Leo's Blind Tasting Group - May '15 edition

The Kitchen at Grove
Tasted Tuesday, May 5, 2015 by salil with 536 views

Flight 1 - Starters (2 Notes)

  • 2012 Matello Chardonnay Richard's Cuvee 89 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge

    I liked this a lot, and was guessing this was a village Chablis when poured blind. Restrained, understated pear and citrus fruit tinged with stony mineral notes, very fresh and lively with bright acids beneath, and very well balanced. Second eye-opening Oregon Chardonnay I've had in a few weeks (after a stunning '95 Eyrie recently).

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  • 1990 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Blanc 87 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

    Others liked this more than I did - I thought it was very good, but just on the downslope. There's some ripe orchard fruit here tinged with more developed burnished, nutty, and creamy flavours, though it feels just a touch soft on the palate and fades away quickly on the finish.

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Flight 2 - Pinot flight - with duck confit hash (4 Notes)

  • 2011 Brooks Pinot Noir Janus 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    Really liked this. Such bright, sappy red fruit here - incredibly fresh and vibrant, and tinged with sweeter floral and herbal notes, with a faint savoury earthy element developing with some air. There's some fine grained tannin on the back end, and also a bright spine of acidity beneath that keeps it very lively. Was guessing Burgundy on this one, and another surprise when unveiled.

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  • 2004 Joseph Drouhin Musigny 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

    Guess there's something to that whole "producer over vintage" thing... served blind, nobody guessed this was a 2004, although Leo did nail it as Drouhin Musigny! Incredibly fragrant and so polished and graceful on the palate, with a core of fresh fruit ranging from sappier black cherries to lighter cranberry and strawberry notes, with floral, faint herbal (not unripe/vegetal), and more savoury earthy nuances all developing with more air and time in the glass. Stunning balance and length, with the tannins incredibly gentle and bright acids providing most of the structure, and a very silken, graceful mouthfeel. My runner up WOTN.

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  • 2003 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir Marie Zelie Reserve 89 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

    My guess on this was Rhys - well, right on the New World part, wrong on the country/hemisphere. There's lots of ripe black cherry and raspberry fruit on the nose and palate tinged with higher toned rhubarb and herbal (stemmy?) elements, and most of the structure seems to come from the acidity - there's not much in the way of tannin here. Very nice.

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  • 1989 André Beaufort Rouge Ambonnay

    France, Champagne, Coteaux Champenois

    There's a very strong funky, earthy note dominating the nose, no sense of fruit at all, and it's rather hard and astringent on the palate. Not my thing at all.

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Flight 3 - Champagne flight - with spicy pea soup with crispy duck skin (4 Notes)

Flight 4 - Bordeaux flight - with braised short rib and chanterelle (4 Notes)

  • 2001 Château Haut-Bailly 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    I'm stunned at how well this is drinking right now, and thrilled I have a couple in the cellar. The fruit's still incredibly youthful and sappy, with great intensity and richness on the palate, yet it's already showing a lot of those classic Graves smoke, gravel, and tobacco flavours around the fruit with a really polished, graceful palate presence. Powerful but without ever feeling overbearing or heavy, and I can only imagine how good this will be with more time in the cellar.

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  • 2001 Château Magdelaine 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    This isn't as expressive as the '01 Haut Bailly, and comes across more reserved on the nose and palate, though still showing the finesse and polish I always find in Ch. Magdelaine. Really pretty red and dark fruited flavours tinged with cedar, earth, and higher toned herbal and tobacco notes, with bright acids beneath giving the flavours a remarkable sense of freshness.

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  • 1970 Château Haut-Bailly 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    This is drinking beautifully right now. Gentle red fruited flavours that still come across very fresh, augmented by an array of developed smoky, tarry, dried tobacco, leathery and dusty flavours, all coming together very seamlessly on a medium weight frame that's very silken with the tannins resolved, and bright acids keeping it quite lively. One of my top wines of the night.

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  • 1970 Château Magdelaine 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Flat out wow. This is absolutely incredible, and yet another reason for me to be patient with my younger Magdelaines. It's impossible to fully catalogue the array of flavours here - layers of red berried fruit, tobacco, cedar, leather, earth, and sweeter floral and herbal notes, all conveyed with remarkable finesse and a lightness of touch on the palate. The aromatics keep expanding and becoming more complex with air, and the finish resonates long after each sip. Stunning wine - thank you Jay!

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Flight 5 - Dessert (1 Note)

  • 1997 Château Climens 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Liked this a lot - this is just my style of Sauternes, with bright pineapple and apricot fruit glazed with honey and vanilla, but not at all heavy on the palate with moderate weight and bright acids keeping it very fresh. I'd have given this a lot more attention if I wasn't still enjoying the last few drops of the old Bordeaux from the previous flight.

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