Disgorged January 26, 2010. I think some at the table like this wine much more than I did. More than a little oxidative on the nose and palate, this had a lot of nutty characteristics as well as a salinity that I would associate with a dry sherry. The palate is extremely rich and potent, and the extract here is basically off the charts. I did find this a little more oxidative then I prefer my champagne, although I wouldn't say that this bottle was in bad shape either. This was a relatively older disgorgement and it shows.
There's a joke here about how Roulot shows a lot better with a little bit of air but it never gets to that point because we always drink it all right when we open the bottle. This was a spectacular bottle of Meursault. It had everything that you would expect. A little smoky, fairly reductive, and crisp minerality, all in one little package of awesome.
This is probably one of the softest Comtes de Champagne that I've had in recent memory. It's quite right, showing a lot of softer fruit textures, a touch of chalkiness, and a little less of an acid backbones than I'd prefer in this wine. This still has some good freshness despite its ripeness however, but at the end of the day, it strikes me as a weaker release of this wine.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
This is an absolutely brilliant Corton-Charlemagne. There's still an ample amount of reduction on the nose. The fruit profile is incredibly fleshy, but there is plenty of acidity in this wine to balance that fruit out. Not a wallflower by any stretch of the imagination, this is a very, very robust chardonnay. In fact, this reminds me a little bit of Bonneau de Martray.
#10-89, 7.6% [sic] abv. This is drinking exactly the way an older riesling ought to drink. This is a fairly funky wine, showing a pronounced note of blue cheese on the nose. It was actually quite difficult for me to get past the nerves, but the palate was still quite fresh despite this wine's thirty years.
#15-74, 10% abv. 2 years ago, I opened the 1973 Kabinett with largely the same group of people as tonight. That Kabinett was outstanding, but this wine was full-throttle legendary. There's an incredible racy acidity to this wine, coupled with unbelievable freshness thanks for the fruit and a generous helping of sugar. As with most Prüm Eiswein, this is more a study in raciness than in sweetness. Fresh green herbs, spice, and a little touch of Mosel apple. I'll also remark that my handwritten note for this wine features the letters "OMFG" in big capital letters.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
I had been spewing a little bit of Drouhin hate earlier this afternoon, remembering the shitty 2002 Chambertin that I had a year or so ago. This wine, fortunately, was nothing like that. There are autumnal and tea flavours here, with a really bright and lively fruit profile. Not tired at all, there is a sense of virility here. Powerful and dense, but resolved as well.
I'm thinking that this was a late release, given the pristine label on the bottle. The news here, like the Drouhin Corton-Bressandes, is fairly autumnal. On the other hand, there is a fullness and ripeness to the fruit on the nose that the Corton didn't quite have. The pallet shows fresh fruit still, with and especially pronounce note of red cherry. Uncannily fresh and youthful, this was an incredible wine, and again reinforces my love of the work that Gérard Potel did.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
This is an outstanding bottle of Burgundy. At first, I was a little worried that it was corked, but extended airtime proved that that was not the case. In fact, this wine did not show too well upon opening, and for most of the evening, this was a fairly understated wine. With extended air though, this grew into an expressive bottle of pinot, and definitely showed that stereotypical iron fist in a velvet glove characteristic. The fruit here seemed to play less of a starring role than in the Rouget. This was all about the earthy power.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Whereas the Dujac was understated and fairly modest, this was a full-on fleshy wine, showing an incredible array of Vosne spice and red fruit. Obviously a bottle well-cared for, this seemed to be only starting out with its secondary development. This seemed a little too young for its age (and to use a bit of a tired meme), perhaps so much so that Roy Moore would still be pursuing it. Initially I liked this a little more than the Dujac, but I found that the Dujac improved more with air than this wine did. If you have a palate like mine, this wine is solidly in its drinking window, but if you prefer your Burgundy older, there is no rush at all.
