Super Bowl 2014

Usually our biggest and most mondo event of the year. Suggested retail entry is a $150 minimum bottle though most go well north of $300. All wines served double blind.

Starter wines to get our palates ready for business.

• NV Henri Giraud Champagne Grand Cru Hommage à François Hémart Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Powerful, dense, very structured and masculine, layers of chalk and apple without being overtly yeasty, nice focus.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Special Club Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  What was initially a powerful and well structured Champagne quickly faded, lost its bubbles (possibly lower atmosphere?) and focus; still had the great flavors one would expect from a Special Club but seemed lacking in a certain sense.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Pale yellow; nose initially says oxidized with this Sherried rancio note that made me think Jura, once I got use to that I was able to extract more making me almost think this got better with more air, chamomile, candle wax and lanolin, melon, orange blossom, no oakiness; waxy texture, rich and viscous but not exactly as powerful as you'd expect from this bottle, good acidity, some alcohol on the finish, but I loved the minerals that screamed on the finish; this wine was in need of more air time than what we allowed and definitely some more years in bottle wouldn't hurt; 92+.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

11 wines with my Raveneau going in the middle with food to break up and hopefully prevent palate fatigue. Turns out the Raveneau was probably good enough to compete though many guys would not allow a white wine to win the event.

The winner was the first bottle of '96 Mouton followed by the '89 Lynch-Bages and '07 Rayas.

• 2007 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve 95 Points

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

  Denser garnet core with pale rose rim; nose initially led me to Burgundy, orange, cranberry, pomegranate, light raspberry, hints at fig and roasted fruit, very perfumed and focused; sour fruit, tart berry, subtle power, rich but good acid, dusty earth, orange, fig, herbs, not overtly sweet like Pignan or the '03, just a touch of heat on the finish; already a beautiful wine I could see this gaining some elegance with 5 more years or more but I'm not sure it would be more expressive; an extremely well crafted wine.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Château Léoville Las Cases 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Dense dark core with 1/4" bricking; sandy earthy, tobacco, cigar, red currant, iron; fatter with soft tannin, graphite, gravel, viscous mouthfeel but lacked a little stuffing; very balanced this wine is already drinking well and extended aging would not be necessary; classic Left Bank Bordeaux in my opinion.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Château Mouton Rothschild 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Fairly cloudy dark dense core with thin bricking; luxurious, stank, cigar, cow pie, mahogany and leather, freshly tilled earth, currant; firm and powerful, earth, very noble- this has the goods, finish ends with a pleasant wrap of tannin, very harmonious; though not silky yet this incredible bottle of wine was approachable now as well as being capable of lasting a long time.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Montrose 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Dark core with brownish brick rim; roasted, cigar, obvious Bordeaux, burnt sugar, leaner quality to it, green pepper, red fruit; viscous, a good bit of tannin, the fruit is a little roasted, coffee, luxurious but lacks a bit of balance; got vintage but was on wrong bank.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Lynch-Bages 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Very dark red with some clarity and a crimson rim; cigar, incense, raw meat, rotting vegetables, so complex, caramel, iron; lusher on palate, sexy, red fruit, still tannin on finish, seemingly Burgundian; good structure but probably drinking in its prime which it should continue for a while; have noticed some bottle variation, this is probably the 2nd best example though all the bottles have had very different qualities.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Antinori Solaia 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Dark purple with lighter rim; ginger bread, caraway, fennel, sweet nose, high toned red and dark fruit, slightly roasted, new oak still visible in the form of nail polish remover (not intrusive); leather roasted fruit, herbs, green pepper, coffee, some strong tannin on the finish; good but needs more time.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2002 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Bright pure yellow; butter, rich, wax, nutty, lemon, hazelnut, melon, luxurious and noble nose; high acid, rich then tons of mineral rain down on your tongue, tart, candle wax, poached pear, long high toned finish with apricot and whispers of exotic tropical fruit that echo; very youthful and in need of much more time (I'd give 5 years at least) to shed the baby fat that still shrouds this wine; some called Le Montrachet; glad that everybody seemed to enjoy; 94+ with 95-96 potential.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Semi-translucent dark crimson core with pale rim; floral but not rose, smoke, Asian five spice, dark cherry, almost blueberry; harder tannin, young; delicious but needs more time, hard to say with Faiveley.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1997 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Conteisa 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Dark core, semi-translucent, lighter rim, looks young; dark cherry, raspberry, cedar, some alcohol coming through on nose; softer texture, sandalwood, French oak, green pepper, currant, dried red fruit, higher alcohol, tannic; delicious; not your typical (Barolo) as I was in Tuscany.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2000 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Dark and dense reddish purple core with garnet rim; vanilla, pepper, cassis, red currant, clove, luxurious nose echoes with it depth; grainy tannin, acidity, higher alcohol, delicious French oak not yet fully integrated, tannin where the sweetness is slightly outdone by the drying quality; a very serious wine that is drinking much younger than previous bottle, you should let this one sleep another 6-10 years as it should get much better; 94+.

