Very golden color; nose shows lots of honey and wax with lemon and melon, some oxidative notes, complex and changed quite a bit over the course of an hour, larger scaled but the acid on the finish held this up nicely, wasn't getting much gravel which makes me think a bit more bottle age from this very good vintage may prove useful; 91+.
Impressive once again for its power and focus, great acid and wonderful balance makes this seem very Burg-like; not my favorite domestic Chard today but very close and much different style than the Aubert; 92-93.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Wow, really complex nose that was kind of hard to delineate into individual flavors but the butterscotch was classic Meursault, texture was really impressive with its strong tensile strength, fruit was a bit leaner for a ripe vintage but it had nobility in spades, young, great focus, should improve, give plenty of air if consuming now; 93+.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Really young, very light color, nose was fairly light as well not giving much- really had to dig for the lemon butter and slight nuttiness; really powerful on the palate, lots of volume but not as much focus as I was hoping, very tasty none the less; best to give it a couple more years at least.
Very golden color; lots of ripe apple and pear with copious amounts of honey, aged, poached pear, butter, pineapple, spice, palate was broad with less focus than needed to keep it balanced, seemingly really ripe vintage, very interesting to taste but I probably would have liked it more a couple years earlier; drink now.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
One of my favorite wines from the tasting; lighter color than most Dugat-Py as well as open for this producer especially in 2005, sour dark cherry and raspberry more ethereal than dense, peanut shells, mushroom, wilted violets, faint black pepper; palate showed similar notes in a very focused package though surprisingly light for Dugat-Py; very good.
Really great to catch wine like this at its apogee, lighter bodied and less nobility than some Barolos/Barbarescos but absolutely perfectly aged Nebbiolo, great with the food.
Much fresher than the bottle I opened around this time last year, looks aged but no browning, nose didn't have any soy but was getting into the caraway zone, deep and dense Nebbiolo, noble, darker red cherry, cinnamon, rust, seemingly clay rich soil, great balance though heavier, wonderful, bring on the lamb!
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Good garnet color with nice clarity; tasted side by side with the 2007 this was amazingly fresher, ripe but cool dark red kind of a blue hue to the fruit, leather, lots of berry, dark cherry and raspberry, clean, deep though fresh, very Burg-like to me; palate is very similar with refreshing acid, ripe but not overdone; not as good as the one served during the 2000 retrospective but a well stored and great example of how brilliant this wine can be.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This bottle was somewhere between the last two examples, not ripe to the point of oxidation but extremely ripe showing cooked fruit, fig, dark raspberry, and lots of brandy warmth on the finish; technically very good but a little disappointing to me because the normal style of this wine is lost for me.
Very excited when I saw this bottle, great vintage but the wine was well into its secondary phase, was expecting more richness and nobility, aged showing lots of olive and brine, ripe berry, plum skin, lots of leather, black pepper, fresher but lacked the balance; tasty just lacked wow factor.
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
From Robert Fleming's magnum; very nicely aged domestic Syrah crafted in a lighter (or because of age) more Northern Rhone style, liked the black pepper, smoked meat, plum and dark berry, lighter body but good focus; yum.
Really great juice, complex, rich though fresh acid, red fruit, dried leaves, nutty, orange peel, mahogany, leather, dense mouthfeel, really delicious, no VA issues here, should age effortlessly.
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
I would second Eric Guido's note, but may give it a couple points less as this showed some VA that detracted from the balance just slightly; a real treat to taste.
From magnum; wow, a really impressive domestic Pinot, not the most complex given the age but youthful due to the bottle format and should continue to age gracefully, lots of sour cherry and a solid mid palate, not confected; really tasty, 91+.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Definitely at or near peak; lots of sediment, classic aged CdP, raspberry, leather, fig, not overripe like some in '98, lighter body; this had to be well stored.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Classic Pegau, lighter Brett but classic red radish marker, leather, raspberry, fig, garrigue, surprisingly elegant and less brutish than the last example I had; this one seemed to be just entering its drinking window.
Darker yellow; honey on the nose with some waxy melon, poached pear, and ripe red apple, obviously aged but the palate gives way to an impressive mid and fresh acidity that frames the wine nicely; impressive.
Italy, Marche, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico
Was trying to avoid this one at a tasting with some heavyweight producers but this held its own and then some, great texture and weight, very noble, fresh, lots of complexity, green and yellow fruit, wish I had this earlier and could have evaluated it a little more intently.
