France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Tasted double blind. Great cross-section of orchard fruit with plenty of floral and spice notes. Rich and opulent, this was fairly clear as a 2012 with Grand Cru density. Fat start, well structured and long finish. Very good+.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tasted double blind. Very mature black fruit with a meaty character, I thought it from 1997. Very good weight and fruit, but seemingly slightly lacking acidity, although this did slightly freshen up over the 10 minutes it was in glass.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Tasted double blind. Red fruit throughout with spice notes made me think this Vosne 1er Cru. Accessible, fun and elegant structure for a 2005 at this stage. Good+.
Tasted double blind. While I did think this Italian, I struggled to identify this as Nebbiolo. Faintly floral with red and black cherry aromas and flavors. Somehow this manages to simultaneously come across as rich and dense while also soft and elegant. Very forward and enjoyable right now, but with structure to drink well for a couple of decades. My favorite wine of the tasting.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Tasted double blind. Bright red fruit with lots of spice. Good textures, nicely elegant. Very good density for 1er Cru, with moderate length for now. Very good, probably a very good value as well.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Tasted double blind, alongside what turned out to be Lamarche 2003 Grande Rue. All red fruit fruit, clearly ripe and slightly mature. Rich with good spice. Very good density. Probably best to enjoy in the next five years.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
Tasted double blind, alongside what turned out to be Lamarche 2003 Grands-Echezeaux. Tired, roasted and slightly musty. Cork showed slight signs of leakage. Inconsistent with last time tasted, even though that was 5 years ago.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tasted double blind. Nicely mature black fruit that seemed older than 2003 with plenty of browning on the edges. Slightly meaty while with lots of good spice. Very elegant, very well balanced, especially for the vintage. But probably best to enjoy within the next decade.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Served to the tasting group double blind. Bright ed fruit with lots of spice, lots of power. Very powerful, still somewhat firm. Very long finish. Upside from here, 92 point potential.
Tasted double blind. Elegant and well balanced with fully mature red fruit. Very pleasant and balanced, slightly simple. I thought this a nice Burgundy Villages. Oops.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Popped and poured, then served double blind to the tasting group. Came across as rich and opulent, riper than most 2010s, so I understand why others thought it more like 2009 (or even Sonoma Coast). Despite that very ripe start, there is a very structured and powerful finish that is classic Burgundy. A wine I'd typically open/ decant well in advance, this continued to improve with more air, and was at its best when re-tasted several hours after popped.
Tasted double blind. Black fruit with spice hints, easily identified as Bordeaux. Very well balanced and at its peak, I thought this slightly older. Completely different vs another bottle from a few months ago, which was much more austere and less accessible.
Tasted double blind. Black currant, cassis and licorice. Very good concentration and power that comes across as firm on long finish. Needs time in the cellar. Like most others today, I thought this from Napa due to its rich and ripe 2009 character. Oops.
Tasted double blind. Fresh and dried cherries with slightly brooding character. Moderate weight and length. Upside from here. I liked this better today vs when last tasted 2 years ago.
Tasted double blind. Easily identifiable as an old school Spanish wine. Red cherry, anise, dried flowers. Comes across in that slightly oxidative style I enjoy from wines like this, even if I thought it somewhat older than a 2004.
Tasted double blind. Black and red cherry coming across as very pleasant but simple. Seemed more modern styled, but that might have been the downside of the Alta 2004 in the next glass. I found this much simpler vs another bottle from a few months ago, that was probably from the same case. Of course this was the final wine this afternoon.
2012 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Tasted double blind. Great cross-section of orchard fruit with plenty of floral and spice notes. Rich and opulent, this was fairly clear as a 2012 with Grand Cru density. Fat start, well structured and long finish. Very good+.
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2003 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tasted double blind. Very mature black fruit with a meaty character, I thought it from 1997. Very good weight and fruit, but seemingly slightly lacking acidity, although this did slightly freshen up over the 10 minutes it was in glass.
