Saturday with David White

David was in town, so we rounded up some folks at Domaine for a fun afternoon of football and wine. After that, a group of 9 of us went to Sun Wah to continue the festivities.

Big thanks to Chris and James at Domaine for hosting us, and it was great to see David again.

• NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Premier Cru Les Vignes de Vrigny 93 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Beautiful nose of truffle, pear, melon, and white florals. Loved the exoticism of the palate...this offers a lot more than your typical champagne.

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• NV Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve 91 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Lots of minerals, toast, and brioche. Enjoyed the length, grip and energy of the palate.

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• 2006 Sine Qua Non The Hoodoo Man 76 Points

  USA, California

  Intense nose of butterscotch, smoked nuts, and lemon oil. A real bruiser of a wine that punches you in the face with not only the flavors, but its alcohol and viscosity. Has the feeling of a butterscotch/lemon mixed drink.

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• 2011 Arnot-Roberts Trousseau Luchsinger Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, North Coast

  A really nice wine. Had that light berry, floral and brambly nose that Trousseau can have. The palate was juicy and energetic with great acidity, a nice earthy component and then vibrant red fruit. The fruit was more vivid that most of the Trousseau I've had from the Jura, but the fruit an airy coolness that was quite nice.

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• 2006 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Even with some air this was almost completely shutdown. Just a hint of florals on the nose. Hold.

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• 2006 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  The oak seemed to stand out a bit more compared to my last bottle. Still had a really nice spicy note with subtle undertones of earth and dried leaves. Not overly complex, but thoroughly enjoyable.

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• 2010 Domaine de Prion Fleurie Vieilles Vignes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  A touch of oak gave this a bit of weight. Lots of minerals and mushroom notes on the palate were really nice. This was my first Prion and I was impressed.

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• 2011 Pierre-Marie Chermette Fleurie Les Garants 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  Thoroughly impressed by this. Great juicy gamay with a real vivid earthy and meaty streak to it. Loved the energy.

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• 2011 Pierre-Marie Chermette Fleurie Poncié 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  Similar notes to my last bottle. Really great stuff.

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• 2011 Pierre-Marie Chermette Moulin-à-Vent Les Trois Roches 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent

  Lots of nice structure to this wine with a good deal of crushed stones, raspberry, plum, and earth. Palate was airy, but had a firm edge to it. Serious juice.

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• 1982 Château Saint-Pierre 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Really nice Bordeaux. Had a fair amount of sweet cherry tobacco on the nose with some forest floor and mushroom tones. While this had a distinctly rustic edge to it, the fruit was sappy and juicy. Pretty nice package!

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• 2003 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

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

  A really nice surprise. I've been a vocal critic of 2003 CdPs...just too roasted and syrupy. This was lithe, spicy and had a nicely energetic spine to it. The florals were beautiful on this wine and I thought the spice component was exotic and layered.

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• 1999 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 88 Points

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

  Seemed a bit shutdown and simplistic. The fruit was pure, but a bit too easy-going for me. Really beautiful florals and spice but everything seemed only about 2/3rds there. Should be a real beauty with some time.

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• 1976 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Lovely dusty red fruit and tobacco were singing on the palate. The palate was in a great place with great complexity, smooth tannin and great florals. Great stuff.

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• 1996 François Cazin (Le Petit Chambord) Cour-Cheverny Vendanges Manuelles Cuvée Renaissance 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Cour-Cheverny

  Show stopper. Beautiful wine that has a beautiful sweetness to it with a wonderful vein of acid under it all. Zippy apricot, truffle, florals and white florals. Great composition, verve, and sweetness. Dazzling shit.

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• 2002 François Cazin (Le Petit Chambord) Cour-Cheverny Vendanges Manuelles Cuvée Renaissance 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Cour-Cheverny

  Drank alongside the '96, which outclassed it. While this didn't have the level of complexity and composition of the '96, this had a more refreshing palate with a leaner edge to it. Nice melon, pear and apple tones were fresh and zippy. Drinking very well with loads of life ahead of it.

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• 2011 Abbazia di Novacella (Stiftskellerei Neustift) Kerner Praepositus 88 Points

  Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Valle Isarco / Eisacktaler

  Nice melon tones fold together nicely with some pear and crushed rocks. This didn't blow me away with complexity, but the fruti was really pure and clean. This was my first experience with Kerner and I'm interested to try more.

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• 2009 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  A pretty good Sonoma pinot...lots of cool fruit, brown sugar, and plum spice. Takes a lot from Sonoma to get me excited, and while this wasn't outstanding, did provide a good deal of enjoyment.

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• 2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Santenay Vieilles Vignes Ceps Centenaires 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Santenay

  Pretty darn good stuff. Richly fruited, with some nice undertones of earth and minerals. A bit modern in approach, this seemed to have some lingering oak that gave the wine a bit of heft. Would be fun to see this age.

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• 1905 D'Oliveiras Madeira Verdelho Reserva 95 Points

  Portugal, Madeira

  Nice roasted nut and caramel on the nose - very powerful and room-filling. The palate was energetic and complex. Nice acidity on the finish with good apple, sweet lemon, and great minerality made this an absolute treat to try.

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• 2000 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 90 Points

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

  Not oxidized! Amazing. Anyways, this was really nice with bright, flinty, lemon. and oceanic tones. Great edge to it and impressive complexity.

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• 2007 Franz Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Rotes Tor 91 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Lovely gruner with a peppery profile. Nice floral notes, melon, and lemon...thought this was drinking very well, with lots of aging potential ahead of it.

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• 2007 Von Hövel Oberemmeler Hütte Riesling Spätlese 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Definitely punches above its price point. Nice tropical character - peaches, pears, mangos fold together seamlessly. The lychee and mineral notes were really buzzing on the finish. Great length, and complexity...a really nice wine.

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• 2005 Gravner Breg Anfora 92 Points

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT

  Another strong showing. Great richness without being heavy and a dizzying melange of floral, melon, and truffle. Love this stuff.

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• 2002 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  From a cooler vintage, this certainly has a lean, cool tone to it. The oak seemed to act like a blanket - giving a bit of heft and warmth to the violets and spicy plum underbelly. There was some nice meaty and peppery tones, but everything seemed turned down to a 4...instead of the more intense nature this cuvee usually has.

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• 2008 Domaine Ponsot Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  Pop and pour. A touch of brown sugar on the nose seemed to dissipate with air leaving behind a spicy red fruit melange that had a nice rustic edge to it. What a presence this wine had - this was a powerful, deep, layered Ponsot that really falls into the masculine camp of Burgundy. Everyone really seemed to enjoy this at dinner...went really well with the duck at Sun Wah.

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• 2004 Château Malescot St. Exupéry 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Firm. Dark fruited, smokey and spicy. The core of this wine is quite nice, but is all but covered up by the tannins which are gritty and drying at this point. Feel like the material is quite nice, so as the tannin eases up this should be quite lovely.

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• 1997 Thunder Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Beauregard Ranch Flawed

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  off bottle

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• 1998 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  Loved the character of this wine. Great red floral notes blended perfectly with sweet cherry, spices, some brown sugar, and sage. Great complexity with layers of subtle earth, truffle and dried florals. Lovely stuff that's drinking very well.

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• 2008 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Kick Ranch 86 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  A pretty good syrah. Had rich modern fruit with some nice spice and meaty tones to it. Rather souless when you compare this to Northern Rhone syrah, but drinks well and is relatively well-balanced.

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• 2007 Shane Syrah The Villain 85 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County

  Dark fruit at its core with some pepper and florals. Had nice balance to it, but just didn't strike a chord with me.

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