From Magnum. Light golden color with still quite a bit of bubbles left. Mostly baked red delicious apple aromas with yeasty brioche. Nice fruit on the palate, but just a touch too acidic. A very nice CA sparkling wine. This is the 3rd magnum I've had this year with similar notes.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
From Magnum. A bit slow opening up, but after an hour or so, really fantastic aromatics started coming out. Mostly red cherry and berry with some nice leafy tobacco and underbrush notes with mineral. Great texture on the palate with everything in perfect harmony. Very long finish. An absolute treat.
From 3L bottle. Half was decanter for 1 hour and poured back into the bottle, but was singing from the moment the cork was pulled and only kept getting better. Some cranberry and red cherry on the palate with very pretty rose petal notes. Beautiful texture on the palate with some nice spice and mineral notes. A very long finish. This was an absolute standout of the evening, and a great surprise as we opened it as a "filler" wine between all of the others served during the evening. A very pretty wine.
From Magnum. Sweet red currant and plum upfront all framed by wood notes (but not overpowering). Notes of damp earth and tobacco. On the palate a bit softer than I expected with soft red fruits, vanilla, and cedar. Decent acidity on the moderate finish. I've tasted many more better bottles of the '94, but they were all 750ml.
From Magnum. Decanted for 2 hours before consuming. Very dark color. Bright dark red cherry/berry with cassis and damp earth and leaves on the nose. Some very nice chocolate and cedar notes as well. Outstanding texture on the palate with refreshing acidity and an extremely long finish. A beautiful wine.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red plum/berry with some cranberry. Powerful notes of grilled game sausages and some earthy underbrush. Sweet cherry and berry on the palate, but I felt the mineral notes were overpowering the fruit a bit. Good acidity on the finish, but again I feel there was a bit too much minerality showing. A good wine, but not a good as I was expecting. The 2000 served alongside blew it away.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Darker color than the 1998 served alongside. On the nose the aromatics were much more powerful with dark red/almost black fruits with much more grilled game/herbs. Outstanding texture on the palate, many layers kept unveiling themselves as the wine sat in the decanter. Riper/creamier fruit on the palate with outstanding acidity and a nice grip on the finish. My wine of the night.
Slightly dark golden color. Lots of vanilla up front with honeyed/burnt sugar with grilled pineapple. Notes of honeysuckle and lemon custard as well. Very lush on the palate with great minerality and refreshing acidity. A leaner style Yquem that I enjoy best when paired with a dessert rather than on its own.
1988 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Millennium
USA, California
From Magnum. Light golden color with still quite a bit of bubbles left. Mostly baked red delicious apple aromas with yeasty brioche. Nice fruit on the palate, but just a touch too acidic. A very nice CA sparkling wine. This is the 3rd magnum I've had this year with similar notes.
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1996 Domaine Bartet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
From Magnum. A bit slow opening up, but after an hour or so, really fantastic aromatics started coming out. Mostly red cherry and berry with some nice leafy tobacco and underbrush notes with mineral. Great texture on the palate with everything in perfect harmony. Very long finish. An absolute treat.
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1998 Bodegas Roda Rioja Roda II Reserva
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
From 3L bottle. Half was decanter for 1 hour and poured back into the bottle, but was singing from the moment the cork was pulled and only kept getting better. Some cranberry and red cherry on the palate with very pretty rose petal notes. Beautiful texture on the palate with some nice spice and mineral notes. A very long finish. This was an absolute standout of the evening, and a great surprise as we opened it as a "filler" wine between all of the others served during the evening. A very pretty wine.
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1994 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
USA, California, Napa Valley
From Magnum. Sweet red currant and plum upfront all framed by wood notes (but not overpowering). Notes of damp earth and tobacco. On the palate a bit softer than I expected with soft red fruits, vanilla, and cedar. Decent acidity on the moderate finish. I've tasted many more better bottles of the '94, but they were all 750ml.
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1990 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
From Magnum. Decanted for 2 hours before consuming. Very dark color. Bright dark red cherry/berry with cassis and damp earth and leaves on the nose. Some very nice chocolate and cedar notes as well. Outstanding texture on the palate with refreshing acidity and an extremely long finish. A beautiful wine.
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1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red plum/berry with some cranberry. Powerful notes of grilled game sausages and some earthy underbrush. Sweet cherry and berry on the palate, but I felt the mineral notes were overpowering the fruit a bit. Good acidity on the finish, but again I feel there was a bit too much minerality showing. A good wine, but not a good as I was expecting. The 2000 served alongside blew it away.
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2000 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Darker color than the 1998 served alongside. On the nose the aromatics were much more powerful with dark red/almost black fruits with much more grilled game/herbs. Outstanding texture on the palate, many layers kept unveiling themselves as the wine sat in the decanter. Riper/creamier fruit on the palate with outstanding acidity and a nice grip on the finish. My wine of the night.
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1996 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Slightly dark golden color. Lots of vanilla up front with honeyed/burnt sugar with grilled pineapple. Notes of honeysuckle and lemon custard as well. Very lush on the palate with great minerality and refreshing acidity. A leaner style Yquem that I enjoy best when paired with a dessert rather than on its own.
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