Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party

This was the annual holiday party for the big group. There were around 38 people attending. Food tonight was very good and the wines certainly stood out across the board. Always a big highlight for the year. Thank you to everyone for sharing your wines and friendship. This is just a fantastic group of wine lovers! Happy Holidays to all.

• NV Charles de Cazanove Champagne Tête de Cuvée 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold color. Drank 1 glass over 30 minutes. First time with this producer and I was very impressed. Chablis28's bottle and i loved it. I found it to be particularly fresh and lively, quite intense flavors with the pear standing out, ripe melon, and a suave clean minerality. Great value, darn slurpable, and one I will seek out. 91+ to 92pts.

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• 2007 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold color. Drank 1+ glass over an hour. I'd been looking forward to trying this since missing a Roederer tasting a week earlier where it was being poured. Probably a bit too cold initially out of my bag, but as it warmed a bit I found it developing nicely. Probably still too young, but giving a great deal of pleasure already. Lively, lovely, lemon, lemon curd, light ginger, toast, hints of almond, and a long finish. This shows grace and good intensity, and it isn't heavy at all. I would expect this will take on more weight over time. I'll lay off opening anymore for a couple years.

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• 2012 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 93 Points

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

  Light medium gold color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 75 minutes. Sure, it's too young. Yes, there's plenty of oak that needs to resolve. BUT, it is damn delicious now. There is a good blast of oak and some matchstick on the nose, but the complex citrus fruit is bright and holds its own. There's a good earthen minerality on the nose as well. The palate is quite bright with clementine and meyer lemon and a hint of tropical fruit as well; full bodied and a bit of flesh currently, flinty minerals, and excellent length. I found that the oak really gave way, but not until well into the second half hour in glass. Probably needs another two years ideally, otherwise a decant would be beneficial.

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• 2007 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru

  Light gold color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 45 minutes. A very good bottle with some initial matchstick, followed by focused lime and stony minerality, and a little surprisingly youthful oak still. The palate is taut and focused with very good acid, lime, lemon, and green apples, crisp and bright, great minerality that drives this. 91+pts.

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• 1971 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barbaresco Riserva 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Medium crimson red color, moderately cloudy, with a 3-4mm bricked margin. PNP, drank 1 + glass over 2.5 hours. Another really nice bottle following one Siggy brought about a year and a half ago. Not quite as absolutely ethereal, but simply wonderful. I love the complexity and perfume here, just a ton of potpourri and dried floral notes, earthy, red fruits, plenty in minerality - a suggestion of iodine, but a bit different I would say, a touch of roast meat, orange peel, and leather. The palate is medium bodied and quite fine, crushed red cherry, cranberry, orange peel, leather, dried earth, porcini mushroom, and some graphite on the deep finish. This was getting better all night long. There was a bit of a lull an hour in where I thought it might fade, and then it took off again. If I had the chance, I would have decanted this off the sediment and used cheese cloth as well. As Chablis28 noted. It is important to try to pour these the same way to avoid stirring up the sediment. With the amount of fine sediment here, I think it was still going to be comewhat murky anyway.

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• 2003 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Light medium red color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 90 minutes. Very nice, a classic Barolo, very well made with nice spice and anise on top of the pretty red fruits, elegant and lighter medium body. Tannins are still showing some firmness, but not obtrusive. 92+pts and maybe better yet.

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• 2011 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 91 Points

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

  Medium dark red color. PNP, open for an hour or so at the table I think; drank 1 glass over an hour. I thought this showed very well. Bright, strawberry, raspberry, vanilla, spiced on the nose. The palate has a nice core of red fruit with some more nuanced darker fruit, a little sourness to the fruit, nice texture with good overall balance and lift, spiced finish. A touch young, but really drinking quite well. 91+pts.

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• 2004 Talenti Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Dark red color. Drank a small pour over an hour. Same bottle as Chablis28. This was good, but like Chablis28 noted, not as exciting as expected. This bottle was really showing some oak and that was a bit distracting. I think the essence is there and maybe just needed some different context.

