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Wine Type
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Vintage
Name
Variety
Locale
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Date
Posted
Score
Helpful
Comments
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White - Sparkling
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2019 Ultramarine Blanc de Noirs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Pinot Noir more
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Opened 2.5 hours prior to serving, as a previous run in with 2019s just showed that they needed a lot of air.
Quite vinous. Light vegetal notes that evolve into pencil shavings, violets, and a layer of reduction while in the glass as it warms down. Lovely texture with soft fruit. Doesn't drink like any Ultramarine BDN I have had in the past, nor any BDN, but it does remind me a bit of the 2010 Rose I had two years ago.
Fascinating wine, personally found it extremely enjoyable when all the layers hit. No score as I don't think I can score this accurately for what this wine is expected to be.
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White - Sparkling
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NV Jacques Selosse Substance
Champagne Grand Cru
Chardonnay more
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Disg 2014.
The most special bottle of Selosse I have had -- the dense concentration loosening just enough to form layers on each and every note. Flavors effortlessly swirl and last, full range of umami, sherry and fruit brought to life by a dancing acidity. Incredible echoing finish that lasts a good ten minutes after the sip.
The best wines are wines that warp your sensation of time just a little bit, as the palate just feels long and time seems to slow down so you can feel every detail of it effortlessly.
Selosse perhaps at absolute peak, actually, maybe just wine drinking at absolute peak (at least for now)
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White - Sparkling
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NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Exquise Sec
Chardonnay more
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2019 Disg.
Quite an amazing pairing with Korean Fried Chicken -- normally, champagne tends to feel a bit dry in the finish, but the dosage certainly solves that problem. Makes the wine feel more fresh.
Otherwise, I think this is a great dessert wine and should be thought of as such. On its own, the sweetness does get a bit overbearing especially if you have more than a few sips. It's quite vinous with great fruit clarity and expression, and I really enjoyed how delicate the bubbles were without being super fine, perhaps due to the viscosity of the champagne.
It might be too way too much to open the night with, but it is a great wine to close the night with. Thanks for sharing XY!
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White
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2005 Guffens-Heynen Pouilly-Fuissé Tri des 25 ans
Chardonnay more
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Quite plush. Easy to drink and enjoy, and the depth of the texture gets deeper and deeper with air. Texture and palate progression at the very least reminds me of some of the better white burgs I had, although it seemingly lacks the complexity, but perhaps because it shows off the texture so beautifully.
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White
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2002 Guffens-Heynen Mâcon-Pierreclos Tri de Chavigne
Chardonnay more
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Mold on top of the cork, a very good sign, but in this case the cork was completely soaked through.
Very ripe with quite a bit of botrytis. This bottle had the acidity to back it up, unlike the bottle I had a few months back at a restaurant. Starts off a bit disjointed, with quiet thoughts of "premox...?" but enough fruit and acidity to keep drinking, although it hits with a slight awkward bitter finish.
The wine evolves quite a bit with air. The finish becomes full. A brief moment where the wine tastes a bit stale before the acidity integrates with the fruit. A bit of lift carries the wine. If it had a bit more concentration and more acid, it would remind me a bit of Montrachet, certainly not Macon. Some nuttiness develops in the finish, particularly hit by hazelnuts.
Quite a good showing, unlike the previous bottle of this that reminded me more of white Rhone due to the lack of acidity. Perhaps the acidity variance is definitely a sign that if you still have this, you should *definitely* be drinking these now.
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Red
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2014 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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Out of the five wines of the CDLR flight, this felt the most expressive of the terroir. With a bit of air the wine really had everything - integration revealing many detailed layers, from the Dujac signatures, the phenolics from the whole cluster, spices, the terroir, and fruit, all packed with a nice acidity to give it a beautiful levity that makes all of the layers just flow together nicely. Gorgeous.