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2005 David Duband Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Tasted double blind. Red fruit throughout with spice notes made me think this Vosne 1er Cru. Accessible, fun and elegant structure for a 2005 at this stage. Good+.
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2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vigne
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Tasted double blind. Too much barnyard, this came across as rather tired. Shocking to see the vintage when revealed. An off bottle?
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2011 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Tasted double blind. While I did think this Italian, I struggled to identify this as Nebbiolo. Faintly floral with red and black cherry aromas and flavors. Somehow this manages to simultaneously come across as rich and dense while also soft and elegant. Very forward and enjoyable right now, but with structure to drink well for a couple of decades. My favorite wine of the tasting.
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2014 Arianna Occhipinti Il Frappato 80 Points
Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane
Tasted double blind. Massively reduced, very tough to assess, but no pleasure to be extracted from this wine this afternoon.
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2014 Jean-Marc Millot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Tasted double blind. Bright red fruit with lots of spice. Good textures, nicely elegant. Very good density for 1er Cru, with moderate length for now. Very good, probably a very good value as well.
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2003 Domaine Francois Lamarche Grands-Echezeaux 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Tasted double blind, alongside what turned out to be Lamarche 2003 Grande Rue. All red fruit fruit, clearly ripe and slightly mature. Rich with good spice. Very good density. Probably best to enjoy in the next five years.
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2003 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
Tasted double blind, alongside what turned out to be Lamarche 2003 Grands-Echezeaux. Tired, roasted and slightly musty. Cork showed slight signs of leakage. Inconsistent with last time tasted, even though that was 5 years ago.
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2003 Domaine Leroy Latricières-Chambertin 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tasted double blind. Nicely mature black fruit that seemed older than 2003 with plenty of browning on the edges. Slightly meaty while with lots of good spice. Very elegant, very well balanced, especially for the vintage. But probably best to enjoy within the next decade.
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2008 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Served to the tasting group double blind. Bright ed fruit with lots of spice, lots of power. Very powerful, still somewhat firm. Very long finish. Upside from here, 92 point potential.
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2002 Bergström Pinot Noir 89 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Tasted double blind. Elegant and well balanced with fully mature red fruit. Very pleasant and balanced, slightly simple. I thought this a nice Burgundy Villages. Oops.
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2010 Lucien Le Moine Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Popped and poured, then served double blind to the tasting group. Came across as rich and opulent, riper than most 2010s, so I understand why others thought it more like 2009 (or even Sonoma Coast). Despite that very ripe start, there is a very structured and powerful finish that is classic Burgundy. A wine I'd typically open/ decant well in advance, this continued to improve with more air, and was at its best when re-tasted several hours after popped.
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1998 Château Montrose 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted double blind. Black fruit with spice hints, easily identified as Bordeaux. Very well balanced and at its peak, I thought this slightly older. Completely different vs another bottle from a few months ago, which was much more austere and less accessible.
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2009 Château Branaire-Ducru 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Tasted double blind. Black currant, cassis and licorice. Very good concentration and power that comes across as firm on long finish. Needs time in the cellar. Like most others today, I thought this from Napa due to its rich and ripe 2009 character. Oops.
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2007 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero 90 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Tasted double blind. Fresh and dried cherries with slightly brooding character. Moderate weight and length. Upside from here. I liked this better today vs when last tasted 2 years ago.
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2004 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva 91 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Tasted double blind. Easily identifiable as an old school Spanish wine. Red cherry, anise, dried flowers. Comes across in that slightly oxidative style I enjoy from wines like this, even if I thought it somewhat older than a 2004.
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2006 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva 88 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Tasted double blind. Black and red cherry coming across as very pleasant but simple. Seemed more modern styled, but that might have been the downside of the Alta 2004 in the next glass. I found this much simpler vs another bottle from a few months ago, that was probably from the same case. Of course this was the final wine this afternoon.
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