2017 Holiday Season Wine Tasting Party

Theme was Napa vs. Bordeaux although the first flight was a Napa Chardonnay vs. a Meursault. John, Es, Daniel, Quynh, Izzy, Emmy, and Albert, joined Yeni and I for this tasting.

For food we had prime rib, pasta, 3 types of manchego (different aging), Quynh's homemade bread, and kale salad.

• 2014 Domaine Patrick Javillier Meursault Clos du Cromin 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  (12/3/2017)

  Very solid white Burgundy. It's leaner, and not the most complex representation but still quite enjoyable.

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• 2013 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Napa Valley 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (12/3/2017)

  Very solid Napa Chardonnay that is in a leaner, cleaner style, lots of fruit.

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• 1995 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Bancroft Ranch 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  (12/3/2017)

  Ready to drink and still tasting great - it's amazing how well this wine has held up. Tobacco, anise, cherry, flowers. Drinking in a flight with a 1996 Clerc Milon and the wines were neck and neck although the Clerc Milon clearly had more acidity.

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• 1996 Château Clerc Milon 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  (12/3/2017)

  This is in such a great spot - very complex, round and smooth, some really nice cherry as a foundation to a number of secondary and tertiary notes. Floral, lavender, smoke, spices.

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• 2001 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Spottswoode Estate Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (12/2/2017)

  What a beautiful wine. Nose reminded me of Bordeaux but the palate is clearly napa with a strong core of fruit. Soft and complex, in a beautiful spot.

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• 2000 Les Pagodes de Cos 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  (12/3/2017)

  Good wine but stylistically didn't resonate with me, it's got a fair amount of pyrazine and the fruit has mostly subsided while still having a bit of a tannic back end.

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• 2000 Château Pontet-Canet Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  (12/3/2017)

  I shed a tear as this bottle was corked. Was so excited about tasting so it was a letdown.

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• 2005 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (12/2/2017)

  Beautiful nose. Still lots of life left and I think it will still get better. Drinking well now, a good example of aged napa mountain fruit

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• 2000 Château Léoville Poyferré 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  (12/2/2017)

  In a word... silk. So silky smooth with a beautiful nose of lavender, cherry and slate. Beautiful but I would actually wait a bit in these

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It was very educational to drink in a comparison way. Really helped drive clarity on the characteristic differences between the regions, especially sine we were able to drink through wines from the 90s, early 2000 and a Napa from 2005 to see the evolution. Even though we generally prefer Napa wines, tonight, the French wines as a whole shoed a bit better even though the WOTN was the Spottswoode. Nothing disappointed except for the corked Pontet Canet. Sometimes it seems funny to talk about preferring one wine over another when on any given day any one of these wines would be amazing.