Really surprised by the amount of freshness in this bottle, previous tastings had lead me to believe this extremely modern (almost dessert wine) but this was quite impressive, dense fruit, faint vanilla, plum, currant, black currant, leather, nice tannic structure and good acid and balance; very good.
Yes, very rich and ripe with tons of spice and almost tropical fruit but the acid provided balance, pineapple, clove, rich red apple, poached pear, cinnamon, vanilla, fresh finish; like biting into a great piece of apple pie, hedonistic and ultra luxurious but great stuff.
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains
From magnum; a very good example of delicious modern Shiraz, liked the acid and the balance but the fruit was plummy and smooth blackberry with vanilla, good structure, aging nicely, would not confuse as N. Rhone though; well done.
Really impressive, good ripeness with lots of natural spice and more of a tangerine mandarin orange fruit, lime pith, good acidity and balance; great stuff, just a minor notch behind the Riesling.
Really impressive, good ripeness with lots of natural spice and more of a tangerine mandarin orange fruit, lime pith, candied ginger, good acidity and balance; great stuff.
From magnum; duller ruby; developing nicely on the nose showing some sous bois, dark sour cherry, nice richness for the vintage, already accessible even in this format; very good.
1996 Saint-Chamant Champagne Cuvée Royále 90 Points
France, Champagne
From magnum; developing nicely with dried apple, slight mushroom, straw, medium body, and lemon on the finish; good.
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NV Stéphane Coquillette Champagne Grand Cru Les Cles 92 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Very fresh and youthful, fuller bodied, dried leaves, faint red fruit, red apple, expansive and delicious.
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2005 Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Very golden color; nose shows lots of honey and wax with lemon and melon, some oxidative notes, complex and changed quite a bit over the course of an hour, larger scaled but the acid on the finish held this up nicely, wasn't getting much gravel which makes me think a bit more bottle age from this very good vintage may prove useful; 91+.
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2009 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains 92 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Impressive once again for its power and focus, great acid and wonderful balance makes this seem very Burg-like; not my favorite domestic Chard today but very close and much different style than the Aubert; 92-93.
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2009 Buisson-Charles Meursault 1er Cru Gouttes d'Or 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Wow, really complex nose that was kind of hard to delineate into individual flavors but the butterscotch was classic Meursault, texture was really impressive with its strong tensile strength, fruit was a bit leaner for a ripe vintage but it had nobility in spades, young, great focus, should improve, give plenty of air if consuming now; 93+.
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2012 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Really young, very light color, nose was fairly light as well not giving much- really had to dig for the lemon butter and slight nuttiness; really powerful on the palate, lots of volume but not as much focus as I was hoping, very tasty none the less; best to give it a couple more years at least.
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2006 Kongsgaard Chardonnay 89 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Very golden color; lots of ripe apple and pear with copious amounts of honey, aged, poached pear, butter, pineapple, spice, palate was broad with less focus than needed to keep it balanced, seemingly really ripe vintage, very interesting to taste but I probably would have liked it more a couple years earlier; drink now.
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2005 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
One of my favorite wines from the tasting; lighter color than most Dugat-Py as well as open for this producer especially in 2005, sour dark cherry and raspberry more ethereal than dense, peanut shells, mushroom, wilted violets, faint black pepper; palate showed similar notes in a very focused package though surprisingly light for Dugat-Py; very good.
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1998 Giorgio Pelissero Barbaresco 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Really great to catch wine like this at its apogee, lighter bodied and less nobility than some Barolos/Barbarescos but absolutely perfectly aged Nebbiolo, great with the food.
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1996 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Premox, the scourge of 1996 strikes again.
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1996 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric dël Fiasc 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Much fresher than the bottle I opened around this time last year, looks aged but no browning, nose didn't have any soy but was getting into the caraway zone, deep and dense Nebbiolo, noble, darker red cherry, cinnamon, rust, seemingly clay rich soil, great balance though heavier, wonderful, bring on the lamb!
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2000 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire 95 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Good garnet color with nice clarity; tasted side by side with the 2007 this was amazingly fresher, ripe but cool dark red kind of a blue hue to the fruit, leather, lots of berry, dark cherry and raspberry, clean, deep though fresh, very Burg-like to me; palate is very similar with refreshing acid, ripe but not overdone; not as good as the one served during the 2000 retrospective but a well stored and great example of how brilliant this wine can be.
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2007 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire 89 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This bottle was somewhere between the last two examples, not ripe to the point of oxidation but extremely ripe showing cooked fruit, fig, dark raspberry, and lots of brandy warmth on the finish; technically very good but a little disappointing to me because the normal style of this wine is lost for me.
