From magnum. Admittedly better than I remember it being from fifth. Fairly lean, in a relatively taut style. Not as rich and complex as the 08 and 12, I suspect the large format helps with this otherwise disappointing champagne.

From magnum. Oxidized.

Absolutely fantastic. Intense herbal notes, with floral and earthy tones as well. Simultaneously bright and very intense and complex; much larger scaled than the straight up regular BdM, and drinking very nicely, even if it is far, far too young. Well made sangiovese with a very clean fruit profile. Can't see this turning muddy ever.

Red label. Not as opulent and expressive as the best bottles of this can be. On the palate, this is still very ripe and large-scaled, but feels like there's a little bit of a gap on the midpalate. Still very much Krug in nature with its weight and potency.

Ugh. I love Allemand so much. Beautiful nose of olives and black fruit. Silky and very Allemand in texture. Incredibly elegant. Great intensity; not as fruit-forward as some other vintages, but drinking very, very nicely right now. The olive nose here is outrageously intense, you might almost be forgiven for guessing this was Jamet if you had it blind.

A little less rounded and polished as the best editions of this wine and there's definitely a fair amount of phenols here. Very concentrated and slightly waxy with a hint of bitterness on the finish. Very much a bottle still alive and the last glass, many hours later, still drank plenty fresh.

Absolutely great, especially for an "Hospices" wine. Not entirely sure what the story of this is as far as the elevage, but this is absolutely classic Lignier. The Lignier oak is pretty prominent, but it blends with the fruit spectacularly. Concentrated, ripe, and very, very good. Arguably not as Nuits-like, this is more a wine of producer than village. I'm not complaining.

For $35, this is actually a pretty nice bottle of gamay. Juicy with nice brightness. Very delicate with pleasant minerality and very crisp acids. Of course, the fruit is mildly carbonic with that juicy quality that is typical for gamay. Nice complexity, and very, very good for the grape. I'm told however that this is from a plot next to Vosne Colombière. Surely the economics say that you should put pinot there.

Stunning, archetypal Bordeaux from a critically unacclaimed vintage. A brilliant and complex mix of pyrazines and fruit; just an outstanding classically-styled Pomerol. Not quite as merlot-driven as I would expect for VCC. I'm a huge fan of this and will be looking to put some in my cellar.

Shows the alcohol and fruit and ripeness of the vintage. Young, very light and very low intensity as far as fruit, causing some of the volatile and alcohol notes to stick out more than they ought to. Elegant and lifted with a very modest hint of volatile acidity (especially in the context of Canonica). Needs time.

Primordially young and tannic. I love the crispy red fruit character here, with typical, clamped-down 2005 tannins. I'm told this was much better right when it was opened; I must've gotten to it too late and by then the tannins had really shut this wine down. I'm not sure there's enough fruit in comparison to the structure.

Dirty and old. Classic old Gruaud notes; a bit funky and very unclean. Drying out and clearly long in the tooth. More interesting than good.

Lovely nose of lychees and ripeness that seems to be pushed really hard to overcome the sauvignon green. The palate however shows too many sauvignon blanc notes though; it's just too stereotypically green kiwi and cat urine for my taste. Also, what marketing department failed to come up with the name Cheval Blanc Blanc for this wine?

Peachy, oxidative, waxy, and as Beaucastel VV as it comes. Lacks acidity but makes up for it in concentration and a touch of bitterness on the back end. Definitely tastes old and quite cidery. Better than a lot of Rhone whites for its intensity, but definitely a very heavy wine.

Nice red fruit. Fairly sour in profile, with some tart, shot red berries. Drinkable now, but lacking the complexity and weight of a grand cru. Definitely has the openness of 2010.

Served double blind. Immediately identified as a Lauer from the dried longan notes. Thin, high acid, with a somewhat coarser mousse. As with most of my other experiences of this wine, more interesting than good.

Nothing like my previous experience. Completely shut down; showing only tannin. This was double decanted a few hours just before and I was told it was drinking quite nicely then, but like the 2005s today, this really just shut down hard.

Exactly what you expect. Very tannic, which the confluence of Beaune, de Montille, and 2005 would have you expect. Nowhere close to drinkable/ready. Somewhat charmless -- typical for the vintage. Just a lot of structure and no meat on the bones.

From jeroboam. Another primordially fresh wine that drinks so well. Those late Hedisieck releases are not cheap, but they are very compelling wines indeed. Ripe and balanced with a hint of baking spice and a lot more brioche. Very large-scaled and broad on the palate, with good roundness and complexity. This being a late release, it also drinks with a distinct freshness that original release bottles tend to lack.

Oxidized.

Rustic. Backwards and very, very tannic, especially given its age. This seems a lot less resolved than it ought to be. The fruit is vaporized at this point and this lacks any distinct syrah aromatics. Interesting to try, as I've not had a Jasmin that old (at least that I remember), but not quite my style of syrah.

Some white grape notes on the palate here. I really like the roundness and sweetness on the palate, as well as the crazy chalkiness. A little less compelling given the market price. Maybe let global warming run its course a little...

Paris is just getting better and better. This wine is extraordinary, even if it drinks just like a barrel sample. Crazy green olive notes with dark fruit and a bit of Paris polish -- a touch of barrique, but not in an overbearing modernist way. Yes, this is very ripe and almost certainly a product of the modern climatic conditions, but there's a restraint and sensibility here that I really like. I've (accidentally) skipped a few vintages of Paris for my own cellar and now have to figure out how to rectify that.

Disgorged this March. An interesting juxtaposition of young and old champagne. You get a lot of the older nutty, autolytic characters, but there is a preternatural freshness as well here. Great, mouthwatering acidity. I also really like the fruit that is full out on display here. However, this being recently redosed and possibly resulphured, it's probably better to let bottles of this rest for a few months before opening one.

Very, very oxidized.

Red fruit, light, crunchy Chambolle notes, with a slight bit of stemminess. Some spice as well. It's almost as if it was Dujac making Chambolle. Oh wait.

From magnum. Ripe fruit. A little angular and showing some of the heat of the vintage. Not the most complex, but pretty approachable and pleasant now.

Corked.

Quite green with some eucalyptus notes on the nose. Resolved, still with some fruit on the palate. A bit tart and more rustic than I personally like for my Napa cabs.