Best bottle @ Ely

• 2004 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul 91 Points

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

  Very dark, very non-typical for Grenache. Lots of sweetness and honey, round and polished and a very good 2004 CdP. It was a blind tasting and no one knew what the others brought, so it was this against 1990 Cheval Blanc and 1983 Grange, so a bit of an unfair fight...

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• 1990 Château Cheval Blanc 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Incredible wine. This sat in the glass with beautiful smell of black tea, rum, plums, red fruit jam, perfectly ripened smell. Then in the palate it went on... powerful, thick and long long long!
  This is at it's peak and it's going to stay there for a while. Most importantly: I love it. Served blind and I guessed 1990 Ausone while Jim guessed 1989 Ausone. Good stuff!!

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• 1983 Penfolds Grange 96 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Best bottle of this I have ever had. This wine is so elegant. Jim and Robert both guessed that this was a Bordeaux and they thought it to be between 5 and 10 years old: that's how the color looked and that's how it smelled and that's how awesome it was in the palate! Thick yet elegant, distinct smell of coke-flavored hard-candy. Very long and fat in the palate. This was the best ever Grange. This is just the amazing.

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Looking back at my notes, this was the highest average score I have given in any tasting, I was stunned, but not surprised! Sometimes bottle variation turns in your favor for an evening. Lucky us!