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Red
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2006 Dominique Laurent Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Intra-Muros
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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Perhaps just peaking into the drinking window. The most present out of the CDLRs of the evening, whether it be the oak, the aromatics and intensity. Feels a bit too amped up currently, but doesn't feel too distracting from the other aspects of the wine. Good showing.
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Red
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1995 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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Quite a bit of VA at start, which took about an hour or so to blow off. Certainly lacks details and clarity compared with the other wines of the flight, not messy, but unrefined. The bottle peaked about an hour in with the midpalate really showing off with nice silky fruit, but fell apart quickly after, and remained rustic and turned leaner as the evening progressed.
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Red
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2014 Bouchard Aîné & Fils Clos de la Roche Cuvée Signature
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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The wine unfortunately didn't have the space to show amongst heavyweights. Good, basic expression of the terroir and solid all around, but always feels lacking especially when following other wines on the flight.
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Red
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1995 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Clos de la Roche
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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Slight hint of VA which quickly blew off. The palate is quite long especially at opening, especially in the finish -- skirts the line between aged strawberries, licorice, and noses. Good fruit.
With air time, it gets more integrated, and this is where the wine feels like a poor representation of terroir. Lack of details once all the pieces are in play, other than very pretty rose bouquet that starts at the nose and finishes well into the palate. Once it gets to the tea notes, it never fully feels like it carries anything delicate, other than broad stroke of roses.
Elegant, pretty wine, and a great burgundy, but feels more like the maker than the terroir.
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Red
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2016 Sami-Odi Shiraz Hoffmann Dallwitz
Barossa
more
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The texture and concentration is definitely what I expected from the wine, but it's a bit too big. Very big and inky, there's a lot here but it feels a bit overwhelming. Five hours of decanting doesn't budge it one bit. Still feels far from the drinking wine. Fun to compare with the Little Wine series, which are much more approachable young.
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Red
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2020 Cameron Rouge Clos Electrique
Oregon
Pinot Noir more
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Bottle was opened as part of a larger Pinot Noir tasting. Was a bit worried after reading CT notes, but no one in the tasting group tasted a hint of smoke, at least in this bottle, so perhaps there's some bottle variation. A bit dense at the start, slightly savory with dominant blue fruit. Develops better clarity as the wine opens, and having a few hours of development allowed it to develop a dazzling kaleidoscope of blue fruits, red fruits, and grapefruit. Pretty trippy experience for your tongue.
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Red
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2002 Nicolas Potel Echezeaux
Echezeaux Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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Opened extremely lean. Fruit only came out roughly 40-50 minutes later. A brief moment where it had a lovely Vosne spice, strawberry fields, with ethereal lift and texture. The definition slowly declined, although it did keep the ethereal texture.
Not bad overall, but given this experience and overall notes, probably wouldn't seek it out.
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Red
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2006 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts Vieilles Vignes
Pinot Noir more
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Potentially flawed bottle, as it showed signs of slight heat damage on the cork (despite the label being pristine) -- I guess it's what you get from auctions.
Still quite oak dominant, the finish when the bottle first opens is pure oak, to the point where it builds up to being bitter. Some vegetable notes prominent.
Fruit is pretty ripe, a bit like sugar soaked/maybe slightly stewed strawberries (all quite drinkable, nothing seems particularly off about this). Not much about the bottle tells you it's from Vosne, let alone Beaumonts. Lots and lots of acidity still, although it feels a bit disjointed from the rest of the wine.
The bottle opened up quite a bit more over the night where it performed significantly better. Tasty after oak showed some integration, but still way too much oak left in the bottle. Would argue that this needs a lot more time for everything to integrate, unless you really love oak.
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Red
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1999 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT
Sangiovese more
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Lovely wine, with all the elements well integrated. Great nose.
Needed to be decanted as it was a touch bit too lively when opened (despite the moldy label). Showed great evolution over the evening with a great nose. My favorite moments where about an 45 minutes after being decanted, where all tertiary elements showed with a deep, rounded cherry note.
