Hedonism Wines' Enomatic Sampling

Having forgotten my bow tie, I ventured from my hotel to buy one. I bumped into the Hedonism Wine store, of which I had read. Though I thought I would do a quick browse of the displays and when I did so, I found their Enomatic pouring machines in the basement. However little I like the idea of opening and drinking bottles over prolonged periods of time, whenever I had tasted wines from these machines, I had been surprised how well they keep up and how fresh they are. These machines pour .05 liters (or whatever you pay for) upon the push of a button and replace the wine with an inert gas (argon or nitrogen). The wines that were available for tasting included e.g. 1963 Graham port, 1990 Beauséjour, 2009 SQN The Thrill of ...

• 2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Fresh bouquet of flowers, minerals. On the palate rich and full bodied but with chalky minerality and good acidity of grapefruit, slight melon.

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• 2009 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Thrill of... 96 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Nose of cassis, brambles. On the palate cedar, black cherries, smoke, full of energy yet silky and smooth.

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• 2009 Château de la Roulerie Chenin Blanc Les Terrasses 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Anjou

  Feeble bouquet of bitter orange. On the palate fresh an vibrant. Passion fruit and lime.

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• 2011 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  I liked this a lot: fresh but very expressive nose of honey, spice. On the palate pineapple, pink grapefruit, stone and a great finish. Drinking surprisingly well at this young age.

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• 2009 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Real fireworks. Nose of Seville orange, ripe fruit, buttery notes. On the palate very delicate minerality but very balanced with mouth-coating ripeness. This is super elegant right now. It did not come across as a long-distance runner, though. What a wine.

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• 2009 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri 91 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Some volatile acidity on the nose. On the palate tannic, tobacco, chocolate. Nice.

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• 2006 SGC (Alain Dutournier) Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Nose of dark plum, mirabelle. Creamy palate with milk chocolate, dark fruit, long finish. Quite good.

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• 2005 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia 95 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Superiore

  Wonderful nose, chocolate, tobacco. On the palate dense with plums, underwood and again chocolate.

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• 2008 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì Tildìn 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Restrained nose of stone, flowers. on the palate blue fruit, tannic, young. This will be great with some more bottle age.

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• 2010 Château Haut-Brion Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Not being a seasoned drinker of second wines, I must admit that this is a major success. The bouquet jumping from the glass with blueberries, wet stone. On the palate brambles, cedar, a backbone of silky tannins and a very nice and pure finish. Great.

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• 2009 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  Nose of cherries, earth. On the palate elegant and lightweight with strawberry, milk chocolate velvety tannins, nice finish.

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• 1989 Château Canon 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Nose of earth. On the palate beguiling sweetness, creamy, mouth-coating. So drinkable. At its apogee.

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• 1990 Château Léoville Las Cases 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Bouquet slightly green, but I liked this particular bottle: sweet, full-bodied, chocolate, malt, earth, underwood. Really great today.

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• 1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) 100 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Good bottles have scored consistently with three digits and continues one of my absolute favourite bottles of Bordeaux. Unbelievably elegant and mature Bordeaux nose. On the palate, round with chocolate, cassis, truffles. Pretty mature, so won't last forever but irrestible right now.

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• 1963 Graham Porto Vintage 97 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Fruitcake, raisins, spices, this really blew me away. Really an otherworldly port with lots of life left.

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• 2003 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man 96 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

  Honeysuckle, almonds, gingerbread but intertwined with a vein of citrus. I liked this a lot.

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• 2001 Château Climens 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  This was really nice. Passion fruit, pineapple, some grapefruit, bitter almond. Really quite good.

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I spent approx. GBP 250 on sampling all these wines and just managed to buy a bow tie in a very good mood. I took a half bottle Pichon Comtesse 1989 with me which I drank after my evening event (at which I only pretended to drink). A very nice spot to try out a few wines that one has not tried in a while (1990 Beauséjour) or where one shies away from opening the last bottle (Graham 1963).