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2017 New Year's Day Tasting
Marietta, GA
Tasted January 1, 2017 by Rezy13 with 530 views
Introduction
Our yearly get-together, sanctioned event. A little less college football this year but Falcons are playing.
Flight 1 - Starters (2 notes)
Sparkling wines served non-blind.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve
88 points
From magnum; citrus, little leesy richness, fresh, straight forward; good just not compelling.
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White - Sparkling
2006 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque
91 points
Yeasty, dough, power, strong red fruit component; hard not to like.
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Flight 2 - Main Event Part I- Double Blind (8 notes)
Rules suggested $100-$150 max but nobody really listened.
Red
2012 Domaine Tortochot Mazis-Chambertin
94 points
Pretty dark ruby; sexy nose, tart red fruit, oak shading, slight green note, chocolate, modern in a way, some whole cluster?, clove spice and juicy fruit; noble and serious on the palate, nice tannin, red and darker cherry, taut, still powerful acid; young but very good; 94+.
Red
1998 Château Mouton Rothschild
93 points
Dark core with garnet rim; green pepper, cigar, earth, sandy, graphite, red currants, classic, ash, initially suspected Pauillac but definitely Left Bank; fatter on the palate, grainy and firm tannin, lacking just a touch balance to be really good; would wait longer to let tannins soften though I don't suspect much improvement.
Red
2008 Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy Mazis-Chambertin
93 points
Deeper maroon, good clarity; high toned nose, hard red fruit, some sulfur, sour cherry, plum skin, some beefiness; juicy palate, some hard red with bluer fruit, some sweetness, good tartness, some grip, slight candy; still showing very young; 93+.
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Red
2010 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie
94 points
Opaque core with bright rim; the nose is really blowing after slow ox for a couple hours, peppered meat, tapenade, black olives galore, dark and caressing, deep and mysterious; silky on the palate, dark fruit, plummy, sauvage, white pepper, gets lighter and more elegant compared to nose, granite, fine tannin and mineral; sexy and showing great balance; mine- thanks to other notes was confident this would show well and it did not disappoint; almost prefer this now though it should be long lived.
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Red
1999 Paolo Scavino Barolo Riserva Rocche dell'Annunziata
94 points
Darker core with lighter rim; darker fruit, ripe almost raisin, sandalwood, olive (hopefully not from previous wine); very fine and refined tannin, good drive, sexy, young but some aged character, darker fruit; needs more time; 94+.
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Red
2001 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino
See through red; high toned, candy, cinnamon, roses, sexy, nose complicated by the aromatic food in the other room; silky Burgundian tannin, a touch more tannin on the finish, cough drop, medicinal, sweet roses and strawberry cherry fruit; elegant Nebbiolo- called Giacosa Red Label, didn't realize it was better, way too young now even with hours of decanting and saving a glass for 1.5 hours this is just so soft silky and youthfully 1-D right now; can definitely see the potential but it was a shame this beauty was lost in the mix today.
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Red
1999 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
93 points
Dark core with maroon rim; youthful fruit, tangy, juicy, some green pepper, chocolate, mushroom, smoke, herbs; ash, fine tannin, Bordeaux, fleshy, fine tannin, good acid; delicious; fooled everyone; still young.
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Red
2002 Château Mouton Rothschild
94 points
Dark core, garnet rim; great nose, cigar, smoky, earth, Christmas fruitcake, holly bush, luxurious; darker fruit, sexy, rich fruit and tannin, very nice balance; 94+.
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Flight 3 - Food Wines (2 notes)
Non-blind. Served with bone-in rib roast, haricot verts, roasted potatoes and mushrooms. All of it was really good.
Red
2001 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
92 points
Chocolate, black currant, luxurious, delicious and easy to drink; 92+.
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Red
2010 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Rouge
92 points
Sweet slightly confected fruit, light cherry and strawberry; really easy to appreciate and a joy to drink.
Flight 4 - Main Event Part II- Double Blind (3 notes)
Getting back to it after food break.
Red
2003 Château Léoville Barton
91 points
Dark core with lighter rim; black currant, holly bush, cigar, cedar; lighter density on the palate though some nobility, sandy clay mix, firm tannin, fruit almost seems to be drying out, strong cedar; good but seemed older.
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Red
1999 Château Pavie
90 points
Dark core with garnet rim; fennel, red fruit, soy, almost charcoal, meaty, reminiscent of Amarone in a way, smoke, nutty; tea and soy on the palate, chocolate, menthol, bay leaf, firm grainy tannin; older Diamond Creek?; a bit weird, least favorite of entry wines today.
Red
2007 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire
92 points
Dark garnet core showing some clarity; raspberry, fig, marzipan, ripe, CdP; sweet fruit, raspberry, some RS?, cobbler, heady, nice bitterness on finish, mineral, classic, ripe vintage; nailed it.
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Flight 5 - Backups and Dessert (10 notes)
Wow, these backups were worthy of the main event. Great stuff!
Red
2006 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
92 points
Dark core with reddish violet rim; oak, meaty, dark fruit, sun dried tomato, vanilla, dill; black currant with some red and cherry, menthol, glycerin, Bordeaux varietal, higher alcohol, big yet balanced; called 06-07 Quilceda; could use a few more years to shed just a bit more oak but this is close to peak.
Red
2006 Château Lynch-Bages
92 points
Darker fruit, green pepper, chocolate, oak, cedar, some grain to the tannin, young and powerful.
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Red
2000 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Cuvée Syrah
This bottle was weird, I thought this was corked where others were not going there, Brett for sure but the fruit was gone, all mushroom and cheese rind, hard for me to drink.
Red
2009 Marcassin Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard
93 points
Dark maroon; great nose, tart fruit, red and dark, some sweetness but good restraint, smoke, no mineral but noble; very good on the palate, sweet tannin, pure silk; not as interesting as red Burgundy but delicious.
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Red
1996 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
93 points
Dark maroon with clarity, lighter rim; mushroom, olive, granite, soft plum and dark cherry; mineral, light olive, darker fruit, resolved tannin; drinking really well.
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Red
2010 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny
See through ruby; elegant, floral, focused, delicious; not a baby any more but still too young; don't open for 10+.
Red
2009 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
93 points
Dark maroon; high toned, floral, red fruit, young and taut nose; palate similar to nose, taut, fresh, young, good fruit and nobility, nice density, fine tannin; delicious; 93+.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2012 Carlo Pellegrino Passito di Pantelleria
Deep amber orange with red hues; apricot, peach, sweet tea note, deep and sweet; sappy and syrupy but not too heavy on the palate, dried fruit here, no botrytis; yummy and everyone enjoyed, great value.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Champagne Le Mesnil Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut
89 points
Fairly quiet and restrained on the nose, some bread dough and green apple.
Closing
Awesome tasting. Never before has New Year's been so gluttonous with great wine. A log jam of great wines with little separation in scores.
My top 3 were the 2002 Mouton #1, 1999 Scavino #2, and 2012 Tortochot #3.
The top 2 were in agreement with the group but there were 3-4 wines tied for #3.
Can't wait for Super Bowl.