Huh. Totally didn't remember that I had tasted this wine before, although I knew that Barge makes some serious syrah. The nose shows classic syrah elements, though nothing seems to pop out too loudly. There is a moderate amount of olive brine, of meat juice, of black pepper. The palate is lithe thanks to the acidic cut, but has many of the same elements of the nose. This is drinking excellently right now.
I was told that if I didn't like this wine, the I probably didn't like sherry. Well the problem is that I can't figure out whether or not I actually like this wine. The nose is heady and complex, with tons of sweet dried fruit and an undercurrent of salinity. The palate has much of the same characteristics. In fact I liked everything about this wine, but I couldn't get past the high alcohol level, which is strange since I never have a problem with madeira. Perhaps, like so many other things this weekend, it had to do with residual sugar.
#16-78, 10% abv. I had been fully enamoured with the 1973 Eiswein, when this came along and slapped me out of my infatuation. This is riesling on a scale that s modernist Bordeaux could only dream to accomplish. Incredibly massive and expansive, this is one of the greatest Auslese that I've had. It oozes botrytis out of every pore. It's insanely sweet but held back by the acidity. There's an array of fruit that I can't enumerate. Mindbendingly good.
#22-99, 9.5% abv. I do love me some donkey skin. This is yet another in a long line of what I love to call Cronenberg rieslings. An extremely concentrated wine, with incredible acidity, all somehow balance on a pinpoint. The fruit here is absolutely kaleidoscopic. There's a slight, heady touch of horseradish on the nose as well. Like how ordering the tamago while eating sushi signifies that you're done with your meal, pouring and drinking this wine signifies the end of your drinking session: beware of the palate-distorting characteristics of this wine.
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Les Carelles 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged January 26, 2010. I think some at the table like this wine much more than I did. More than a little oxidative on the nose and palate, this had a lot of nutty characteristics as well as a salinity that I would associate with a dry sherry. The palate is extremely rich and potent, and the extract here is basically off the charts. I did find this a little more oxidative then I prefer my champagne, although I wouldn't say that this bottle was in bad shape either. This was a relatively older disgorgement and it shows.
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2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Meix Chavaux 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
There's a joke here about how Roulot shows a lot better with a little bit of air but it never gets to that point because we always drink it all right when we open the bottle. This was a spectacular bottle of Meursault. It had everything that you would expect. A little smoky, fairly reductive, and crisp minerality, all in one little package of awesome.
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2000 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
This is probably one of the softest Comtes de Champagne that I've had in recent memory. It's quite right, showing a lot of softer fruit textures, a touch of chalkiness, and a little less of an acid backbones than I'd prefer in this wine. This still has some good freshness despite its ripeness however, but at the end of the day, it strikes me as a weaker release of this wine.
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2007 Domaine Patrick Javillier Corton-Charlemagne 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
This is an absolutely brilliant Corton-Charlemagne. There's still an ample amount of reduction on the nose. The fruit profile is incredibly fleshy, but there is plenty of acidity in this wine to balance that fruit out. Not a wallflower by any stretch of the imagination, this is a very, very robust chardonnay. In fact, this reminds me a little bit of Bonneau de Martray.
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1988 Mönchhof Robert Eymael Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 90 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#10-89, 7.6% [sic] abv. This is drinking exactly the way an older riesling ought to drink. This is a fairly funky wine, showing a pronounced note of blue cheese on the nose. It was actually quite difficult for me to get past the nerves, but the palate was still quite fresh despite this wine's thirty years.
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1973 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Eiswein 98 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#15-74, 10% abv. 2 years ago, I opened the 1973 Kabinett with largely the same group of people as tonight. That Kabinett was outstanding, but this wine was full-throttle legendary. There's an incredible racy acidity to this wine, coupled with unbelievable freshness thanks for the fruit and a generous helping of sugar. As with most Prüm Eiswein, this is more a study in raciness than in sweetness. Fresh green herbs, spice, and a little touch of Mosel apple. I'll also remark that my handwritten note for this wine features the letters "OMFG" in big capital letters.