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White
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2016 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis 1er Cru La Forest
Chardonnay more
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Not the most enjoyable bottle -- the underlying elements are there, but there was a pretty strong bitter note that was pretty disjointed with the rest of the wine and never fully integrated (although it did improve) within the 2.5 hour dinner. Still what you expect in terms of underlying layers.
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White
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2004 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
Chardonnay more
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Pristine condition and color, purchased from Chamber Street Wines.
The wine was still ripping with acidity when it opened, perhaps a bit too much. Took a while to get into tune with the other elements, took about two hours where it felt like it was drinking at the peak. Still seems to have quite a bit of life left. Extremely enjoyable, despite no singular element sticking out.
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Red
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NV Sami-Odi Shiraz Little Wine #11
Barossa
more
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Tasted as a part of a large tasting night. It certainly lacks delicacy -- when drank with something like Gonon side by side, it screams loud and a bit unhinged especially at opening -- it almost tastes oxidized due to the silkiness and texture when drinking with other wines side by side.
The wine definitely needs a lot of air or age to shine currently -- the wine certainly performed better later. Would wait, although I have no doubts it'll evolve into something quite nice.
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Red
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NV Sami-Odi Shiraz Little Wine #9
Barossa
more
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Silky texture with a savory note that exaggerates certain Syrah characteristics at open. Good aromatics.
Starting about an hour later over the course of the night, the fruit expresses itself quite a bit more. Absolutely lovely, the strawberry sugar glass note and texture reminds me of some of the current hyped Burgundy makers, but with a darker tone. The core characteristics support the wine well, as the savory notes take a backseat to the fruit notes. Intense and more vibrant as the bottle opens.
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Red
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NV Sami-Odi Shiraz Little Wine #8
Barossa
more
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Off the Modern wine list. Decanted.
Silky in texture, with a rounded out core. Feels like a well aged barolo, but with a lot deeper concentration and darker fruit, but still showing brighter fruit characteristics in the aroma gravitating around the core. Lovely.
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Red
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2014 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares
Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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Bottle had been open for about an hour before my first try.
Tremendous, substantive. Incredibly dense tannins made up the backbone, showing the potential of all the flavors that it needed to unpack that slowly expanded into the world it wanted to express, a full palette of violets, cherries, dark fruits, hints of wood.
It's hard to call the wine shut down, as it felt more like it failed to integrate. The tannins eventually softened, but did not express too much other than the texture, feeling like soft dust. It slowly covered the whole wine, and then when it lifted, all that was left was the base structure of the wine with very little tannins, with almost nothing in the midpalate (where did all the fruit go?)
Each pour from the bottle reset this process, although eventually the bottle did not have much to show over the three hours this wine as drank. Needs more time, but the consensus of the night was that the missing midpalate was at least a bit concerning. Hard to not rate this high, given how it opened, however.
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Rosé - Sparkling
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2015 Savart Champagne Premier Cru Expression Rose Nature
Pinot Noir more
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The color will definitely make you do a double take! Definitely reminds you a lot of BdN.
The Ouverture serves as a base canvas for this wine -- where the fruit provides the color, the acid the brightness. The fruit and acid expresses itself, most strikingly at the center of it all, oily and sleek due to the richness of the fruit, bright due to acid. The acid dances, providing lift to the fruit. The fruit flickers, but it stays on.
Very curious how this wine would have been if it got a full chance to integrate, I feel like it would have been absolutely dazzling.
I feel like I wasn't able to unpack everything from this bottle. I feel like understanding the vintage more would have went a long way, or having another bottle from a different vintage. Very cool though, hoping to run into more of these in the future. A bit sad that it will be hard to find these with a bit more bottle age though, since I would love to see it shine the brightest that it can.
