30th Birthday Bash Wine Dinner

Scoozi, Chicago
Tasted Monday, March 19, 2012 by beezer6 with 486 views

Introduction

A little wine focused get together to celebrate my 30th at Scoozi.
Me, Jill, Greg, Chris, Johnny, Sylvia, Greg (NC), Teresa.

Flight 1 (8 Notes)

2009 Loring Wine Company Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Brut 92 Points

USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

Greg brought this one of 24 bottles produced out to Scoozi to celebrate my 30th. What a treat.
Enclosed with a crown cap. Popped and poured. Lovely focused yellow apples, pear, light white floral quality - great lighter brioche and almond butter on the nose as well.
The palate was medium bodied sporting more nice fresh apples, light honey, vanilla and a touch of toasty French toast. The finish was superb. Lively and lighter in styling - not too rich which everyone enjoyed.
A perfect way to start a fantastic evening. One of the highlights of the night without a doubt. I can only hope more Cali Pinot/Chard producers decide to bottle a sparkling. COME ON!!!

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2009 Sine Qua Non On The Lam 96 Points

USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

Probably my favorite SQN white to date. Awesome super funky earth and mushroom. Screaming Old World Rhone to a T. Really pungent; aromatics soaring from the glass remind me of stinky brie doused with some fresh exotic mushrooms and a layer of fresh peat moss - extremely unique aroma profile. Wow. The palate matches the nose as it spreads like a blanket across my tongue, mouth and throat. Creamy with a nice dose of freshly churned butter - not the movie theater crap. There is good acid to balance the back end, but this is really young and needs a little time to settle. Barely any hint of alcohol at all - it all comes through in the weight of the wine. I loved this big boy and I believe it's worth every penny of the $110 or so I dished out. Keep it up MK.

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2007 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Drake Estate Vineyard 93 Points

USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

Well done with this understated classically styled RRV Chardonnay from one of my favorite producers (still) in Sonoma.
Rich and buttery and certainly some oak but it's all in check. A nice slatey transition in the mid palate that lends an acid driven and supremely clean back end.
Balanced, harmonious. Need I say more. Mostly tropical yellow fruit with a nice wet sidewalk play. Some white and yellow flowers and hints of all spice. Call it a day.

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1982 Château Margaux Pavillon Rouge 91 Points

France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

Greg brought this to Scoozi to celebrate my 30th. Lots of oxidation on the nose - but definitely still alive.
A big essence of dill weed and thyme. Lots of leather and tobacco doused raspberries and dark cherries up front.
Old world but still vibrant and showing a nice inner core of cherries with touches of ripe cotton candy fruit. A nice wine. Great transition from white to the big reds.

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1999 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Winston Hill 91 Points

USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

From a magnum that Johnny brought to celebrate my 30th. Purchased upon release I believe.
A nice restrained Old World quality - really elegant but still showing masculine iron core and dark blackberries.
Anise, a little funk which I really enjoyed. Rustic fruit and some leather saddle. Nice Rutherford dust play that's unique and enjoyable.

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2002 BOND Melbury 92 Points

USA, California, Napa Valley

Boo. A pretty big disappointment considering the pedigree behind this label - AND THE PRICE. I mean, it had its moments; it was a gargantuan behemoth of a wine that was barely drinkable because of its texture weight and sheet girth to put it bluntly.
It was the essence of a cocktail wine. I mean, I guess if you had a big fatty peppered rib eye it may have been a big better but I think I was a little generous in the score to be honest. Sappy, viscous. So much sweet sweet blackberries, liqueur blue fruit, milky chocolate, cassis, fig and purple flowers. Super exotic, super incense and fragrant purple vegetation.

I mean, there was a ton of stuff going on both aromatically and in terms of flavor, but it was actually too much even for me. There was ZERO acidity. I mean, it was virtually non-existent. I'm not sure if I opened this at the wrong time because I'm not often this off with CT reviews especially with a high scoring wine. I won't give up on these super Single Vineyards form Bond but this was a little bit of a setback in my book.

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2009 Denner Mother of Exiles 92 Points

USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

Chris kindly brought this out to Scoozi for my 30th. My first Denner experience and I'm sold.
Nice uber ripe blue fruit - I like the creamy baked good undertones that make the fruit more intriguing.
Nice sweeter tannins showing a candied nose but with a great kind of savory mineral driven core that sets this apart form other unfocused flashy Paso wines.
Fleshy and sexy styling. Really enjoyed how this worked with my Strip as well.

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2009 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 89 Points

USA, California, Napa Valley

A nice wine. There is some serious pedigree strength behind the single vineyards so I'm a little surprised the Napa AVA didn't shine more.
Rich ripe fruit. Cherries and some cotton candy. Super tight and super young; a bit astringent in fact.
Pretty much popped and poured so maybe we didn't do this guy justice...but still. I'd like to see this come around in three to five years.
I'd long been wanting to try a wine from AO so I'm glad at that.

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