Saturday Night at the Claffee's

A group of guys headed over to Scotts to decompress after Thanksgiving. We opened a random selection of wines - some were great, others weren't...luckily, all of us had a great time!

All the bottles were assembled on the dining room table and each person could sample whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.

• NV Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Premier Cru Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Nice acidity with tones of strawberry, minerals and white peach. Definitely has weight to it but enough minerality and acidity to keeps things in balance.

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• 2005 Domaine Gauby Côtes Catalanes Blanc Vieilles Vignes

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes Catalanes

  Enjoyed the melon, white floral and mineral notes on the palate. This had come across hot in the past, but I didn't get any heat this time...good to know that patience is required for the wine to settle down.

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• 2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Lorenzo's Heirloom

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

  Had an exotic spiciness to the palate with dark fruit, and dried florals. Thought this had nice balance and showed quite well!

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• 2009 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  This was my first Kutch wine and I walked away a bit nonplussed. The nose had a cherry cola note to it that I associate most commonly with Sonoma Coast pinot noir. It had some spice notes, bright red fruit and low acidity. Would have liked this a bit more if the acid was a bit more noticeable.

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• 2000 Seavey Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Thought this was pretty good. Had some nice tobacco and leather notes with dried florals. Still was rooted with dark fruit and a brown sugar component - seemed to be close to its apogee.

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• 2006 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

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

  Another exciting bottle from the 2006 vintage. I wish I had bought more of this - the vintage seems primed for aging...maybe a bit like 1994? Dark fruit, earthy and funky - just lovely Pegau.

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• 2006 J Vineyards & Winery Pinot Noir Nicole's Vineyard Russian River Valley

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Dark, dense red fruit with cherry cola tones. Had a lot of spices underneath the bright red fruit. Not overly complex, this was pretty straightforward.

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• 2007 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Weir Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands

  Dang, what a letdown. Had a really beautiful 2006 Selyem the week before and was hoping for another great bottle...but was met with a wine with essentially no personality. Maybe it's too young, but the palate was monolithic with red fruit...not much in the way of spiciness or earthy tones. Shame.

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• 2007 Black Kite Pinot Noir River Turn

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Featured dark fruit, warm spices and subtle forest tones on the nose. The palate was pretty dense and firm with lots of red fruit with cloves and brown sugar undertones. Thought this was a built bulky for my tastes, but this was received well by the group.

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• 2007 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  I didn't find this too enjoyable with dark, dense and jammy black fruit on the palate. Acidity was medium-to-low and it reminded me of blackberry cocktail. Not my thing.

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• 2007 Lapostolle Late Harvest Sémillon Apalta Vineyard

  Chile, Rapel Valley

  This was served blind. Had some botrytis tones of pineapple, vanilla and apricot on the nose. The palate had nice richness, acidity and depth. I was surprised to see it was Chilean.

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• 1995 Château Clerc Milon

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Drinking not much differently than the bottle I had a little over a year ago. Had some nice dried floral, leather and cranberry tones. The palate was medium-bodied and the acidity was pleasant on the finish. Very nice.

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• 1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese

  Germany, Pfalz

  Very fond of this wine. Has nice lychee fruit and fresh linen on the nose with subtle lime, apple and crushed rocks. The body is round in a sense, with fleshy fruit tones, but the finish has piercing acidity that compliments the fruit nicely.

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