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White - Sparkling
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2005 Jacques Selosse Millésimé
Champagne Grand Cru
Chardonnay more
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Beautiful structural complexity powered through the acid as it dances in your palate. The bubbles and overall structure feels a bit constrained at start, concentrating the wine around it. Quite austere bubbles, almost Krug like, bubbles reminding me of sweet brown grains/toasted sugar keeping it all in check.
Paired amazingly with the Sunflower Butter at Eleven Madison Park.
Continual evolution. As the wine integrates, it develops this syrupy richness. Almost sherry-esque, but I've never had a sherry with this much buoyancy and grace. Very rich ripe apple notes start coming off about 1.5 hours after the wine opens, and the fruit flavors really sing at that point.
There's certainly more I can write -- but I'd be doing the wine a disservice. There's certainly a reason why the wines skyrocketed in price -- it almost seems like they're trying to match the 80s Krug in price.
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White
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2015 Didier Dagueneau Asteroide
Pouilly-Fumé
Sauvignon Blanc more
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Very strong nose of fruit -- a bit ripe to call it high fidelity, but distinct enough none the less.
Different expression of Pouilly Fume -- generally I found much of the Sauv Blanc open with a strong nose of smoke and minerals before it expresses the fruit and acidity. Asteroide expresses the minerals in a pretty different way.
The minerality of Asteroide is best described as marble. It is sleek, refined, and effortless in how well it carries. It is emotional -- who knew Sauvignon Blanc could be so emotional? The finish is so effortless yet present, it's almost like looking a beautiful marble statue. I wish I had the art history background to tell you what, but I'm just a philistine enjoying this wine today.
There's a concept in tea -- stemming from a type of oolong called "cliff tea" -- called yanyun. The highest end yancha doesn't just taste like minerals, but it coats your throat, stomach, and the best ones will create echoes of minerality that reverberates through your body, a terroir expression of where these teas grow -- from cliffs. The Asteroide displays similar characteristics - a rarity in wine, as it's not just in the palate, but it rings through your whole body.
The minerals are accompanied by a bright acid that can be described as the perfect amount of sunlight -- not too strong that it's harmful, but just enough to be bright and pleasant. It carries with it expressions of fruit. This expresses itself with the most immense clarity in the finish -- hinted with the palate, and concluded with the finish. The marble glistens, as the sunlight embraces it.
The minerals and the acid and the fruit integrates, but as it integrates, there is action. The acid, as it swirls into its place in the wine, dances with the minerals. It is chiseled. There are layers, but still soft. The marble analogy does not fail. As the wine continues to evolve, a sense of plushness evolves, almost reminiscent of the plush tannins of reds from Bordeaux. But it isn't quite plush -- like staring at marble.
The density of this wine allows it pair well with quite heavy dishes. The wine was drank with the Summer menu at Eleven Madison Park -- gorgeous pairing with the Tomato and Tofu dish particularly, although it costarred very well with others. It is distinct and it stands on its own, as it is dense -- only playing well the food has a bit of acidity to pierce through it along with quite a bit of richness.
Incredible wine. Effortless in how it expresses its terroir -- simply emotional. And I say again -- who knew Sauv Blanc could be so emotional? And more importantly -- is this what Sauv Blanc should be? I am not sure if this should be considered the quintessential Sauvignon Blanc, but I can imagine that this may be the best the grape has to offer.
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White
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2016 Richard Leroy Chenin Les Noëls de Montbenault
Vin de France
Chenin Blanc more
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Very natty on nose, but with a lot more density and impact. Really gripping.
What is special about this wine is the distinct, yet special and harmonizing layers. The top layer is a bit vibrant/bubbly due to the natural wine making and offers an experience that's similar to a nice bubbly -- allowing it to pair with food. This leads to the acidity driven mid palate with even more layers, and ends with a very plush, rich end followed by a nice finish. Extremely pleasurable wine, would love to drink a bottle of it over a long tasting menu.
WOTN against a very tough set of wines.
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