France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Brooding, dark, dirty, intense. Comparable with past bottles, but this was showing young and with less ripeness to the black fruit. Very gritty. Still has the damp leather and spent coffee grinds. Massive structure and not convincing that there is underlying fruit to balance out... This was the first wine of the after-hours flight with Kemo Sabe and Hamburgler, and probably should have been the last.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Gorgeous nose right off the pop with white flowers, wet slate, and some nicely reduced and ripe yellow orchard fruit. [Guest's blind guesses on the nose included Coche and d'Auvenay, which was overly optimistic, but appreciated] Seem to have lucked into a good bottle here as the palate was well balanced with deep and rich ripe fruit, minerality, and fine acid as well. Second wine of the after-hours flight.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Explosive and unapologetically whole-cluster bouquet with very sweet red cherry and raspberry fruit developing great secondary aromas. [Hamburgler got producer and vineyard on the nose immediately] Palate is mature with developed earth-driven tones above sweet if slightly roasted red fruit. A little stewy but still very pleasurable drinking. The final wine of the after-hours flight. Great.
Good nose, big brioche and vanilla. Palate has lots of Krug acid but also nice developed creamy notes. Great smoke as well. Coming back to the glass three hours later, say what you will about Krug having extreme acid, but good bottles of the '85 have just beautiful minerality and creaminess too. Picking up some metallic notes if one criticism. Paired against the '85 DP is a matter of preference.
[Magnum] A low fill and breaking the cork on the open were initially concerning, and the first few minutes with this were a little musty tonight, but in no time this blew off into a classic DP nose of sulphur and brioche. Consistent with past bottles. Reductive. Very ripe yellow apple on the palate. Smoky and savoury. Salted caramel. Good as ever.
Savoury nose that has big rhubarb, jerky meats, red liquorice, and distinct Italian spice. Reading very young and ripe. Big, robust, and very dark on the palate. Oak is still present. Opening up and showing some more character, but still pretty bold. Less experienced with these wines so tough to get a good read, but the '85 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria alongside was substantially more developed and mature, in a positive way.
Beautiful perfume wafting from the glass with sweet red cherry and developing secondary fall leaves and maple. Palate is sweet with well aged but still bright red cherry fruit. Nuanced and intricate. Softer Italian spice. Perfectly mature drinking. Beautiful finish here. Less experienced with these wines, but that was gorgeous Nebbiolo.
Not a big performance out of this tonight. Ripe, juicy, black cherry, a lot of structure but otherwise not really developed... Have had '96 that was more developed and showy, and even that bottle was shut down. Served in an impressive and expressive lineup of wines tonight and this, along with '85 Chateau Canon, got lost in the flood. Not giving up as the past note sounds pretty good...
Perfumed black cherry bouquet. Secondary damp soil and damp tobacco aromas. Big cigar box spice on this too. Gorgeous nose - stealing the Bordeaux flight. Palate is rich and lush upfront then gives a lacquered and acrylic mid palate. Drinking well and firing on all cylinders. Brett, but no TCA.
Spicy nose, some cool cola, and a ton of shaved red cedar. Came back to this two hours later and the red cedar and dried back cherry is huge. No brett, super clean, just mature and developed. Earth-driven tones keep it intriguing. Fine drinking for lovers of classic claret. Enjoyable now but has structure and fruit flavour to carry on for decades.
Spectacular bouquet; black smoky coffee, black olive, bloody roast beef, ceramics. That Chave nose... every time. Scorched earth terroir. Roasty smoky scents at the same time as delicate white florals. Really beautiful. On the palate this has rich rhubarb and red and blue berry fruit with savoury cured meat and spice. Wine of the night. Excellent. [One decanted, one pop and pour, both great, decanted decidedly more showy]
Very pretty and floral nose. This is a very intricate and complex nose, but it is subtle and harder to read in the context of a larger dinner / tasting. Delivers big and powerful flavour on the palate. Juicy, meaty, savoury, delicious. Came back to a glass of this after two hours and it was much better. Robust and complete. Far darker and more intense than the Chave.
Spectacularly floral bouquet with delicious smoky aromas. Both sweet and savoury. Had a few tastes of this a week or so ago at the Wolfgang Grunewald pre-auction tasting but tonight got into a bottle from the sale. Drank after the whole '85 lineup tonight so notes are weak, but this was a wonderful glass of wine.
