Friday Night in Toronto

Organized and executed flawlessly by 10tation Event Catering (http://www.10tation.com/)

• PEI Malpeque oysters with shallot, horseradish jelly
• Canadian sturgeon caviar with crème fraiche on a buckwheat blini
• Fried chicken and waffles, bacon maple syrup
• Mini moose and fois gras burgers with spiced apple chutney

• 1996 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Open when I arrived, presumably exposed to oxygen for approximately an hour or less. Once in my glass, it didn’t last long. Showing a light gold colour, boasting a nose of baked apple, lemon zest, roasted nuts, crushed rocks, brioche, honey, spice and light mushroom notes, leaning to subtle oxidative notes. On the palate, this is quite rich with excellent depth. The acid profile lends a hand here to achieve a lovely balance and vibrancy. Finish lingers in the mouth for quite some time. Delicious.

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• butter poached lobster, roasted corn puree, black Canadian caviar, crisp pigs ears

• 1985 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Charlie 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold in colour. Surprisingly appearing to be the least advanced Champagne served tonight. Initially a bit reticent, but as it warmed, the nose gave way to lemon zest, wet stones, spice, grated ginger, yeast, baked apple, a touch of orchard fruit, and after about 30 minutes, notes of freshly ground espresso emerged. On the palate, good concentration, but a touch leaner than the other two Champagnes served tonight. Finish is long and crisp, showing racy acidity, closing out with citrus, apple, mineral and a tinge of bitter walnut skin on the finish. This bottle still seemed to be on the upswing.

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• 1993 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 88 Points

  France, Champagne

  Served alongside the Heidsieck, this was a touch deeper in colour. On the nose, I found this to have a bit of a musty note that never really blew off, as well as notes of caramel, honey, spice, toast, bruised apple, almost showing a touch pickled. On the palate, this falls a little flat after the Bollinger and its counterpart. Would have liked a touch more acid here. Finish is moderate, with bruised apple, caramel spice and burnt sugar that lingers on the palate. Reasonable complexity, but showing some deficiencies. No reason to hold. Drink now.

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• Potato crusted dover sole, salsify, black truffle
• roasted Mediterranean scampi
• field beet beure blanc

• 2004 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Light gold colour, showing a bit of age. Served relatively cold, so this became more expressive as it warmed. Followed approximately an hour in the glass. The nose offered up scents of crushed rocks, wet wool, earth, citrus peel, honey, sea air, and an odd overlay of raw potato. On the palate, moderate acidity; seemingly mellowed out; finishing with zesty citrus and mineral notes of moderate length.

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• 2003 Gravner Breg Anfora 86 Points

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT

  Much darker than the Fevre served alongside it; deep golden colour in the glass. The nose exhibits notes of orange peel, florals, black licorice and a heavy overlay of wood. As this sits in the glass, it gets a touch more of that oxidative feel to it, with baked apple notes emerging. On the palate, this is quite viscous and slightly deficient in acid. Wood and dried flowers dominate the dry, somewhat bitter moderate length finish. Quite a bit of complexity here, but not my cup of tea.

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• Veal cheek ravioli, squab liver and black truffle sauce

• 1982 Château Gruaud Larose 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Well, I got my wish from 2011. Still a deep garnet in colour with a mild brick. Heavy sediment noted. Immediately soaring nose of dark fruits; blackcurrant, blackberry; earth, leather, spent coffee grinds, graphite, dried tobacco leaf, decaying leaves, and a healthy note of that lovely Cordier funk. On the palate, still quite lush, with moderate acidity keeping it fresh. Finish is long, with a surprising amount of silky tannin that grip every so slightly on the finish. This bottle is showing much less evolved than my last. Everything you’d want in aged Bordeaux. Lovely. Should easily hold on to the end of this decade.

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• 1986 Château La Conseillante 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Garnet in colour, with a moderate brick. Followed approximately one hour. A touch reticent at first, so I moved on to its counterpart, the Gruaud Larose. When I came back, this had opened up, giving way to notes of black cherry, plums, raspberry, tons of baking spice, a touch of graphite, florals, earth, blood and slight pyrazine. On the palate, more resolved than I was expecting for an ’86, with a fairly rounded mouthfeel and moderate acid profile. Finish is of medium length, with a bit of grip from the unresolved tannin. A very nice wine, but unfortunately overshadowed in this flight.

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• Ragu di cinghiale, home garganelli, parmigiano reggiano

• 1987 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

  Still surprisingly deep in colour, with no signs of bricking. On the nose, cassis, earth, herbs, blackberry, tobacco leaf, crushed rocks, and almost a touch of pine, which combined with the ripe/sweet fruit reminded me of some funky body odour. On the palate, still immensely concentrated, with high tannin and medium acidity. Finish is a touch clipped due to the tannic structure that still remains in this wine. This seems to be aging at a snails pace. Perhaps there is room for a bit of improvement here with some more time horizontal in the cellar.

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• 1991 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This was similarly dark, showing a small amount of bricking. Initially quite strange, showing a stewed tomato note, but blossomed in to reveal dark fruits, earth, cedar, tomato leaf, and spice. On the palate, relatively lush sweet fruit, with some mild astringency, although overall, this feels fairly well rounded. Finishes moderate length. Not sure if this was a representative sample, as I get suggestions of light heat damage.

