Penthouse Tasting

Millennium Hilton - New York, NY
Tasted Friday, February 17, 2012 by tooch with 1,414 views

Introduction

I was upgraded to the Penthouse Governor's Suite at the Millennium Hilton and invited some friends over to enjoy the views and open some wine. Fun night.

Flight 1 (10 Notes)

  • NV Marie-Noëlle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Extra Brut 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    This wasn't a powerful Champagne - in the mold of, say, Krug - but much more feminine and exotic. Beautiful floral notes merged with sweet lemon and lime tones to create an elegant and racy champagne.

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  • 1995 Fiorano (Boncompagni Ludovisi) Malvasia di Candia Botte 32 Vino da Tavola

    Italy, Latium, Vino da Tavola

    I enjoyed this very much. Beautiful fresh herbal tones, white florals and subtle apple and pear tones composed this wine. It had nice energy and complexity on the palate. I'd definitely seek this out again.

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  • 2001 Weingut Knoll Riesling Kabinett Ried Pfaffenberg Steiner 84 Points

    Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal

    Seemed a bit tired and lacked the expressiveness that I expected. It had lithe tones of peach and lemon with subtle floral notes. The palate was, well, unprecise I thought and its muddled flavors lacked precision and clarity.

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  • 2007 Melsheimer Reiler Mullay-Hofberg Riesling Spätlese "Schäf" 89 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Nice tropical fruit tones with lots of minerals. The palate was sappy and round with vivid tropical fruit tones. Thought the acidity cut the fruit quite nicely.

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  • 2009 Paolo Bea Santa Chiara 92 Points

    Italy, Umbria

    Fascinating wine. Subtle orange notes with white floral and mineral tones. The palate is silky, complex and layered. Seashell, lemon, fresh herbs, and very subtle honey. Loved this.

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  • 2010 Pheasant's Tears Mtsvane Amber Wine

    Georgia, Kakheti

    This was very bizarre. Nose smelled like bandaids, white florals, seashells and anise. The palate was lush with peach, apple, pear with lots of funky notes. Seemed somewhat disjointed, but was really interesting to track over the course of the evening.

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  • 2006 Michel Gahier Savagnin Arbois 91 Points

    France, Jura, Arbois

    The nose didn't scream Jura as I had expected, but was far more reserved and mysterious. It had beautiful lemon and mineral tones - almost Muscadet like - with a palate that was dense and flavorful. It had subtle honeysuckle, citrus, white linen and spice notes on the palate. Awesome stuff.

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  • 2009 Guttarolo Primitivo Anfora Puglia IGT 82 Points

    Italy, Puglia, Puglia IGT

    One of the more exotic and punishing wines I've come across. It has aromas of radish, cranberry, soil, compost and wet leaves. I consider myself a wine nerd, but even this pushed my comfort threshold. It had a strong sewage tone to the palate that was hard to shake. I love trying bottles like this, but wouldn't recommend them for the faint of heart.

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  • 2009 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Another great bottle of the precocious young syrah. Rich and textured black fruit, meat and spice on the palate with silky mouthfeel and great acidity. Great stuff.

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  • 2004 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche / La Péroline 94 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    For a young Northern Rhone syrah, this had incredible depth on the nose and palate. Very rustic aromas of olives, meat, dark fruit and earth on the nose seemed to subtly whisper "syrah" each time I put my nose in the glass. The palate was silky and fine with more meat, olive and fresh floral tones - just a textbook example of a young Northern Rhone syrah in my book.

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Closing

Here are some pictures from my hotel room at the Millennium Hilton.

Looking East towards Brooklyn, the East River and the bridges
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Looking West towards the World Trade Center site
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The World Trade Center site at night
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