Luis Tilia WTDS plus Happy Birthday to Gary and Me

8 of us gathered for this bi-monthly affair. I am so grateful that Luis organizes these, as they are the most high-end tastings that I have access to. It truly verifies the notion that if you ask, they will come.

• NV Philippe Prié Champagne Cuvée Archange 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Consistent with past experiences. I like this Prie Archange. Bold, bordering on masculine, but shows elegance and minerality as well.

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• 2011 DuMOL Chardonnay Chloe 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Pop and pour, shared the bottle with 7 others. This smells like sweet tropical fruit, vanilla and a bit of spicy oak. This is golden and Californian in a good way. This is definitely fruity but I'm not sure I would call it full-bodied. There is some balance, but a 2011 Leeuwin art series chard had more elegance tonight, although I preferred this one. YMMV.

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• 2011 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series 93 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Pop and pour, shared a bottle with 7 others. Minerality and salinity combined with golden fruit, elegance and high alcohol. Yes, this is a strange combination, with aspects of Chablis, California and a bit of Australia. Unquestionably a world-class chardonnay.

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• 2002 Domaine Michel Gaunoux Corton-Renardes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Slow O'd an hour, shared a bottle with 7 others. Initially the nose was incredible nuanced, it just screamed with intensity and complexity - we all felt it. But then it kind of faded to match the palate, which was a high quality pinot noir of nondescript origin. We didn't get a lot of there here. I suspect this wine is too young at the moment.

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• 1997 Antinori Solaia 94 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Slow o'd an hour. This wine met my expectation - something like Bordeaux made in Italy. You get the Italian acidity and sour cherry, mixed with musty books, leather, earth, etc.... I'm not sure this is worth the price, but I'm happy to have tried it, and it was well received by our group.

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• 2004 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Arana Reserva 88 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Slow O'd an hour, shared with 7 others. This wine was better at the beginning, despite a lot of vanilla oak. There was a nice richness of the fruit, tar and spice. Over time, it turned into a dill pickle. Truly, every time I went back to it, the dill became more powerful such that I reached a point where I couldn't enjoy it anymore. And I like dill pickles. I've never experienced that before, but other notes here would indicate that I'm not alone in this observation. Positives and negatives of this wine put it in the "happy average" ballpark.

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• 1996 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Decanted 40 minutes, then brought to a tasting and shared with 7 others. This is old-school Bordeaux through-and-through, including it's rather lackluster palate compared to the spectacular nose. Some fruit left, but not much. Mostly secondary and tertiary qualities.

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• 1996 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Flawed

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  What JCGUTHRIE said.

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• 1995 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Slow o'd 2 hours, shared a bottle with 7 others. This is extremely well integrated at the moment, with dark and brooding black fruit, licorice, anise, spice, cedar. Really classy. Yet, as nice as this was, I was expecting it to be better, mostly based on the producer and price. I feel this wine is at peak right now. It may not have as much structure as a Bordeaux of similar pedigree, choosing instead to seduce you with its smooth elegant tannins and rich fruit. Regardless, great juice and one of the best tonight.

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• 2003 Château Pape Clément 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Decanted for an hour, shared a bottle with 7 others. I was happy to find some Bordeaux in this bastardized Bordeaux. Definitely fruit fruitward and heavy oak, but there is a good complexity and structure as well. There was a a nice dark, brooding, almost funky quality to it that agreed with my experience from this producer.

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• 2006 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Luis, I said I wanted to try this in 5 years, not 2. :) Oh well. This bottle was not decanted, so I feel it was about the same place as the bottle 2 years ago that was decanted 90 minutes. This truly is an enjoyable California cocktail wine. It doesn't go with food because it doesn't want to share the spotlight. It's all that and a bag of chips, and some silicone implants. In fairness, there is some structure, it has medium cellar potential.

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• 1997 Château Climens 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Pop and pour, shared a bottle with the table. A nice servicable Sauternes, just a bit disappointing from this producer that usually has more elegance. I hope this is in a dead spot and will rise from the ashes in a few years.

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• 1989 Dow Porto Vintage Quinta do Bomfim 88 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Unknown if this was opened beforehand, but it probably should have been. There was a fair amount of alcohol here. If you're not discriminating, this might be ok, but I am, as was everyone at our table, so this was not well received. A lot of alcohol, just a touch of caramelization, oxidation and red fruit. If it was just opened, it might have benefited from being slow o'd for several hours. I think this port was just in a bad spot tonight, it would probably show better with better treatment.

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