I tasted this after 24 hours of being opened. A nice, old school type of Cab, with dusty earth, leather and minerals. I was told this was quite closed when first opened, but this was quite open, fragrant and giving when I tried it. Dark red in color with a ruby rim... in general, this was still quite youthful looking. Linear, precise and never fatiguing.
Tasted after being opened for 24 hours. Like the Dunn served with it, this was still quite youthful looking. Unlike the Dunn, this was not very giving. Not much on the nose and (surprisingly) soft on the palate. Still enjoyable, but not nearly as good as its reputation. Unrepresentative bottle?
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
A stunning wine, with a lovely, fragrant, floral nose. An overload of violets, stones, pine needles and savory herbs. The fruit is rich and plump, very much in line with the vintage, but this is not overdone in any way and remains lifted and refreshing. Red wine of the night.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Not as plump and velvety as the 2009 served next to it, but this still had similar flavors and palate impact. A bit more steely and stoney with wonderful cut and freshness. Excellent length.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
A light, soft, red-fruited wine with moderate length and complexity. On palate entry this seemed a bit too soft, but the acids seem to come in late and cleans up the palate nicely. Not a lot of depth, but well balanced and delicious.
Spectacular wine and much better than the last time I had this in 2011. Back then it was painfully closed and only seemed to show a glimmer of what it was capable of after several days of decanting. Here (after 24 hours) it was an explosion of florals, lime and stoney flavors. Beautiful, shimmering acids and crazy length. So much power, yet poised and restrained. White wine of the night.
A tasty, ample, well-endowed wine with ripe peach, citrus and hints of flint. Seemed to be lacking a bit of refinement and electricity, but this was enjoyable, especially after a bit of decanting.
Youthful color, silky palate, moderate length. Seemed correct, as it showed its terroir quite well, yet it just didn't posses the "X" factor. Didn't elicit as much excitement from me as I would have expected.
This seemed like an off bottle, not showing the freshness of my previous sample 12 years ago. While this had some appealing forest floor, and old wine barrel aromas, it was also marred by a weird musky, slightly fecal note that was tough for me to get past. No sediment on this bottle (reconditioned?). I can only assume this is an off bottle and thus not rated.
Cloudy, ruby red in color.Very fresh and savory, with herbs, meat drippings, and tapenade notes. So much going on here, with great liveliness on the finish. Very old-world in character. Aging very well.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
The density of the 1999 vintage is here, but the fruit is a bit darker than what I would like. Worked nicely with food, but this seemed a bit hard and severe.
A piercing wine with riveting electricity. The flavors start as tropical and honied, but this is not heavy; actually comes across very clean and bright, as a good eiswein should. Sparkling lip-smacking finish.
Nice array of flavors here, with apricots, orange peel, ginger and slate... but a lot of sweetness here as well, with the acidity perhaps not seeming able to quite keep up. This might need some time to shed its baby fat?
1989 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
I tasted this after 24 hours of being opened. A nice, old school type of Cab, with dusty earth, leather and minerals. I was told this was quite closed when first opened, but this was quite open, fragrant and giving when I tried it. Dark red in color with a ruby rim... in general, this was still quite youthful looking. Linear, precise and never fatiguing.
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1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Tasted after being opened for 24 hours. Like the Dunn served with it, this was still quite youthful looking. Unlike the Dunn, this was not very giving. Not much on the nose and (surprisingly) soft on the palate. Still enjoyable, but not nearly as good as its reputation. Unrepresentative bottle?
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2009 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny 95 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
A stunning wine, with a lovely, fragrant, floral nose. An overload of violets, stones, pine needles and savory herbs. The fruit is rich and plump, very much in line with the vintage, but this is not overdone in any way and remains lifted and refreshing. Red wine of the night.
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2007 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny 92 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Not as plump and velvety as the 2009 served next to it, but this still had similar flavors and palate impact. A bit more steely and stoney with wonderful cut and freshness. Excellent length.
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2006 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
A light, soft, red-fruited wine with moderate length and complexity. On palate entry this seemed a bit too soft, but the acids seem to come in late and cleans up the palate nicely. Not a lot of depth, but well balanced and delicious.
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2008 Weingut Keller Abts E®.de Riesling Großes Gewächs 96 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
Spectacular wine and much better than the last time I had this in 2011. Back then it was painfully closed and only seemed to show a glimmer of what it was capable of after several days of decanting. Here (after 24 hours) it was an explosion of florals, lime and stoney flavors. Beautiful, shimmering acids and crazy length. So much power, yet poised and restrained. White wine of the night.
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2010 Albert Boxler Riesling Brand 90 Points
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
A tasty, ample, well-endowed wine with ripe peach, citrus and hints of flint. Seemed to be lacking a bit of refinement and electricity, but this was enjoyable, especially after a bit of decanting.
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1994 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Youthful color, silky palate, moderate length. Seemed correct, as it showed its terroir quite well, yet it just didn't posses the "X" factor. Didn't elicit as much excitement from me as I would have expected.
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1961 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Campi Raudii
Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi
This seemed like an off bottle, not showing the freshness of my previous sample 12 years ago. While this had some appealing forest floor, and old wine barrel aromas, it was also marred by a weird musky, slightly fecal note that was tough for me to get past. No sediment on this bottle (reconditioned?). I can only assume this is an off bottle and thus not rated.
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1992 Edmunds St. John Syrah Grand Heritage 94 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Cloudy, ruby red in color.Very fresh and savory, with herbs, meat drippings, and tapenade notes. So much going on here, with great liveliness on the finish. Very old-world in character. Aging very well.
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1966 Château Giscours 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
The texture, the mouth feel, the silkiness is lovely, but this is a bit light and lacking in punch. As Salil said... good, not great.
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1999 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
The density of the 1999 vintage is here, but the fruit is a bit darker than what I would like. Worked nicely with food, but this seemed a bit hard and severe.
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2012 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese 86 Points
Germany, Nahe
A surprisingly simple and light example of this normally superb wine. A bit one-dimensional with sweet citrus notes. A bit soft and sugary.
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2007 Selbach-Oster Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Eiswein 94 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
A piercing wine with riveting electricity. The flavors start as tropical and honied, but this is not heavy; actually comes across very clean and bright, as a good eiswein should. Sparkling lip-smacking finish.
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NV Rare Wine Co. (Vinhos Barbeito) Madeira Historic Series Thomas Jefferson Special Reserve 92 Points
Portugal, Madeira
Another fabulous bottle. The figgy, caramel and nutskin flavors dance on the palate with lifting acidity. Super length.
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2012 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel 90 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Nice array of flavors here, with apricots, orange peel, ginger and slate... but a lot of sweetness here as well, with the acidity perhaps not seeming able to quite keep up. This might need some time to shed its baby fat?
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