A lazy holiday lunch - Arnoux, Marcassin, Drouhin, Machina, Dujac and etc.

RJ organized a lazy holiday lunch at Black Salt. Six of us got together to drink mostly Pinots and Chardonnays.

• 1996 Bruno Paillard Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Sweet yellow and red fruits driven nose, apple peel, sweet spices and crème brulee. Good concentration, a bit coarse mousse, sweet yellow fruit driven palate, bright acidity and medium finish. If tasted blind, I would have never guesses as a BdB as it is very sweet, ripe and big. Not terribly complex but fully mature and drinking at the peak.

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• 2009 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard 96 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Surprisingly subtle and understated. Fresh ripe white fruits, pear, white peach, lemon peel, a hint of sesame/oak, sweet spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, mineral, bright acidity and seamless long finish. Beautifully balanced. Very enjoyable in very Californian way but not overwhelming.

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• 2010 Aubert Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Intense yellow tropical fruit driven nose, pineapple, apple, sesame, saline, pine needle, seashell and mineral. Big scale wine, strong presence of mineral, bright acidity and long finish. Very Aubert, a lot of everything: ripe fruits, mineral and acidity.

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• 2009 Y de Yquem 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  Nice to have a generous friend who love this stuff. Consistent with the bottle drank less than a week ago. Strong presence of mineral, seashell, a hint of sugar, banana, pear, pineapple, saline and lanoline. Noticeable alcohol that gives the sweetness. Excellent concentration, fresh citrus drive palate impression, great minerality and clean finish. The palate impression is not unlike a top cuvee Chapoutier white. Once again, this is a very primary, big scale wine. Really unique. Some liked more than I.

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• 2010 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 94 Points

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

  Consistent with the last bottle. Start tight. With air sesame/toast, mineral, saline, white fruits and flowers. Lean and precise, great tension. Excellent wine as usual.

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• 2007 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits

  Really interesting wine. Really dense for a Bourgogne blanc. Ripe sour yellow fruits, slightly unripe peach, lactic and mineral. Excellent concentration, piercing acidity and long finish. I am surprised by the level of concentration. The piecing acidity is perhaps due to this coming from Hautes Côtes de Nuits.

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• 2007 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Medium expressive nose, red and dark fruits, soy, a hint of sous bois, and dark spices. There is a hint of green/stem note. Good concentration, ripe dark fruit driven palate impression, good mineral presence and good clean earthy finish. Although I noticed a hint of sous bois, this will need a few more years. Very nice showing and quite enjoyable.

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• 2009 Marcassin Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Medium expressive nose of blackberries, black cherries and stewed tomatoes, dark spices, tree bark and earthy. Good concentration and balance. No noticeable alcohol. Really enjoyable.

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• 2003 Lucien Le Moine Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Showing a lot of the 03 characters, very ripe black fruits, licorice, baking spices, cola and earth. Excellent concentration, slightly overripe black fruit driven palate impression and medium finish with lingering baking spices note. I would rather cellar this for another decade to lessen the 03 ripe expression.

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• 2001 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots 93 Points

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

  Medium expressive nose displaying ripe red fruits, vosne spices, flowers, mushroom and earth. Medium concentration, polished silky palate, slightly light middle palate, nicely integrated tannins and lovely clean finish. Certainly no GC, not terribly complex and the fruit is not layered but showing a good amount of Vosne spices. Drinking extremely well. This may sound vague but very Arnoux, very Vosne 1er and very 2001. Highly recommend.

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• 2005 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin 97 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

  Pop and pour, seems very ripe. With air, black cherries, raspberry, sweet spices, grilled meat, grilled mushroom and cola. Excellent concentration, quite dense yet nicely delineated palate, sweet spices and lovely long finish. This went through a remarkable transformation, gaining a lot of truffle and becoming incredibly complex. The palate also gained weight. This is an exceptional wine that started around 93 and moved up to 97 pts. I highly recommend decanting it.

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• 2005 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina 95 Points

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

  I had the 07 version in August which I found overwhelming. This has settled down wonderfully showing much better balance. Sweet slightly dry dark fruits, also plum, licorice, grilled meat, dark spices, earth and a hint of garrigue. Excellent concentration, nicely layered fruits, dry sweet dark fruit driven palate impression, silky and polished, nicely integrated tannins and lovely long finish. Nicely balance and harmonious. Not showing much alcohol and true to CDP. Really enjoyable.

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The lunch last almost four hours. We were still not done and Barry kindly invited us to his house. He kindly open the 89 Barolo which showed very well, kind of old school iron, rose and tar. He then opened the 07 Dujac CDR which showed really well.

• 2007 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 93 Points

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

  Really pretty wine. Crushed red fruits, cranberry, strawberry rhubarb pie, flowers, noticeable stem and mineral. Medium concentration, slightly lacking middle palate which is perfectly fine, delicate red fruit driven palate impression and clean medium finish with very mineral end. The stem note is very dujac. The 07s are drinking wonderfully, relatively light, delicate and really pretty. This reminded me the 74 Dujac CSD that I drank at Bern’s in Tampa awhile back.

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The lunch started at 1 last until 7. A great time was had by all!