This made a huge impression on the nose... peaches, cream, limestone, butter, baked apples. This was so rich that even the nose smelled rich. On the palate, the richess followed through, but this was expertly balanced by crisp, citric acidity. The finish was precise, citric, minerally and lengthy. I first thought this might be too fat, but my palate was cleansed so well after each sip, that I went back for more. This really was superbly balanced.

This wins the "rockhead" award for the night. Very hard, saline and minerally when first popped. This opened up quickly and revealed its lemony, floral notes... but make no mistake about it, this is a lean, mean bath of minerals... in the best possible way. Bright, focused and Lip-smackingly good.

Started out with round peachy, lemony fruit. Easy drinking, fruity and tender. At first I thought this might have been a bit too soft, but this firmed up nicely with air. The oyster shell and chalk notes became more evident as this slowly grew a more solid spine. Quite good.

Lots of fat on this one. Round, lush and almost tropical, with a peaches and cream note...almost Meursault-like. The middle and finish were extraordinary, with the fat fully absorbed by the sneaky acidity and the Chablis character more obvious. This had a whiplash of sappy fruit and chalk that faded and came back. A extreme wine... extremely delicious.

A WOW wine and the red wine of the night for me. I buy Burgundy to get "that perfume" and this had it in spades... a spicy, rose-petal, earthy bouquet that kept my nose in my glass. Vibrant, edgey, focused wine with "crunchy" cherries, floral and mineral flavors. Bright, lifted and clean on the finish. Such an enjoyable, textural and sensual wine.

Fleshy, corpulent and accessable with good ripeness of fruit. Smooth and velvety but also a bit monchromatic for me. Excellent "Pinot Noir", but perhaps not enough "Burgundy" for me. Still... a delicious wine.

Displaying admirable, ripe, fleshy red fruit, but with odd chestnut husks and tree bark notes. This would have been an more enjoyable if it also wasn't for a milky/lactic note. Overall an enjoyable wine, if a bit chunky and simple. Perhaps this needs more time to find itself? Not rated.

Dark honey in color. The palate was rich, sweet, thick and honeyed with loads of tropical fruits, white raisins and spice. The richness of the 2003 vintage is evident here, but this is not flabby. The acids, while not razor sharp, are quite adequate to balance the sweetness. I did get a bit of volatile acidity, but not enough to detract.

I am not a big Sauternes drinker, but I cannot deny the greatness of this wine. Perhaps because it is more tension-filled, crisper and sleeker than most other Sauternes I am exposed to. Such power and concentration, but this is lifted by lighter flavors of earl grey tea, citrus and florals. Long, lingering and profound in the finish. Much better than a bottle I had a few months ago, where it seemed a bit more closed. This is a wine for the ages.