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1999 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Very excited when I saw this bottle, great vintage but the wine was well into its secondary phase, was expecting more richness and nobility, aged showing lots of olive and brine, ripe berry, plum skin, lots of leather, black pepper, fresher but lacked the balance; tasty just lacked wow factor.
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1999 Arcadian Syrah Garys' Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
From Robert Fleming's magnum; very nicely aged domestic Syrah crafted in a lighter (or because of age) more Northern Rhone style, liked the black pepper, smoked meat, plum and dark berry, lighter body but good focus; yum.
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2000 Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore 92 Points
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Classico Superiore
Really great juice, complex, rich though fresh acid, red fruit, dried leaves, nutty, orange peel, mahogany, leather, dense mouthfeel, really delicious, no VA issues here, should age effortlessly.
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1998 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 93 Points
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
I would second Eric Guido's note, but may give it a couple points less as this showed some VA that detracted from the balance just slightly; a real treat to taste.
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2002 Navarro Vineyards Pinot Noir Deep End Blend 91 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
From magnum; wow, a really impressive domestic Pinot, not the most complex given the age but youthful due to the bottle format and should continue to age gracefully, lots of sour cherry and a solid mid palate, not confected; really tasty, 91+.
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2012 Antoine Ligeret Ladoix 1er Cru Les Hautes Mourottes Blanc 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Ladoix 1er Cru
Rich and buttery, expansive, not yet showing any soil influence, medium plus body, a bit modern for Burg but we'll see how it develops.
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1998 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul 91 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Definitely at or near peak; lots of sediment, classic aged CdP, raspberry, leather, fig, not overripe like some in '98, lighter body; this had to be well stored.
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2006 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 91 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Classic Pegau, lighter Brett but classic red radish marker, leather, raspberry, fig, garrigue, surprisingly elegant and less brutish than the last example I had; this one seemed to be just entering its drinking window.
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2001 Hartwell Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Divine 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Very nice, silky texture, good depth, slight chocolate, smooth cassis, and ripe dark cherry; in a good place but has plenty of gas in the tank.
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2000 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Darker yellow; honey on the nose with some waxy melon, poached pear, and ripe red apple, obviously aged but the palate gives way to an impressive mid and fresh acidity that frames the wine nicely; impressive.
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2008 Azienda Agricola Andrea Felici Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva Il Cantico della Figura 92 Points
Italy, Marche, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico
Was trying to avoid this one at a tasting with some heavyweight producers but this held its own and then some, great texture and weight, very noble, fresh, lots of complexity, green and yellow fruit, wish I had this earlier and could have evaluated it a little more intently.
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2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Aro 93 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Really surprised by the amount of freshness in this bottle, previous tastings had lead me to believe this extremely modern (almost dessert wine) but this was quite impressive, dense fruit, faint vanilla, plum, currant, black currant, leather, nice tannic structure and good acid and balance; very good.
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2009 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard 94 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Yes, very rich and ripe with tons of spice and almost tropical fruit but the acid provided balance, pineapple, clove, rich red apple, poached pear, cinnamon, vanilla, fresh finish; like biting into a great piece of apple pie, hedonistic and ultra luxurious but great stuff.
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2001 Pierre Gaillard Côte-Rôtie Côte Rozier 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
In a very good place, red to darker berry, black pepper, tapenade, leather, not flashy but solidly done; good.
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2005 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate 92 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains
From magnum; a very good example of delicious modern Shiraz, liked the acid and the balance but the fruit was plummy and smooth blackberry with vanilla, good structure, aging nicely, would not confuse as N. Rhone though; well done.
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2011 Michael Fröhlich Escherndorfer Lump Silvaner Spätlese trocken 91 Points
Germany, Franken
Really impressive, good ripeness with lots of natural spice and more of a tangerine mandarin orange fruit, lime pith, good acidity and balance; great stuff, just a minor notch behind the Riesling.
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2011 Michael Fröhlich Escherndorfer Lump Riesling Spätlese trocken 92 Points
Germany, Franken
Really impressive, good ripeness with lots of natural spice and more of a tangerine mandarin orange fruit, lime pith, candied ginger, good acidity and balance; great stuff.
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2007 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
From magnum; duller ruby; developing nicely on the nose showing some sous bois, dark sour cherry, nice richness for the vintage, already accessible even in this format; very good.
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1982 Prunotto Barolo Riserva Bussia 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Still quite youthful, lots of hard red fruit, medicinal cherry, menthol, lighter texture but still some tannin; very nice.
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