Dinner with Friends

Dinner with a couple of my Somm friends, Ryan Arnold and Steven Morgan. I thought it would be fun to serve them three blind flights. They did a great job analyzing the wine in glass in front of them, impressing me with their professionalism. Well done, guys.

• 2000 Nigl Riesling Privat 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal

  Rich and unctuous, perhaps not necessarily what I was expecting tonight. Ripe stone fruit mostly coming through with spice that made me think this a blend vs pure Riesling. Slightly lacking in structure at this point, it's clearly time to drink up. Bottle purchased at release and store perfectly since.

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• 2001 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel 94 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Simply rockstar tonight. Baked apple and some quince aromas, while slightly leaner and edgier flavors. Long, lean and energetic finish. Really exciting start-to-finish.

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• 2000 Peter Michael Chardonnay La Carrière 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

  This was just a perfect bottle, with a perfect fill and a vacuum-like like seal that made the cork challenging to remove. Lots of mano and baked apple, but with freshness and lots of energy that made this difficult to identify to blind tasters as from Burgundy or Sonoma. Excellent from start-to-finish, remaining vibrant and fun for the entire hour+ in glass.

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• 2006 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Some apple and stone fruit on both nose and palate with charming floral notes, modest structure. This came across as lush, forward and fun, but with less energy than often found in Burgundy, but good energy and tension for the 2006 vintage. Good now, this should be very pleasurable for at least another 5 years, probably closer to ten years.

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• 2007 Domaine Jacques Prieur Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  All red fruit berry and cherry on nose and palate with background spice and subtle gamy character. Forward and charming, but with very good energy coming through from middle to finish.

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• 2008 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Open approx 4 hours before serving, given a quick double decant. Lots of black fruit flavors and aromas with some sweet spice, leather and earth. Very good concentration makes me certain this will evolve into something even more interesting 5-10 years going forward.

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