Dinner at Mike and Cathy's place in 2013

Retrospectively reconstructing TNs for a long dinner from 2013.

The wines were:

1996 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année
1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Brut
1996 Duval-Leroy Champagne Femme de Champagne
1985 Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne
2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Valmur
2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
2004 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
2007 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère
1987 Domaine Jean Gros Vosne-Romanée
2003 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
2003 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots
2001 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui
1998 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
2007 Château Suduiraut
2006 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos

I also took the following note:

1985 Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne
Deep golden colour. Very expressive nose with a secondary to tertiary character. Clearly a mature wine but of great interest and charm. The nutty (pine nuts, we decided) and rich character dominated the palate. Also, toast, but very fine. Uplifting. Obviously aged character but no oxidation. On palate this is rich but still focused. Good phenolics carries the wine. Consistent and with finesse. Great viscosity, almost a croissant or pastry quality, like a fine very mature champagne. But finishes pure and long. The extreme age was a surprise on the reveal.

• 1996 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted alongside the 1996 Pol Sir Winston Churchill, of similar quality. Delicate gold colour. Mature but fresh and expressive nose. On the palate, spectacular. Lemon, tropical, rich, honeyed character but all in balance. Layered, focused and full. Great texture. Long and very lively with a great finish. The best Bollinger I have ever had. Still 5+ years ahead of it.

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• 1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted alongside the 1996 Bollinger La Grande Annee, and slightly preferred the Winston. A spectacular Champagne! Darker in colour. Very fresh on the nose. More of a chalky, racy mineral character with a subtle brioche, butterscotch, but not in any way heavy. Rich pear on entry. As the wine opened it gained richness and weight. Fills the palate with opulent fruit but with intensity and precise focus. Great acidity and minerality on its very long finish. "Flirts with a terminal bitterness that never materialises", said a friend I was tasting with.
  
  We discussed whether we preferred the Bollinger or the Pol. It was hard to decide. The Bollinger was quite magical and the Pol tighter, but the Pol seemed to me the more detailed expression. Neither Champagne had passed its peak.

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• 1996 Duval-Leroy Champagne Femme de Champagne 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted alongside 1996 Bollinger Grande Annee and Pol Sir Winston. Served blind. On the nose, a lemon, nutty, almond character. On the palate, it opens more in an oxidative style than the other two, but is very attractive. It is very tight. It is also fresh and driven with great acidity. The citric quality (candied lemon rind?) comes through clearly on the palate. We were thinking this might be a Dom Perignon. The Femme showed more development on the palate than the earlier two. A rich, layered wine with a toasty, honeyed character. However, it finished shorter than the two other Champagnes on a citric note. Seemed at its peak now.

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• 2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Very perfumy, ethereal nose. Lemon, lime, creaminess, some minerality and chalk. Good fresh, tight texture, very delicate, but good structure and balance and some matière. Finishes on a lemon and pineapple character. Very pure wine. On opening, not obviously Chablis, but developed that character more clearly with time, tending mineral and oyster shell. Consistent notes the next night. At a good stage now but years of development to come.

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• 2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 375ème Anniversaire 93 Points

  France, Alsace

  Clear Riesling character on both the nose and palate. Floral and red apple, with tropical notes, and an interesting custard character. A slight petrol aroma. A rich entry leads to focused and rich acidity with good phenolics. Citric with good minerality and tension. A pure, fresh and vibrant, very youthful, and very good Riesling.

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• 2004 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  A flinty character, with some dustiness, on the nose. Also some citrus and a greengage element. On the palate: a lovely wine with a rich, oily texture, acid well in balance and an attractive saline, seashell quality. Seemed right at its peak.

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• 2007 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 92 Points

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

  The sulfur here is quite obvious on opening and remained there later in the evening, somewhat veiling some really good fruit aromas underneath, including acacia and minerals. The palate has the intensity, concentration and weight you would expect of a Boillot wine. Very tight phenolic grip with good acidity and minerality. Perhaps it needs more time?

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• 1987 Domaine Jean Gros Vosne-Romanée 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée

  Tasted blind with food. The nose speaks of mature Burgundy. Aromas of black fruit, a toasty character, with a lactic element (époisses?). Autumnal, rotting leaves, sous-bois. Musky, mushroomy and spicy aromas. Leather and tobacco. Sweet fruit on entry. The tannins have softened. This is a very expressive and open wine. Despite its maturity, it has retained a good concentration. Also an appealing umami, soy character. It is quite long and finishes on its remaining tannins.
  
  On the reveal, if ever there was an argument to make for aging wines, this is a great example. An intriguing, mature village wine in a vintage that is not supposed to be that great. We liked the fact that the alcohol is modest and the wine was not overwhelmed by it. It has been left to age and transformed into this. On the night, 94.

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• 2003 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Domaine Louis Jadot 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Tasted blind with barbequed steak and Truffle sauce. Two bottles brought by different guests.
  
  Bottle 1:
  Expressive fruit with plum character. Very lifted. Chocolate. Rich and concentrated on the palate. Alcohol is noticeable but the wine still remains very interesting. Works very well with the barbecued beef with truffle sauce. Sweetness of the fruit carries the wine to a long finish.
  
  Bottle 2:
  Big expressive red fruit, spicy, raspberry nose. The lifted character is also prominent but this is fresher and more forward red fruit. Some plum and some earthiness. Definite Gevrey signature. Not at all flabby, quite focused. However, the alcohol is more obvious on the palate for this bottle. What this bottle has in freshness over the first bottle it loses because of alcohol.
  
  Youngish wine, will develop.

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• 2003 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Tasted blind with barbequed beef and truffles. Very primary on the nose. Lifted fruit and floral. We were all guessing a young wine (perhaps due to the lifted character). 2003 is a bit of a surprise. The palate is expressive, with a sappy character and rich and concentrated. However, in no way overdone or over-extracted. Drink now but years ahead of it.

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• 2001 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  Tasted blind at dinner with barbecued beef and truffles. A lifted character on the nose, with some dustiness. Also, vibrant red fruit and cassis. On the palate, great concentration and focus. More freshness and crystalline and less sweetness and alcohol than the 2003 red Burgundies we had on the night. Good mid palate weight, complexity and length. I did not see the over-oaking some tasters suggest in earlier reviews. A lovely, balanced wine, drinking very well right now.

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• 1998 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

  Gorgeous nose. Very floral and lifted aromas. Violets, cherries, strawberries and spices. A very serious white truffle character. Savoury character but fine, not in any way coarse. This nose is all of the spectrum, from fruity to musky and savoury. Complexity and intensity on the palate. The aromas and tastes of the wine keep on shifting depending on the sip and the moment. We all go a bit quiet tasting this. Very concentrated, sappy character, layered and long. Excellent tension and tautness, the sweetness in balance with the savoury. Elegance and power without weight: the iron fist in the velvet glove. Many years of life left of course.

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• 2007 Château Suduiraut 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  On the nose turkish delight, preserved oranges and lemons. On the palate, viscous, with depth of flavour, nougat and citrus. However, not as precise or racy as the Chateau Climens 2007 we had a fortnight ago. A bigger, more rounded expression than that, but with sugar and acidity in balance. Drinking well now but will develop further. 91.

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• 2006 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 91 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  Nose with honey and lemon, more apricot. Flavoursome with a tangy, intense palate. Rich, concentrated, syrupy, hedonistic. Some at the dinner preferred this broader expression but I preferred the 2007 Château Suduiraut we had side-by-side with it.

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