Acker Merrall Inaugural Chicago Auction

Trump International Hotel
Tasted Saturday, October 22, 2011 by Burgundy Al with 970 views

Introduction

There are worse ways to spend an evening. I've grouped the wines with similar wines, so they are not exactly in the order tasted.

Flight 1 - Champagne (4 Notes)

Flight 2 - Whites (7 Notes)

  • 2000 Château de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Dent de Chien 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

    At its peak, time to drink up. Lush, ripe, concentrated stone fruit on nose, with similar peach and apricot flavors on palate. Very good minerality, reasonable acidity, intensity and power on the finish. Bottle from a few months back seemed a bit more fresh.

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  • 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Starts with apple and pear aromas with some charming spring flowers. Palate comes across far more subdued with lean and crisp orchard fruit and acidity galore and incredible energy. This will need at least 5 more years to really show its potential.

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  • 1992 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch 86 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Big stone fruit on nose, similarly vibrant fruit on palate. Happy to see where it is after almost 20 years and so early in the Kistler history. Fat and buttery in that classic CA chardonnay manner, but a bit short and simple.

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  • 2002 Louis Latour Montrachet 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Rich spice on nose with candied apple and floral hint in the deep background. Incredibly ripe fruit on the palate that starts slowly and then explode with fruit and intensity towards a very powerful, lush finish. Incredible balance and elegance for its power and youthful exuberance. This wine kept getting better and better with more time in glass, and I think the wine still has a few more years of improvement in its future.

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  • 1997 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée 86 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Big fruit aromas and flavors, but the overripe fruit dominated for me tonight. Also showed white Rhone's inclination for a lush, oily texture, but also showed a bit too much heat for me on the finish.

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  • 2006 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

    Started with classic Ramonet mint on the nose along with lush stone fruit. Palate shows lots of great power and intensity to start but oak protruded a bit in the middle. I'd like to see a bit more acidity, so I'm thinking this a medium-term Grand Cru already in its drinking window.

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  • 2007 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

    Bright orchard fruit aromas with hints of roasted nuts in background. Clean and direct apple flavors on palate with really good acidity providing lift from middle to finish, even if the fruit is a bit short and simple.

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Flight 3 - Red Burgundy (7 Notes)

  • 2000 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru

    Great perfume and spice on nose to start. Wonderful red cherry flavors on palate, also showing that great whole cluster spice. Started to show a trace amount of muddiness towards the finish. I wouldn't be holding these much longer.

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  • 1971 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Earthy nose with some good baking spice in the background. Red cherry flavors on the palate with reduced mushroom. Sadly not even close to the quality level of another bottle from the same case opened a few months ago.

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  • 1991 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Perfumed aromatics, with red and black fruit also on the nose with really sensational, classic Asian spice. Palate had that same combination of fruit flavors, but also a real emerging sense of secondary development that became more prominent with more air, so my only complaint is that this wine is starting to show its age.

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  • 2003 Domaine Dujac Echezeaux 86 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

    I haven't tried many Dujac 2003s since release and this bottle reminds me why. Super-ripe, even for 2003 burgundy, I could have been convinced this was from Russian River if served blind. Some redeeming spice on finish if you look hard enough.

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  • 2007 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

    Lean red fruit on nose, but still rather fruit forward. Perfume and spice aromas come through more clearly than from a bottle tasted this summer. Wonderful spice on palate, also with charming red cherry and strawberry. Good for now, I'd think this is just a few years away from its peak and will mostly be best before 2025.

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  • 2004 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle 88 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

    My biased expectation was that this would be terrible, so it was quite a happy surprise. Black fruit with dense, meaty spice. Not complex, but very enjoyable. Good concentration for the vintage, and I imagine Bernard Dugat's low extraction style served him very well in this vintage, in which extraction led to bitterness for so many Burgundy producers.

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  • 2007 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

    Came across as quite modern styled and fruit forward, but that is how lots of 2007s are showing. Big fruit, even showing a bit a California style and some bubblegum flavors to me. Unclear where this will develop but a fun glass of wine today, even if not classically Bonnes Mares.