  Post a Comment / 4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Château Mouton Rothschild 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Youthful looking dark core with dark red rim; green pepper, cabbage, red currant, cigar, leather; fat and rich on the palate, dense, intense, tobacco, grippy tannin; similar grip as Mouton earlier but I called '96 Lafite...who knew it would be another '96 Mouton that was drinking much younger, apparently this bottle had a couple more hours of air than previous; this was delicious but I was not picking up on the nose the utter luxuriousness and nobleness of the earlier bottle though this still had impact and focus.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1990 Château Troplong Mondot 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Mine; cork had seen some seepage which worried me; wine had a dark crimson core with lighter rim; after 2 hours of being open the nose was sexy with Asian five spice, a hint of volatility like Amarone, meaty dark cherry, dark earth, and fruitcake; fat and rich on the palate, same tick of volatility coming through, acorn, some heat on the finish; delicious but less focused, a great switch from the monolithic Left Bank wines earlier; would have preferred everybody taste this with fresher palates, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Many planned to bring second wines, some were originally their first choice but failed to make the final cut, the Cos was a victory lap for the winner, and the majority of these were just poor decisions by drunk guys to drink really good wine when most no longer cared for anything so serious.

• 1995 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Dark dense core with lighter rim; oxblood, cedar, cigar, deep and rich, drying, cassis; softer tannin, surprisingly drinkable, bandaid and funk; this was very tasty but I'm sure some more time in bottle could help a touch more.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1990 Château Cos d'Estournel 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Semi-translucent dark crimson core with obvious bricking; earth, cigar, leather, green pepper; sandy, currant, cedar, slightly grainy tannin and a darker fruit profile gave this a more rustic feel that it was out classed by its neighbors to the south tonight...still a pleasure to drink.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2001 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Aged, cloudy core with orange rose rim; tart orange and cherry, mushroom, rusty nails; still a certain firmness to it, spice, displaying nice secondary almost tertiary notes; tasty though loosing its focus a bit.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1999 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio All'Oro 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Very dark core almost to rim; cherry, incense, chocolate, blackberry, some dock; salty and firm; thought this was Cab so I called Ornellaia; this was modern BdM from a hard vintage but overall the wine was very tasty.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Corked.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Domaine de la Vougeraie Bonnes Mares 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

  See through dark rose with pale rim; pure rose and cherry on the nose, noble, good fat to the depth of the nose; plum and dark sour cherry, structured; tasty with lots of life left; disappointed I opened this as it is still very young and I did not give it the proper air to really unfold and show its true beauty which made it a little singular tonight; 93+.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2002 Ridge Petite Sirah Dynamite Hill York Creek Vineyards 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Very dark to rim; lots of glycerin, nutty, tar, dark fruit profile, still good drinkability.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape 91 Points

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

  Purple core with magenta rim; pure raspberry, cool and tart cranberry and cherry, classic Grenache bitterness on finish; an old-school easy dinking CdP, a phenomenal QPR at $17; in a good place now and should continue to drink well for another 5-8 years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

23 wines total! A very solid showing with the wines where nothing showed poorly yet nothing was earth shattering either.