Pre Auction Wine Tasting w/ lots of Sassicaia

WHITES

• 1995 Chartron et Trébuchet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Cailleret - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
  Barnyard, nutty, nice. Wonderful, lingering finish. A very good White Burgundy. (90 pts.)
• 1995 Marc Colin et Fils Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
  Big wine, but most of the "bigness" comes from the oak treatment. Some interesting nutty nuances, but the oak is too big for this wine. Not having much experience with Montrachet, perhaps the oak integrates better with time? (88 pts.)

REDS

• 1979 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Vino da Tavola
  Light color. A bit of volatile acidity. Tart and fading. Drink up. (85 pts.)
• 1982 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Vino da Tavola
  Cedary nose. Light bodied; some funk. Ok, but nothing spectacular. (87 pts.)
• 1988 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Vino da Tavola
  More fruit than the older vintages of this wine I had tried that day. Acidic structure. Firm. Nice wine that will hold. Very nice finish. (90 pts.)
• 1994 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia
  Closed nose. Dark in color, but rather light in body. Tart, with a short finish. (85 pts.)
• 1995 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia
  Dark in color. Dark fruits, cassis, earth. Tannic and acidic. Shows promise, but needs time. (91 pts.)
• 1993 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Vino da Tavola
  Nice, ripe fruit. High acidity. Nice mouthfeel. Dark fruits and herbs. Nice. (90 pts.)
• 1993 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Thin, metallic, and nothing to write home about. Drinkable, but very mediocre. (85 pts.)
• 1994 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Closed nose. A good wine, but not a blockbuster. Needs time to come out of it's shell, where it might surprise me. (89 pts.)
• 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Dark, young color. Ripe cassis fruit. Drinks well now, but should be held to gain further development. A winner. (95 pts.)
• 1993 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Tannic... too tannic for the mediocre levels of fruit in the wine. (82 pts.)
• 1985 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
  Gravelly nose. A bit volatile. Ok wine, but not very interesting. (85 pts.)
• 1986 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
  Pleasant, but uninteresting. The fruit is starting to dry out. Drink up. (85 pts.)
• 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Dark red, with garnet edge. Exotic nose of cedar and lead pencil. Nice mid-palate, with a whiplash of a finish. Seems to have closed up later in the tasting. Very nice and complex, but is it a 100 point wine? Not today. Perhaps it is in a weird stage? (93 pts.)
• 1982 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Chabot Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
  Dark color. Good fruit extract, but not very focused (lack of acidity?). Nice, but simple. The fruit is ever so slightly starting to dry out. (88 pts.)
• 1990 Château Certan de May - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
  Heavy oak and cedar. Could use a bit more fruit, but a pleasant wine, nonetheless. (87 pts.)
• 1995 Alvaro Palacios Priorat L'Ermita - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
  Black, inky color. Cherry liquor nose. Full of black fruits; tannic and muscular. Wonderful, ripe fruit, with a very lengthy finish. This is a great wine in the making, but give it the cellar time it deserves. (96 pts.)
• 1988 Domaine René Engel Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
  Light in color, but full on flavor. Exotic spice and earth. Wonderful finish. (90 pts.)
• 1995 Domaine Anne Gros Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
  Intense, exotic nose. Great young, ripe, fruit. Spicy and smooth, but very young. (91 pts.)
• 1916 Château Gruaud Larose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Bricking on the rim, but incredibly dark center, given its age. Very drinkable. Still clinging to fruit, but the caramel and toffee flavors provided very interesting flavor sensations. An unusal wine that gets extra credit for surviving, however permuted, for so long. (88 pts.)
• 1985 Château Latour Grand Vin - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Muscular. Fine wine, but not a blockbuster. A bit unevolved? Needs a bit more time perhaps to gain complexity. (90 pts.)
• 1992 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Scents and flavors of rotten fruits. Must be a bad bottle. (FLAWED)
• 1990 Tertre Rôteboeuf - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Terroir driven wine. Cassis, gravel, earth. Complex, with a long finish. Another winner! (92 pts.)
• 1993 Dominique Laurent Pommard Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard
  Animal nose. Red fruits and animal fur. Silky tannins. Very nice! (91 pts.)
• 1993 Château Troplong Mondot - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Young and tannic, but the tannins are too prominent for the low level of fruit extracted. (82 pts.)
• 1970 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
  Dark center, with a garnet rim. Great nose of spicy fruit, caramel, chestnuts, cinnamin, etc. Very complex. Great mouthfeel, and an endles sweet cedary finish. A great wine. (95 pts.)
• 1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
  Very closed on the nose. Promising mouthfeel, but this wine is in need of evolution. Poor showing. (90 pts.)

DESSERT

• 1990 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  Big nose of honey and tropical fruits. A chunky wine, with honeyed peaches and apricots. Weigthy, but very light on its feet due to lively acidity. Beautiful finish. Needs time, as it is still unevolved. Great! (95 pts.)