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Flight 4 - Bordeaux (8 Notes)

  • 1970 Château Cheval Blanc 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Earthy nose. Palate shows some fruit lingering around with lots of earthy flavors and textures. Some sweet hints poke through from the remaining fruit and oak, with really pleasant spice coming through on its moderate finish.

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  • 2005 Château Latour Grand Vin 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    From magnum. I don't recall how/when/if this was opened and decanted, but this was simply amazing. Black cherry and kirsch on nose with intense fruit and oak spice. No question about there being lots of oak and tannins, but this wine already seems close to balance, with so much of everything that it is already showing wonderfully tonight. Big and dense throughout, but with amazing textures and harmony. I really look forward to seeing how this shows in another ten years. wow.

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  • 1978 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    From magnum. Earthy and mushroom aromas and flavors with a trace green edge. Good tobacco and cedar elements throughout. Moderate intensity and finish.

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  • 1989 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Powerful wine with incredible balance. Black cherry and plum fruit with good cedar and tobacco notes. Lots of tannin and acidity but incredibly balanced. This is at a great place today, and has the concentration and density that I expect will hold here for a long, long time.

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  • 1970 Château Palmer 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Served by Bernard de Laage from Chateau Palmer, somewhat of a "warm up" for me for our Palmer dinner the next night. Mostly secondary aromas with good floral elements. Some more black primary flavors on the palate, also showing good spice. Lean finish. This convinced me to find my 1971 Palmer to bring to dinner the following night, in addition to the 1955 i was already planning to bring.

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  • 1993 Château Mouton Rothschild 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The bottle came by quickly and I tried a small taste. I didn't find this interesting n the context of everything else being poured tonight.

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  • 1986 Château Léoville Las Cases

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Still very primary and highly structured, showing great potential. 1986 in a nutshell.

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  • 2000 Château Léoville Las Cases 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Would never have expected this to be drinking so nicely. Black cherry, kirsch and cigar box on nose. Same fruit with licorice on palate. Powerful but balanced.

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Flight 5 - Other Great Reds (7 Notes)

  • 1998 Antinori Tignanello 90 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    Big and brooding, surprisingly tannic and backward for a 13-year old wine that is mostly Sangiovese. More black fruit on nose, a bit more red fruit on palate, both also starting to show some emerging earthiness.

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  • 1974 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    Quite good fruit still coming through on both nose and palate. Bright fruit flavors accompanied by cedar smells and some meaty spice. Good acidity and very good textures and nuance. A big positive surprise.

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  • 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 86 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    A perplexing wine. This is probably the 5th or 6th time I've tasted this wine. it was amazing once a few months ago, but somewhere between "okay" and "good" (perhaps 85-89 points) every other time. Tonight it was dark to start, but also earthy with lots of forest floor, then a bit muddy and uninteresting towards the end.

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  • 1985 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 92 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Starts with good spice on nose. Big black fruit on palate, more primary than secondary, accompanies by same spice. Good acidity helps provide good textures and reasonable length. A very good older-styled, even Bordeax-styled, Monte Bello that I wouldn't be surprised if it's still getting better.

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  • 1999 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì San Lorenzo 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

    Very floral nose with red fruit. Same red cherry flavors with exciting spice and very silky, elegant tannins. Way too young to be opening this bottle, which I expect will get more exciting with some secondary character added.

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  • 1997 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon 89 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Super-concentrated black fruit with a real gamy element that I enjoyed but found a little too intense. Good licorice and pepper spice, but I found this wine mostly relying on brawn than finesse, so not necessarily an Hermitage for my palate.

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  • 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    From magnum. Perhaps I was getting tired, but this didn't show much to me and I've enjoyed this wine quite a bit when I've tasted it before. Black and red cherry with some underbrush. Probably both the bottle and I needed some more air at this point. Huge potential.

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Flight 6 - (Normally) After Dinner (2 Notes)

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