Waterford Staff Party 2.0

It's early, 10:15am, and I've got my game face on. Mercury, give me the wings to make it all day!

• 2006 Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Vintage Collection Brut

  Italy, Lombardia, Franciacorta DOCG

  Big bread on the aromas. Palate dives much more into enchanting mineral water territory. Palatemof frosty mineral with some massive width.

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• NV Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier Brut

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Damn, is that dosage or just stunning fruit presence? The balance today is almost too easy. Wonderfully executed salted poached pear.

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• 2002 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Rosé Cuvée Palmes d'Or

  France, Champagne

  Lacquered and varnish nose, strawberry darkness. The softest black pepper, dried flower, and again dark red mature fruit. Has character, but not my favorite today.

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• NV R. & L. Legras Champagne Brut Rosé

  France, Champagne

  'very dry'. Salted strawberries and thoughts of cocoa.

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• NV Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Grand Rosé

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Spiced wild strawberry.

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• 2004 Movia Puro Rose

  Slovenia, Primorska, Goriška Brda

  Pepper, clove, spice, mineral, floral, red fruit spiced. Strawberry mineral water. And quite the spectacle as well!!

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• 2001 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Brown sugar, sugar cookie, simmered red fruit, showing some mature fruit thoughts. Really a rich brown edge on a red fruit palate. A mouthful of champagne and then some.

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• 1999 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  What a treat!! Reaffirming why this is one of my favorites. What was once an in your face-ness of brown lees notes, (ie marmite, etc), is now really into a salty and mineral tunnel. Absolutely, KAPOW! on the palate.

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• NV Jean Milan Champagne Grand Cru Grande Reserve 1864 Blanc de Blancs

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Butter, but not toast. Mineral precision on ripe fruit palate. Both wow! and kapow! 8 or 9 years on lees.

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• NV Henri Goutorbe Champagne Cuvée Prestige

  France, Champagne

  A brown bone. Again, a Pinot dominated feel, a rocking dark aging strawberry.

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• 1996 Yarra Yering Blanc de Noir

  Australia, Victoria

  This was really a treat. 12yrs on the lees, closed with a crown cap. Rich fruit palate, orange marmalade, but more engaging is the strawberry jelly, that reminds me i'm out of my mom's homemade strawberry jelly and need to re-up. A real treat, thanks Andy.

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• 2006 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc Te Koko

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Magic!!...as a bottle resurfaces. Caramel, gooseberry, pineapple, green spice, smoke and ash. Another year or two ahead of this one, but really at the top of it's game right now.

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• 2002 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 'M'

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  White forest flower, pear richness, mineral, loads of mineral, white pepper, exotic pepper.
  Day 2, the richness of fruit is really laid out on the parquet. sweet pear nose. palate is really glassy in texture up front. yesterday, i was perplexed, today i'm totally floored.

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• 2005 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Riesling Langenloiser Steinmassel

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Dry thoughts of ripe apple and lean pear. ...at a tipping point in maturity and all the better for it. I hath not enough time with you today brundlmayer.

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• 2005 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  Orange liquor nose. Apricot and nectarine palate. ...really too much going on in this wine for the field today.

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• 2009 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Vireuils

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Rich mineral palate, it's got some nice weight, showing oak that seems forward in it's non-new-oak-ness.

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• 2003 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Cream and cream soda, smoke is vanishing and this is now masterful balance for Chablis. What a treat!

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• 2002 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Much less mature feel than The 02 Vaillons right next to it. Pear fruit realm, lemon meringue, and a hazelnut breath, while still nice and firm on the palate.

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• 2008 Domaine Comtesse de Cherisey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny

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

  Oak aromas quite apparent on the nose, sweet citrus fruit and clove, palate gives way to a profound laser of acid.

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• 1997 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Blanc

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  This is all mineral today and a real textural stand-out. A real glassy texture on the palate with a refreshing thought on a balance that is more than suitably soft.

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• 2005 Jermann W.... Dreams .........

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT

  A real treat in the sense that I didn't have to open my last half bottle to get this opportunity. Lean pineapple juice is but a really rich palate...and thoughts of peanut butter. This is the wine that left me guessing the whole day. Numerous times and I went back to the first part of this note, only to not edit.

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• 2008 Ghostwriter Chardonnay

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Orange circus peanut, banana, lemon custard. I've been trying, but the 09 has my heart over the 08. This wine was just in the wrong company today.

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• 2006 Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Wowza!! Next to all this white burgundy, this is the real deal of regional difference. Just shy of pineapple, much sweeter and richer than the 07 Coche Dury Rougeots Meursault next to it. Smoke, oak, clove, 14.6%ABV, some nuttiness towards the finish. Dare I say, the clock is ticking on this one.
  DAY 4, still holding on strong, but again the madeira-style nuttiness on the finish makes me wonder. much more focus on the palate today, but there is that circus peanut (also buttered popcorn, maybe they're really one in the same) on the palate and in the aromas.

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• 2007 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Mineral, spice, and smoke, a cracked grain oak on a really creamy palate. damn!!

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• 2009 Arnaud Ente Meursault

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  MAGNUM, wow, oak shows on the nose, but then just KAPOW!! On the palate. This note doesn't do much justice to anything.

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• 1998 Mount Mary Quintet

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Med(+) body, medium tannin, fresh red fruit and green pepper. Really, really nice clarity to the palate. Not unlike a candle in the window. Great experience.

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• 1996 Gundlach Bundschu Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Reserve Rhinefarm Vineyard

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Fine tugging tannin, medium(+) body, medium tannin, and again a green aspect, but not the balance of the Mount Mary 1998 or the girth of the 02 Pichon Baron.

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• 2002 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Big dark red fruit, almost into raspberry. Espresso, med(+) tannin, med acid and full body. A full tilt style and top of this 3 set.

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• 2004 Domaine Leroy Gevrey-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Wild red fruit palate. The 'wild' feels like some resolving stem. Insanely juicy red fruit palate. Rhubarb. Was this the wine that went toe-to-toe with 07 Folk Machine Factories and Smoke Pinot Noir?

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• 1990 Maison Leroy Maranges

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Maranges

  This has been open for more than just a couple hours at this point. Palate is drying out a touch, but smoke and forest floor. Past it's best, i'm sure, but still holding on with med(-) tannin. Super fine and iodine. Quite a treat.

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• 2007 Folk Machine Pinot Noir Factories & Smoke

  USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County

  Uber-soft palate and still showing a touch of oak. Sweet fruit, but with med(-) tannin. Dark earth aspect and great with Lapierre Morgon Red Velvet Cake.

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