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• 1992 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Well, there was definitely something off with the last bottle of this that I had the pleasure of sampling. Served alongside the Diamond Creek and Mondavi Reserve, this seemed to have the slight edge in leanings to Bordeaux. A wonderful nose of red and black currants, earth, chalky mineral, tobacco leaf, spice, cedar and certainly a bit of pyrazine. On the palate, still quite lively as well, with racy acids, beautiful depth of flavour, and a touch of drying tannin on the long finish. I would say this is still on the upswing.

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• 1999 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Deep garnet in the glass, no brick. Followed approximately 2 hours. I held this in my glass for quite some time hoping that it would blossom in to something exceptional, but alas, it remained pretty much unchanged over the course of the evening. On the nose, some black cherry, currant, savoury herbs, blood, earth, cedar, and brown sugar. On the palate, this was surprising resolved, with a medium plus acid profile. Finish is moderate, with a bit of grip. From magnum, I would wait a bit longer on this.

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• Carnaroli risotto with fresh alba white truffles and parmigiano reggiano

• 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 86 Points

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

  Golden colour, really showing it's age. A very musty/earthy nose, with sherry notes, honey, dried figs, baking spice and toasted nuts. On the palate, moderate richness, medium acidity. Finishes quite long, but to me, almost reminiscent of a flat, over the hill Champagne. Not my cup of tea, but others were quite enamoured with it. Lots of complexity, and will be right up your alley if you are in to the heavy oxidative notes. Drink five plus years ago.

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• Rabbit loin stuffed woodcock innards, black truffle
• Pigeon leg confit
• Fava beans
• Brussel sprouts

• 1998 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Deep garnet in colour, with a light brick. On the nose, lovely black cherry, baking spice, florals, light sewage, blood, dried herbs; quite savoury. On the palate, I was expecting a wall of tannin, however, this seemed surprisingly resolved. Medium plus acid, with a moderate finish. This was quite elegant. Loved the aromatic profile.

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• 1996 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Didn't take much of a note on this one. Heavy prunes, raisins, dates, orange pekoe tea. On the palate, very astringent. Unpleasant. Did not drink. Have no had it previously, so I cannot comment with certainty on whether this was a sound bottle or not, however this is far more oxidized than I would have expected for its age.

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• Rack of venison
• Lobster mushrooms
• Port and huckleberry jus
• Jerusalem artichoke in duck fat

• 1998 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Served alongside the Chave and for my tastes was ultimately outmatched. Much deeper garnet in colour, with a nose offering up scents of raisins, prunes, a touch of blackberry, earth, leather, light caramel and pepper. On the palate, I found this to be a bit astringent, with medium plus acids and some tannin clipping the finish. Structure is still quite evident, but I don't see this getting any better due to the stewed character of the fruit. Showing worse than the last time I tried this wine.

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• 1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Deep ruby in colour, perhaps a touch deeper than other Chaves that I have had the pleasure to try. The nose was unmistakably Chave; briney green olive, smoked meat, red currant, pepper, blackberry, grass clippings, cool sea breeze, herbs and campfire. On the palate, excellent concentration, medium acid, and a bit of unresolved tannin. Finish is moderate, but I absolutely adore this style. Could certainly hold this, but it offers a great amount of pleasure now. Score might be a bit generous, but admittedly, I am a bit of a Chave fanboy.

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• 1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  One of my most anticipated wines of the night. At first, the nose was a bit musty, but it blew off as it sat in the glass. From magnum, I expected this to be quite youthful, but the bouquet was nicely developed; red currants, earth, undergrowth, mushroom, fresh picked herbs, blood, leather and cedar. On the palate, a bit of plushness, but complimented really nicely by some brisk acidity. Finishes long. Exceptional, and should certainly get even better in this format

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• 2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven Series 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Ahhh, my first SQN, and quite possibly my last. A deep inky purple in the glass. My first SQN. Deep inky purple in the glass, with a boisterous nose of blue fruits, brown sugar, vanilla, spice cake, fresh picked herbs, coffee grinds, florals, smoked brisket and pepper. On the palate, massive viscosity, but quite svelte and exhibiting reasonable balance, however, I do catch a bit of heat on the finish, and a slight deficiency in acid. Not a fan of this style of wine, but you can't deny the level of complexity and craftsmanship in this wine. Personally, I wouldn't opt to age this out.

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• gorgonzola
• bucheron
• spiced poached pear
• toasted brioche
• nuts

• 1983 Château Gilette Crème de Tête 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Deep golden in colour. Followed approximately 30 minutes. The nose had some moderate complexity, with honey, spice, citrus peel and apricot jelly. On the palate, high viscosity, medium acid, with a long bitter finish, akin to marmalade. Paired quite well with the food, but found the bitterness slightly off putting, and would have hoped for a bit of botrytis. I'm sure you could hold this quite some time, although, I don't see a reason not to drink this now.

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• dark chocolate hazelnut torte
• dark chocolate gelato
• panna cotta with port soaked amarena cherries

• 1977 Fonseca Porto Vintage 91 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Not sure of the treatment before it was served, but this sat in my glass for perhaps 30 minutes as I worked my way through it. I was quite looking forward to trying this legendary Port, but overall it fell short of expectations. I found the nose to be very spirit like, more so than I normally get from Port, with accents of cherry, fruit preserves, toasted nuts, spice cake, earth and cedar. On the palate, well rounded, but picking up quite a bit of heat on the back end.

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