Welcoming Craig C to DC - Marks duckhouse Part 2

What can I say, Craig loves dim sum! It was interesting to note that the opinions regarding the wines were varied more than the night before. It was a fun night nevertheless.

• 2005 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Blancs La Haute-Lemblé 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  I was a bit late and the bottle was opened for awhile. It is fresh and mineral but I didn’t get much ripe fruits that Neal Martin mentioned other than a slight hint of sweetness. Fine mouse, elegant and clean. Very enjoyable and wide open for business.

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• 2009 Sine Qua Non On The Lam 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  This to me is a great example of a very polarizing wine. Even served chill, noticeable alcohol. The nose initially shows a lot of vigonier although it contains less than 20%. The palate is very heavy for me although not cloying. I am not a big fan but I can see some of my friends loving it. You will like it if you like the Beaucastel Roussanne Vieilles Vignes and hate it if you like a Sancerre Chavignol

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• 2002 Domaine des Baumard Savennières 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières

  This bottle is very fresh and has almost Sauvignon Blanc like grassiness. Nice minerality and acidity but the fruit expression seem straightforward without much nuance. A nice wine to accompany seafood.

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• 2000 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 92 Points

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

  Forward fruit expression, classic CDP but not too complex and medium concentration. Drinking well. It was interesting to taste this next to the 01 Laurence. The 01 had a lot more material and more complex fruit expression.

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• 2001 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence 93 Points

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

  Darker and deeper fruit expression than the 00 Reserve. Excellent concentration and dense palate. It will improve further.

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• 1979 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle Flawed

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Some loved it but I thought slightly Madeirized, still showing some leather, dry fruits and strong presence of mint. Too bad.

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• 1997 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This was a sound example of the 97 Chapelle, starting to show some tertiary characters. Mostly ripe black fruit, some olives, leather, smoke. Excellent concentration, sweet fruit, bright acidity and resolved tannins. Lovely showing.

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• 1989 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal Flawed

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  I told Craig that this always has dirty nose like TCA. I was hoping not but unfortunately another tainted bottle. I have noticed a number of people who enjoyed this in the past while it was clearly tainted. I am not sure whether that is a blessing or a curse. Caveat Emptor.

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• 2003 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Almost an Aussie shiraz like ripeness but still maintain the freshness. Very flamboyant wine with ripe black fruit, smoked meat and still noticeable oak. With air, the nose settled down showing more classical northern rhone meaty nose. If you like the sweet concentrated ripe fruit in domestic syrahs, you will enjoy this now. This is still primary and with perhaps ten more years of cellaring, it will be an impressive wine even for the classic northern rhone lovers.

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• 2007 Domaine Saint-Damien Gigondas La Louisiane 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  Blackberry jam, jammy hedonistic wine but not overdone. Kalamata olives and bloody steak are there but masked by generous jammy forward fruit. Excellent concentration, silky texture and round mouth feel. It will be interesting once it gains more tertiary characters with more olive and meat. Impressive wine and good value.

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• 1989 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée du Papet 90 Points

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

  This is the wine that I really wanted to try once again as I have always enjoyed its Burgundian characters. Not so this time. I was one of the last to get the wine and my glass was a bit murky with sediments. It just didn’t show much, very dumb. It happens.

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• 2001 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire 94 Points

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

  I was just about the only one that really liked this wine. This cuvees seem to always show the similar characters, olive, dry fruits, wet tobacco and sour cherry in the nose and impressive concentration, high alcohol and extremely high acidity in the palate. It is an impressive wine that has a bit too much of acidity. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was acidified.

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• 1995 Romano Dal Forno Nettare 96 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT

  This is a perennial crowd pleaser except those who don’t care for anything sweet. This has intensely sweet nose, mango, guava, ripe yellow peach, apricot and etc. The palate is also very sweet but like Yquem, this is all about the texture, how can such an intense wine with so much residual sugar be so light and precise. This is neither cloying nor heavy in the palate. It certainly is very sweet though. Lovely showing not unlike the reciotos, ie this somehow balances the sugar where the recioto balances the high alcohol. P.S. I just noticed that I rated the wine 96 in February. I guess this is my perennial 96 pointer.

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