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1971 Joseph Drouhin Corton-Bressandes 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
I had been spewing a little bit of Drouhin hate earlier this afternoon, remembering the shitty 2002 Chambertin that I had a year or so ago. This wine, fortunately, was nothing like that. There are autumnal and tea flavours here, with a really bright and lively fruit profile. Not tired at all, there is a sense of virility here. Powerful and dense, but resolved as well.
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1969 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
I'm thinking that this was a late release, given the pristine label on the bottle. The news here, like the Drouhin Corton-Bressandes, is fairly autumnal. On the other hand, there is a fullness and ripeness to the fruit on the nose that the Corton didn't quite have. The pallet shows fresh fruit still, with and especially pronounce note of red cherry. Uncannily fresh and youthful, this was an incredible wine, and again reinforces my love of the work that Gérard Potel did.
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1993 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares 98 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
This is an outstanding bottle of Burgundy. At first, I was a little worried that it was corked, but extended airtime proved that that was not the case. In fact, this wine did not show too well upon opening, and for most of the evening, this was a fairly understated wine. With extended air though, this grew into an expressive bottle of pinot, and definitely showed that stereotypical iron fist in a velvet glove characteristic. The fruit here seemed to play less of a starring role than in the Rouget. This was all about the earthy power.
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1993 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux 98 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Whereas the Dujac was understated and fairly modest, this was a full-on fleshy wine, showing an incredible array of Vosne spice and red fruit. Obviously a bottle well-cared for, this seemed to be only starting out with its secondary development. This seemed a little too young for its age (and to use a bit of a tired meme), perhaps so much so that Roy Moore would still be pursuing it. Initially I liked this a little more than the Dujac, but I found that the Dujac improved more with air than this wine did. If you have a palate like mine, this wine is solidly in its drinking window, but if you prefer your Burgundy older, there is no rush at all.
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2000 Domaine Barge Côte-Rôtie Cuvée du Plessy 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Huh. Totally didn't remember that I had tasted this wine before, although I knew that Barge makes some serious syrah. The nose shows classic syrah elements, though nothing seems to pop out too loudly. There is a moderate amount of olive brine, of meat juice, of black pepper. The palate is lithe thanks to the acidic cut, but has many of the same elements of the nose. This is drinking excellently right now.
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1987 Gonzalez-Byass Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Finest Dry Palo Cortado Añada
Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
I was told that if I didn't like this wine, the I probably didn't like sherry. Well the problem is that I can't figure out whether or not I actually like this wine. The nose is heady and complex, with tons of sweet dried fruit and an undercurrent of salinity. The palate has much of the same characteristics. In fact I liked everything about this wine, but I couldn't get past the high alcohol level, which is strange since I never have a problem with madeira. Perhaps, like so many other things this weekend, it had to do with residual sugar.
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1976 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 98 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#16-78, 10% abv. I had been fully enamoured with the 1973 Eiswein, when this came along and slapped me out of my infatuation. This is riesling on a scale that s modernist Bordeaux could only dream to accomplish. Incredibly massive and expansive, this is one of the greatest Auslese that I've had. It oozes botrytis out of every pore. It's insanely sweet but held back by the acidity. There's an array of fruit that I can't enumerate. Mindbendingly good.
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1998 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein 95 Points
Germany, Pfalz
#22-99, 9.5% abv. I do love me some donkey skin. This is yet another in a long line of what I love to call Cronenberg rieslings. An extremely concentrated wine, with incredible acidity, all somehow balance on a pinpoint. The fruit here is absolutely kaleidoscopic. There's a slight, heady touch of horseradish on the nose as well. Like how ordering the tamago while eating sushi signifies that you're done with your meal, pouring and drinking this wine signifies the end of your drinking session: beware of the palate-distorting characteristics of this wine.
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