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• 2008 Le Piane Boca

  Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Boca

  Dark red color. PNP, followed one glass over an hour. This just wasn't ready for prime time for me. Just too young and showing all that youthful harsh tannin and oak with a core of dark red fruit and black licorice with a dill note. No score at this point.

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• 2007 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT 95 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Dark red color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 75 minutes. Wow, this just slaps you upside the head with a velvet glove and says take notice. Gorgeous from the start, lovely enticing nose. The palate is like liquid velvet, texturally amazing, pretty and lush red fruits, dried herbs, perfect balance with lift and energy galore. Fantastic stuff. 95+pts.

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• 2009 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Just got a taste of this. Consistent with past bottles. Particularly notable was a pretty floral note on the nose. Very nice green fruits throughout. 93+pts.

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• 2013 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  I was really looking forward to a chance to taste this vintage tonight. Glad to get a pour. Light green color. Drank with the '09 Fevre Le Clos and I liked this a bit better than the Le Clos tonight. Both great, but there's just something about these Arnot Roberts Chards that i love. Very racy and pure, great acid and minerality always , with tremendous cut and clarity. Green fruits, lime, lemon-lime, very long, green melons, lifted, stony minerals. Loved it.

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• 2013 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Tasted a small pour from another table. Didn't take any detailed notes. Noticeable oak influence, a bigger fuller body with bright citrus and tropical notes as I recall. 90(+?)pts.

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• 2008 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Special Club Millesimé de Collection 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Great to get a chance to try this again. Small pour, really consistent with the last bottle. Lots of freshness to the fruit with good acid, power, just so nicely balanced. Easy to drink already.

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• 2004 Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja) Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Dark garnet red color. Got a small pour of this, thanks Gary. Wow, I'd had the '04 Rennina previously and it was singing...this was not different. Great nose; very nice dark berry fruits, ripe cassis, oak, very silky, chocolate, well integrated and harmonious.

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• 1955 Château Lascombes 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Light medium orange brick color. PNP, drank a very small pour from the end of the bottle, and I'm grateful to have had a chance to try this. I don't know that I had enough to really examine it, but what i had was surely pretty and resolved. I'm always excited by the opportunity to try these old bottles. They can just be a delight. This has a lot of sediment that I caught at the end with my last pour so that may have had an impact. Very earthy, loamy, lovely dried red fruits, light body, light cherry, and balsamic note on the end. Very pretty. 93+/94(?), maybe underscored based on circumstances. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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• 2002 Antinori Solaia Annata Diversa 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Dark red color. Small pour over 15 minutes. Very beguiling, I was taken immediately by the lovely nose of creme de cassis, dried leaves, earth, and charcoal. The palate is texturally alluring as well, it simply glides across the tongue with its beautiful dark berry fruits leading the way, creme de cassis, blackberry cobbler, charcoal, wood spices, and hints of mushroom with a long integrated finish. Great silky tannins too! Thanks to Dan for this beauty. 93+ to 94pts.

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• 1985 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  I believe the words I used were: "This is holy crap corked." As in holy crap, this is REALLY corked. A shame.

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• NV A. R. Lenoble Champagne Brut Rosé Terroirs 89 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tiny pour. Pretty good, cherry, yeast, lighter body.

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• 1996 Château Coutet Barsac 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Small pour, thanks to Brian - a much better bottle than the last time we had this. This had a lot of orange, citrus, nectarine, orange marmalade and honey on it. Quite good tonight.

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• 1961 Château Filhot

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Very small pour shared. A fun little number and a birth year wine for both of us to boot. Thanks to Jason for sharing this. Dark amber color. From a producer I'd never heard of as well. In good shape, burnt creme brulee, orange peel, not all that sweet at this point, spiced, hazelnut. Probably in the 91pt range. Quite enjoyable.

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