95 Point Wines as rated by the Wine Advocate

Dinner with my wine group were we had 5 wines, all rated 95 or better by the Wine Advocate. The red wines were opened about 45 minutes before we started pouring them, one at a time. We had, in order, 2014 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese, 2009 Xavier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Anonyme, 2013 The Farm Winery The Big Game (the only wine we decanted), 2012 Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, and the 2012 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner Select.

• 2014 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  My previous bottle was less sweet than I was expecting, and some other previous drinkers/posters had made a similar comment. But this bottle was definitely sweeter than "off-dry", I was surprised at the sweetness. Only 8.5% alcohol, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. Despite the surprising sweetness, my entire group loved this. It was great as an appertif, and it also went well with the buttery popovers the restaurant serves as its bread.

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• 2009 Xavier Vignon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Anonyme 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Its been 2 and half years since my last bottle of this vintage, and it is still tasting very young. Maybe my cellar is too cold? We probably should have decanted it, as it improved over the course of the dinner. But even p'n p, it was still tasty.

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• 2013 The Farm Winery The Big Game 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

  The only wine we decanted, and as soon as we opened it, even before pouring it into the decanter, we were struck by wonderful nose of the wine. It was dark colored, with a long finish. It was our WOTN as 5 out of 8 of us had it as their favorite.

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• 2012 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner Select 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  I was very much surprised how much more I enjoyed this wine, over its "regular bottling" sibling. I had had the same vintage of the regular bottle, in the same restaurant, just one week earlier. 2 members of my wine group had this as their favorite wine of the night. Notes of blackberry and blueberry on a long finish. It probably would have benefited from more breathing time.

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• 2012 Andrew Will Champoux Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills

  Brought this by accident, instead of the more Merlot dominated Ciel du Cheval vineyard wine. This one has 64% Cabernet Franc. That being said, I really enjoyed it. Less upfront fruit than the Napa wines we had alongside it. Not a lot of tannin, or a lot of oak. Good finish. But I'm not sure of its aging potential.

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Figured out when we went to pour the Andrew Will, that I brought the 2012 Champoux vineyard instead of the planned upon Ciel du Cheval vineyard wine. The Champoux was rated slightly lower on WA, "only" 94+ points. Nonetheless, despite it being a different blend, with more Cabernet Franc and less Merlot than the Ciel du Cheval, it was a huge hit. The WOTN was the Farm Winery's "the Big Game", with the Pride Cabernet also gathering some votes for the favorite.