Dinner at Home with Friends

Served with assorted cheeses and sliced meats, marinated shrimp, and smoked salmon

• NV Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

  France, Champagne

  Consistent with previous bottles. Lemon, apple, mineral and great acidity. Always a great Champagne and has yet to disappoint.

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

Served with Halibut prepared two ways:
Steamed with Citrus Salad and Yukon Gold and Purple Potato Chips
Roasted with Hearts of Palm Puree and Zucchini

• 2002 Louis Jadot Bâtard-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Opened a half hour before serving. Light golden color. Not a sign of oxidation anywhere. Powerful aromatics of lemon custard, ripe pear, nut notes and some stone. Great length on the palate with a long finish. Quite a bit of structure with great balance.

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

• 2002 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Opend a half hour before serving. Light golden color. Not completely oxidized, but a strong note dominating the aromatics. Some lemon/lime, white flower, and mineral notes come through on both the nose and palate, but the oxidation overwhelms. A bit better with food, but still not great. Complete opposite of the bottle had less than a year ago.

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

Served with Roasted Squab Breast and Grilled Leg over Lentils with Bacon, Pearl Onion

• 2003 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Domaine Louis Jadot

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Dark red berry and earth with a smokey game note. Some violets as well. Fruit forward and medium plus bodied palate. Powerful red fruits on the palate with great acidity. Long finish. The most structured of the 2003 Clos St Jacques in this flight.

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

• 2003 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Dark red cherry and some cranberry notes on the nose. Mineral and earth with cooked bacon notes as well. Pure red fruit on the palate with a mineral backbone. Medium plus finish. Great length and like silk on the palate. Beautiful wine.

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

• 2003 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  The darkest fruit profile of the '03 Clos St Jacques in the flight. Almost black cherry and berry with great earth and game notes. Some very nice spice notes as well. The same fruit carries through on the medium weight palate. Nice balance of minerality and acidity, but lacking a bit in structure tonight. Medium plus finish with good spice throughout. Great wine, but a bit behind the '03 Jadot tonight.

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

• 1999 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  A surprise addition to the Clos St Jacques flight. Decanted for roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Ripe, yet firm firm dark berries on the nose with powerful earth and game notes. Firm dark fruit on the palate as well with great spice. Medium plus weight, a long finish, and great balance. Lots of structure. Still quite youthful and has a long time to go. Wonderful wine.

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

Served with Prime New York Strip, Caramelized Onion Puree, Trumpet Royale Mushroom, and Brussels Sprouts.

• 1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Side by side with 95 Haut Brion. Highly aromatic red currant and cherry with classic Graves mineral notes. Some tobacco notes and some wood spice. Full bodied palate with sweet red fruits and a long finish. Lots of backbone and structure. Still tannic and youthful. A very pretty wine. At first the LMHB showed much more elegant than the HB, but after a half hour or so, the HB picked up weight and was an equal match to the LMHB.

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

• 1995 Château Haut-Brion

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Side by side with 95 La Mission Haut Brion. At first, not showing much on the nose, but after a half hour or so, it really began singing. Ripe red currant and berry with tobacco leaf and a good bit of minerality. Fruit forward on the palate with great texture. Full bodied red fruits, pretty spice throughout, and a long finish. Still young with some gripping tannin, but showing very nice. I would still give a slight edge to the La Mission tonight though.

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

• 1991 Opus One

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Served blind. Dark red plum and cassis on the nose with powerful earth and oak notes. Leather, tobacco, and earth on the nose as well. Sweet fruits on the full bodied palate. Sweet oak and vanilla too. Great texture and length. This bottle showed very youthful with some gripping tannin remaining. Great wine.

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

Served with Fresh Strawberries, Vanilla Shortcake, and Strawberry Soup.

• 2003 Château d'Yquem

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  From .375ml Consistent notes as all other bottles over the past year. Tropical fruit, apricots, vanilla nose and palate. Very pretty spice as well. Great showing as always.

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

• 1998 Alois Kracher Welschriesling TBA #11 Zwischen den Seen

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

  Powerful aromatics of roasted apricot, fig, honey, and a big dose of vanilla and toffee. Rich fruits on the palate with lots of body. Long finish. Could easily be too much if it were not for the great acidity that keeps the fruit in check.

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

A great night and thanks Deanna, Kevin, Diane, Greg, and Barbara.