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This was an absolutely lovely offline dinner event at Piperade in San Francisco. The theme of the night was dusty bottle night, and considering that theme we had a surprisingly good success rate! It was lovely to meet everyone and please forgive my briefer than normal tasting notes... it was a challenge to get everything down. Two wines that I didn't include below:
-Paul's lovely and extremely rare chardonnay, which was excellent and had a freshness to it that I really enjoyed.
-Louis Bonesio UVAS Cab Sauv 1966- no cellartracker entry. I thought this was oxidized.

My favorites here were the Mount Eden, the riesling, and the Lopez de Heredia.

• 1992 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  (7/30/2011)

  Minerally, clean nose; palate somewhat oxidized, borderline flawed.

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• 1990 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains 92 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  (7/30/2011)

  Buttery, oily; lovely fruit; overall a great aged Cali Chardonnay.

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• 1996 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc 80 Points

  USA, California, North Coast

  (7/30/2011)

  Grassy, not much else on the nose; no palate that I could tell. Bit oxidized. Well past its prime.

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• 2007 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  (7/30/2011)

  Huge petrol nose; lovely sweetness, sugary, good balance but somewhat simple.

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• 2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Viña Gravonia 90 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  (7/30/2011)

  A little oxidation on the nose adds complexity, distinctive; palate clean, mineral, not much fruit but otherwise good and solid.

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My favorites here:
Laurent Vosne Romanee
Lopez de Heredia
95 Diamond Creek
75 Ridge

• 1999 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  (7/30/2011)

  Hint smoky, red fruits, cherry; balanced, drinking very well now. One of my favorite reds of the night.

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• 2006 Domaine d'Eugénie Vosne-Romanée 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée

  (7/30/2011)

  Significant smoked component, earthy; palate is a bit tannic, lacks a bit of acid, possibly a couple years young but doesn't seem like it will have significant improvement.

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• 2007 Stefania Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains 91 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  (7/30/2011)

  Fresh bright fruits; balanced, good acid, red fruits.

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• 2008 Holdredge Pinot Noir Bucher 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  (7/30/2011)

  Darker burly fruits; finish a little bitter.

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• 1995 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  (7/30/2011)

  Funky brett at first, lots of dirty diaper, blew off mostly after 30 minutes but the fruit blew off too...; palate is still a hint tannic and young. Good, but not great and fruit may not outlast tannin (and also brett was a little strong for me).

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• 1991 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia 93 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  (7/30/2011)

  Funky leather, hint of mint; great acid, clean, good red fruit. Very lovely.

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• 2001 Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  (7/30/2011)

  Spice, red fruits, hint of smoke; great acidity, balanced; medium length finish. Excellent but very very young right now. Doesn't show much secondary complexity but may get there eventually.

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• 2000 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  (7/30/2011)

  This wine had four hours of decanting, decanted back into the bottle, then was drunk in my glass over 2 hours. Dark ruby red, deep red fruits, young, hint dusty; ripe fruits, balanced, good acid; moderate length finish. Nice showing but still young, restrained, needs time. I have some of these: I will wait at least 3-5 years since this is restrained (though not fully closed).

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• 1970 Château Smith Haut Lafitte 84 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  (7/30/2011)

  From Magnum. Cloudy, light bodied, hint vegetal on the nose; palate still has some hints of red fruit, light. Overall still enjoyable but well over the hill.

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• 1995 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

  (7/30/2011)

  One of my favorites of the night. Classic cab fruit, black fruits, still young, nice to see a cab that isn't overripe.

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• 1996 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/30/2011)

  Deep dark fruits, not showing any sign of age; blend of old world and new world with a little bit of funk. Let these sit for a little longer.

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• 1982 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/30/2011)

  Old-world style, hint barnyard; structured but approachable, aged but still has fruit and tannin. Very interesting wine and may even have a little way to go.

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• 1998 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  (7/30/2011)

  Ripe fruits, minerally, very young and needs 5 years to show more maturity. Still very enjoyable now but will improve.

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• 1982 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve Flawed

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/30/2011)

  Declining fruit, musty; palate is showing some vinegar oxidation characteristics. I would say this is a little flawed/oxidized.

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• 2003 Brancaia Ilatraia 81 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  (7/30/2011)

  Ripe, EtOH, unbalanced; lacks acid, very new world in style. Also tastes very young to me. I just think this didn't fit my style.

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• 1994 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Flawed

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (7/29/2011)

  Corked. Damn! I have not had good luck with this wine.

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• 1975 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 92 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  (7/30/2011)

  Also one of my favorites. Subtle, balanced, still has fruit but is reaching a peak. Very enjoyable and a great example of mature cali cab blends.

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Lovely, lovely wine.

• 2007 Château de Myrat 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  (7/30/2011)

  Tropical fruit; unctuous but good acidity, excellently balanced wine with botrytis and spice. I have a few of these and will wait on my next taste. 91-92
  Day 3: Golden color; still lovely tropical fruit; unctuous. Young, but actually not painfully young like an 07 Coutet that I had recently. This will probably be a medium-term sauternes, which is still 15-20 years of longevity.

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