark core, sediment, 1/4" meniscus; high toned, alcoholic, red fruit, red plum, ripe, almost prune, a lushness about it; high alcohol, red fruit, lush, spice, lots of complexity; note doesn't sound as positive as my rating but this was an impressive bottle. (94 pts.)
- 2007 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Almost exact notes to the previous bottle but my impression was more of 96 than a 97 on September 27th. Obviously extremely young and lots of potential, but this drinks really well with a few hour decant. Had to bring this to tonight's tasting because of the craving I experienced after the last time- had to get my fix. (96 pts.)
- 2008 Pierre Damoy Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
Dark purple, young, lighter purple rim; sour cherry, sweet fruit, red, tart, talc; nobility, taut, good fruit but not fat, good acid; showed a little bit leaner than previous bottle. (93 pts.)
- 2010 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Lighter rose purple; ruby red grapefruit candy, strawberry, plastic, fruit punch, so interesting, was thanking the owner of this right when I smelled it because it gave me a sensation in my gut like I was not worthy- though not as severe it was reminiscent of the sensation I got when smelling Rousseau Clos de Beze; sweet and super strong mid-palate, not tannic but very minerally, powerful, I think they didn't de-stem but the stems were almost ripe, swaths a giant path down the center of your tongue, big and powerful, finish echoes for a while; called '05 Dujac but it was too elegant in its youth; hands down WOTN; 95+. (95 pts.)
Dessert - 1990 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Gerümpel Riesling Auslese - Germany, Pfalz
My white; golden green with brown hues; honey, peach, yellow plum, lime pith; less sweet than it smells, candied lime, lots of white peach, good chilled, no diesel; had lost some sweetness over the years which was very nice to many of the people who don't prefer sweet wines; still lots of life; beautiful. (93 pts.)
- 2003 Romano Dal Forno Passito Vigna Seré - Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT
Blackish purple with syrupy texture; ground coffee beans, dark chocolate, maduro tobacco, boquet garni, cedar, dark cherry liqueur; raisin, sweet but very savory; impressive stuff but not as rich as a previous bottle. (92 pts.)
- 2006 San Giusto a Rentennano Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baroncole - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG
Wow, a throw away bottle at the end of the evening turned out to be one of the most impressive Chiantis I've ever had; rich and structured with edges rounded enough to let this drink really well, holding up well and lots of life left, better than most Brunellos out there, very classic Sangiovese. (92 pts.)
We all voted and the ranking was as follows
1. 2010 Grivot Echezeaux by a landslide
2. 2007 Guigal La Mouline
3. 2 tied: 2004 Sandrone Le Vigna & 2000 Brunel Cailloux CdP Centenaire |
