France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Rich and fleshy orchard fruit aromas and flavors with some hints of roasted walnut and sweet spice. Vibrant and energetic, with a good life going forward.
Tasting, brief note. I was thrilled to see this wine, but rather disappointed when smelled and tasted. Lean, tart red cherry with moderate spice, but this didn't really come across as particularly clean. I'd wonder about its long-term storage.
Tasting, brief note. Lots of mushroom with cigarbox. Slightly less fruit remaining vs the best bottles I've had in the past few years, but very elegant and nuanced.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Tasting, brief note. Cork slightly sunken and loose, but still a good fill. Mature black fruit with a slightly simple character. Perhaps ever-so-slightly oxidized.
Tasting, brief note. Slightly sweet apple and pear that was fresher than I'd have expected at this age, with better fruit, despite almost no remaining effervescence. Yum, thanks, John!
Tasting, brief note. Unmistakably Riesling aromas with plenty of ripe orchard fruit. Similar flavor profile, very pleasant with moderate depth, good balance.
Tasting, brief note. Massive and powerful black fruit, with mouth puckering tannins right now. So not lots of pleasure for me today, but clearly lots of great 93-94 point potential.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Lots of ripe and mature black berry aromas and flavors. Lots of Vosne styled Asian five spice. Good structure for the vintage gives equally good balance for its level of ripeness.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tasting, brief note. Wow, really stunning baking spice, summer flowers with pronounced red and black cherries. Fresh and precocious fruit to start, meaty and dense middle, then amazingly powerful on the finish. Great now and i can see this getting better and better for at least another decade. Perhaps the best Latricieres-Chambertin I can ever recall tasting.
Tasting, brief note. Popped and poured. Musty start dissipated within 5 minutes, after which there was intense black fruit, bacon, black pepper and licorice for the next 20 minutes, after which it faded quickly.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
Seemed very reductive to start, so this got a quick decant which really helped. Meaty flavors with black fruit and an overall sauvage character with black pepper and dried thyme. Good length.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Tasting, brief note. Black fruit retaining good freshness for a '79. Moderate complexity, but everything is in harmony right now so this is a very enjoyable wine.
Very enjoyable Spatburgunder, these are young Grand Cru vines just recently replanted with Pinot Noir. Fresh and ripe red and black cherry aromas with baking spice and a hint of cherry cola. More restrained flavors with the same fruit profile, but less sweet than implied from the aromatic start, and nicely energetic.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Tasting, brief note. Red cherry with some black cherry hints and background spice. Sneaky structure here gives this lots of power, while nicely balanced. Probably close to entering the early stages of a good drinking window.
Tasting, brief note. Ultra ripe fruit dominates everything else at present, but there plenty of sweet baking spice and black pepper coming through near the end. Give this another year for better harmony to emerge.
2008 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Tasting, brief note. Ripe apple and some lemon curd with very good power and concentration for its level, with almost Grand Cru density.
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2000 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Rich and fleshy orchard fruit aromas and flavors with some hints of roasted walnut and sweet spice. Vibrant and energetic, with a good life going forward.
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1979 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Speciale
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Tasting, brief note. I was thrilled to see this wine, but rather disappointed when smelled and tasted. Lean, tart red cherry with moderate spice, but this didn't really come across as particularly clean. I'd wonder about its long-term storage.
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2002 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Berg Flawed
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Great floral start with intense fruit, but alas this was slightly corked.
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1966 Château Palmer 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Tasting, brief note. Lots of mushroom with cigarbox. Slightly less fruit remaining vs the best bottles I've had in the past few years, but very elegant and nuanced.
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1966 Château Cheval Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Tasting, brief note. Cork slightly sunken and loose, but still a good fill. Mature black fruit with a slightly simple character. Perhaps ever-so-slightly oxidized.
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1979 Château Margaux Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
From 3L. I thought this was musty and slightly dirty. Others thought it corked.
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1966 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 92 Points
France, Champagne
Tasting, brief note. Slightly sweet apple and pear that was fresher than I'd have expected at this age, with better fruit, despite almost no remaining effervescence. Yum, thanks, John!
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1997 Martin Müllen Kröver Paradies Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Tasting, brief note. Unmistakably Riesling aromas with plenty of ripe orchard fruit. Similar flavor profile, very pleasant with moderate depth, good balance.
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1979 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Tasting, brief note. Lots of fat fruit that came across as nicely fresh for its age, but also slightly simple.
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1979 Château Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Tasting, brief note. This was all mushroom and forest floor, seemingly at the end of its peak drinking window if this bottle was representative.
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1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Tasting, brief note. Massive and powerful black fruit, with mouth puckering tannins right now. So not lots of pleasure for me today, but clearly lots of great 93-94 point potential.
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1989 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Lots of ripe and mature black berry aromas and flavors. Lots of Vosne styled Asian five spice. Good structure for the vintage gives equally good balance for its level of ripeness.
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2002 Domaine Leroy Latricières-Chambertin 96 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tasting, brief note. Wow, really stunning baking spice, summer flowers with pronounced red and black cherries. Fresh and precocious fruit to start, meaty and dense middle, then amazingly powerful on the finish. Great now and i can see this getting better and better for at least another decade. Perhaps the best Latricieres-Chambertin I can ever recall tasting.
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1983 Dervieux-Thaize Côte-Rôtie La Viallière 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasting, brief note. Popped and poured. Musty start dissipated within 5 minutes, after which there was intense black fruit, bacon, black pepper and licorice for the next 20 minutes, after which it faded quickly.
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1991 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle-Chambertin 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
Seemed very reductive to start, so this got a quick decant which really helped. Meaty flavors with black fruit and an overall sauvage character with black pepper and dried thyme. Good length.
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1979 Château Figeac 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Tasting, brief note. Black fruit retaining good freshness for a '79. Moderate complexity, but everything is in harmony right now so this is a very enjoyable wine.
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2011 Walnoët Pinot Noir
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Very enjoyable Spatburgunder, these are young Grand Cru vines just recently replanted with Pinot Noir. Fresh and ripe red and black cherry aromas with baking spice and a hint of cherry cola. More restrained flavors with the same fruit profile, but less sweet than implied from the aromatic start, and nicely energetic.
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2008 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Tasting, brief note. Red cherry with some black cherry hints and background spice. Sneaky structure here gives this lots of power, while nicely balanced. Probably close to entering the early stages of a good drinking window.
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1982 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Tasting, brief note. Maturing black berries and plum with good cigarbox character. good power throughout.
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2007 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Tasting, brief note. Peach and ripe apple, very forward and almost opulent. Moderate depth.
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1985 Antinori Solaia
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Tasting, brief note. Came across as much older than we should have expected. Bottle condition or storage problem?
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2011 Sine Qua Non Syrah Dark Blossom
USA, California, Central Coast
Tasting, brief note. Ultra ripe fruit dominates everything else at present, but there plenty of sweet baking spice and black pepper coming through near the end. Give this another year for better harmony to emerge.
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