Disgorged March 2015, 3.5g/L dosage, with juice that is from the 2010 and 11 vintages. Moderate yeast, with a distinct bready character on the nose. Tart cranberry and a nice richness to it, even though it does veer a touch to the hot and blowsy side. A touch of black plum on the palate, too. Shows quite round.
Served blind. Lychees, lemongrass, and a somewhat grassy and herbaceous nose. Quite herbal, with very nice acidity on the palate. Clearly a grape of Teutonic origin, but I didn't pick up so much of the Mosel minerality to lead me to think Mosel. The grassiness ended up with my guessing Austrian Gruener Veltliner, but I wasn't happy with that, as this didn't feel as hot and oily as I would have guessed. At the end of the day, this is a dry riesling that doesn't suffer from the low-cut dress problem that Mr. Levenberg has mentioned regarding the high-acid rieslings that dominate the wine scene these days. This is in fact, an eminently enjoyable bottle of dry riesling.
Served blind. Definitely not my proverbial cup of tea. Extremely dark in colour, and I think it's pretty easy to pick this out as jammy new world syrah from the nose. But the palate is a real surprise -- it's not jammy at all, and there's a slight touch of acidity to boot. Hooray! Based on the state of the fruit, which still had some freshness to it, I guessed this to be around five years old.
Served blind. A real dose of funk on this one, with some dense earth notes... and not much fruit. The super light colour had me thinking Jura for a bit, but this had a bit more density than a poulsard or trousseau. I was thinking Loire pinot noir at the end, since I didn't get too much Burgundianness on this (whatever the heck that means). I did pick up on a slight bit of grassiness. Odd stuff, but enjoyable.
My bottle, so not served blind. This had a predominant green note that made most of my dinner companions call a cabernet-franc-heavy Bordeaux blend, though they all agreed this was a Left Bank wine. It did lack a lot of the cedar, graphite, and leather notes you might pick up in a Bordeaux. On the other hand, the tannins were fully resolved, and there was still plenty of fruit on this. A very elegant and delicious bottle of cabernet.
Served blind. I think this slightly edged out the 1989 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow for wine of the night, though I totally missed on calling it as old Bordeaux at all. I initially picked up a little bit of Bordelais herbaceousness but that was whisked away by the sweet dried fruit on the palate, which led me down a few other random paths (all abortive). Based on the pronounced presence of the tertiary characteristics, I had this at something around 30-40 years old.
Served blind. Another cabernet that threw me off (it's hard when the green herbaceous notes aren't prominent!). The nose initially had an odd tomato aroma, but that seemed to blow off in the glass. The palate definitely shows some oak use, but it has definitely integrated very well. This seems to have come from a warmer clime or year, thanks to the rich black fruit, but whether it's old or new world, I've no clue.
Served blind (peripherally -- how coincidental that two vintages of this wine ended up at the dinner. Sadly the 1999 was corked). Stuck my nose in this and called young Northern Rhone right away thanks to the lovely red fruit and spice. There's something quite similar to the Gonon Iles Feray, though it's definitely lacking a bit of the oomph. Somewhat coarser tannins with a slightly polished style had me thinking a Paris Cornas.
Served blind. Although not as obvious at the 2010 Graillot Crozes, it didn't take too much effort to guess at Northern Rhone. I thought this showed a lot older than the seven years though, but that might be attributable to the fact that this just isn't showing anything at all right now! Sour and tannic, with a barrier that prevents any attempt to plumb its depths. One to rest in the cellar now.
NV Pierre Paillard Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged March 2015, 3.5g/L dosage, with juice that is from the 2010 and 11 vintages. Moderate yeast, with a distinct bready character on the nose. Tart cranberry and a nice richness to it, even though it does veer a touch to the hot and blowsy side. A touch of black plum on the palate, too. Shows quite round.
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2012 Ravines Wine Cellars Dry Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard 90 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes
Served blind. Lychees, lemongrass, and a somewhat grassy and herbaceous nose. Quite herbal, with very nice acidity on the palate. Clearly a grape of Teutonic origin, but I didn't pick up so much of the Mosel minerality to lead me to think Mosel. The grassiness ended up with my guessing Austrian Gruener Veltliner, but I wasn't happy with that, as this didn't feel as hot and oily as I would have guessed. At the end of the day, this is a dry riesling that doesn't suffer from the low-cut dress problem that Mr. Levenberg has mentioned regarding the high-acid rieslings that dominate the wine scene these days. This is in fact, an eminently enjoyable bottle of dry riesling.
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2003 TOR Syrah Clone No. 1 Durell Vineyard 83 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Served blind. Definitely not my proverbial cup of tea. Extremely dark in colour, and I think it's pretty easy to pick this out as jammy new world syrah from the nose. But the palate is a real surprise -- it's not jammy at all, and there's a slight touch of acidity to boot. Hooray! Based on the state of the fruit, which still had some freshness to it, I guessed this to be around five years old.
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2013 Michelini Bros SuperUco Malbec Calcáreo Granito de Tupungato 70 Points
Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco, Gualtallary
Served blind. Extremely high-toned and cough syrupy. Hot, bitter, and astringent. Wholly unpleasant. Some sort of new world monstrosity?
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1999 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Served blind. Corked.
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2000 Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Served blind. A real dose of funk on this one, with some dense earth notes... and not much fruit. The super light colour had me thinking Jura for a bit, but this had a bit more density than a poulsard or trousseau. I was thinking Loire pinot noir at the end, since I didn't get too much Burgundianness on this (whatever the heck that means). I did pick up on a slight bit of grassiness. Odd stuff, but enjoyable.
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1989 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
My bottle, so not served blind. This had a predominant green note that made most of my dinner companions call a cabernet-franc-heavy Bordeaux blend, though they all agreed this was a Left Bank wine. It did lack a lot of the cedar, graphite, and leather notes you might pick up in a Bordeaux. On the other hand, the tannins were fully resolved, and there was still plenty of fruit on this. A very elegant and delicious bottle of cabernet.
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1966 Château Cos d'Estournel 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Served blind. I think this slightly edged out the 1989 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow for wine of the night, though I totally missed on calling it as old Bordeaux at all. I initially picked up a little bit of Bordelais herbaceousness but that was whisked away by the sweet dried fruit on the palate, which led me down a few other random paths (all abortive). Based on the pronounced presence of the tertiary characteristics, I had this at something around 30-40 years old.
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1979 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains 88 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Served blind. Another cabernet that threw me off (it's hard when the green herbaceous notes aren't prominent!). The nose initially had an odd tomato aroma, but that seemed to blow off in the glass. The palate definitely shows some oak use, but it has definitely integrated very well. This seems to have come from a warmer clime or year, thanks to the rich black fruit, but whether it's old or new world, I've no clue.
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2010 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Served blind (peripherally -- how coincidental that two vintages of this wine ended up at the dinner. Sadly the 1999 was corked). Stuck my nose in this and called young Northern Rhone right away thanks to the lovely red fruit and spice. There's something quite similar to the Gonon Iles Feray, though it's definitely lacking a bit of the oomph. Somewhat coarser tannins with a slightly polished style had me thinking a Paris Cornas.
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2009 François Villard St. Joseph Mairlant 85 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Served blind. Although not as obvious at the 2010 Graillot Crozes, it didn't take too much effort to guess at Northern Rhone. I thought this showed a lot older than the seven years though, but that might be attributable to the fact that this just isn't showing anything at all right now! Sour and tannic, with a barrier that prevents any attempt to plumb its depths. One to rest in the cellar now.
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