1989 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Brooding, dark, dirty, intense. Comparable with past bottles, but this was showing young and with less ripeness to the black fruit. Very gritty. Still has the damp leather and spent coffee grinds. Massive structure and not convincing that there is underlying fruit to balance out... This was the first wine of the after-hours flight with Kemo Sabe and Hamburgler, and probably should have been the last.
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2001 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Gorgeous nose right off the pop with white flowers, wet slate, and some nicely reduced and ripe yellow orchard fruit. [Guest's blind guesses on the nose included Coche and d'Auvenay, which was overly optimistic, but appreciated] Seem to have lucked into a good bottle here as the palate was well balanced with deep and rich ripe fruit, minerality, and fine acid as well. Second wine of the after-hours flight.
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1997 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Explosive and unapologetically whole-cluster bouquet with very sweet red cherry and raspberry fruit developing great secondary aromas. [Hamburgler got producer and vineyard on the nose immediately] Palate is mature with developed earth-driven tones above sweet if slightly roasted red fruit. A little stewy but still very pleasurable drinking. The final wine of the after-hours flight. Great.
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1985 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Good nose, big brioche and vanilla. Palate has lots of Krug acid but also nice developed creamy notes. Great smoke as well. Coming back to the glass three hours later, say what you will about Krug having extreme acid, but good bottles of the '85 have just beautiful minerality and creaminess too. Picking up some metallic notes if one criticism. Paired against the '85 DP is a matter of preference.
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1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 93 Points
France, Champagne
[Magnum] A low fill and breaking the cork on the open were initially concerning, and the first few minutes with this were a little musty tonight, but in no time this blew off into a classic DP nose of sulphur and brioche. Consistent with past bottles. Reductive. Very ripe yellow apple on the palate. Smoky and savoury. Salted caramel. Good as ever.
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1985 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Savoury nose that has big rhubarb, jerky meats, red liquorice, and distinct Italian spice. Reading very young and ripe. Big, robust, and very dark on the palate. Oak is still present. Opening up and showing some more character, but still pretty bold. Less experienced with these wines so tough to get a good read, but the '85 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria alongside was substantially more developed and mature, in a positive way.
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1985 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Beautiful perfume wafting from the glass with sweet red cherry and developing secondary fall leaves and maple. Palate is sweet with well aged but still bright red cherry fruit. Nuanced and intricate. Softer Italian spice. Perfectly mature drinking. Beautiful finish here. Less experienced with these wines, but that was gorgeous Nebbiolo.
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1985 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Not a big performance out of this tonight. Ripe, juicy, black cherry, a lot of structure but otherwise not really developed... Have had '96 that was more developed and showy, and even that bottle was shut down. Served in an impressive and expressive lineup of wines tonight and this, along with '85 Chateau Canon, got lost in the flood. Not giving up as the past note sounds pretty good...
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1985 Château Haut-Brion 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Perfumed black cherry bouquet. Secondary damp soil and damp tobacco aromas. Big cigar box spice on this too. Gorgeous nose - stealing the Bordeaux flight. Palate is rich and lush upfront then gives a lacquered and acrylic mid palate. Drinking well and firing on all cylinders. Brett, but no TCA.
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1985 Château Cos d'Estournel 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Spicy nose, some cool cola, and a ton of shaved red cedar. Came back to this two hours later and the red cedar and dried back cherry is huge. No brett, super clean, just mature and developed. Earth-driven tones keep it intriguing. Fine drinking for lovers of classic claret. Enjoyable now but has structure and fruit flavour to carry on for decades.
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1985 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Spectacular bouquet; black smoky coffee, black olive, bloody roast beef, ceramics. That Chave nose... every time. Scorched earth terroir. Roasty smoky scents at the same time as delicate white florals. Really beautiful. On the palate this has rich rhubarb and red and blue berry fruit with savoury cured meat and spice. Wine of the night. Excellent. [One decanted, one pop and pour, both great, decanted decidedly more showy]
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1985 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Very pretty and floral nose. This is a very intricate and complex nose, but it is subtle and harder to read in the context of a larger dinner / tasting. Delivers big and powerful flavour on the palate. Juicy, meaty, savoury, delicious. Came back to a glass of this after two hours and it was much better. Robust and complete. Far darker and more intense than the Chave.
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1978 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Spectacularly floral bouquet with delicious smoky aromas. Both sweet and savoury. Had a few tastes of this a week or so ago at the Wolfgang Grunewald pre-auction tasting but tonight got into a bottle from the sale. Drank after the whole '85 lineup tonight so notes are weak, but this was a wonderful glass of wine.
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