First dinner of the L.A. wine trip

Our first night in L.A. included a lineup of superb wines.

• 2010 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Started out with a funky nose with a hint of oxidation, but this mellowed out. Lemon, tropical fruit, hazelnut, and vanilla created a gorgeous aromatic profile. This was even better on the palate, with a really nice mouthfeel. A long finish with excellent freshness.

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• 2005 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  From a magnum. Started out a bid reductive, with a flinty, match-stick streak. Lots of citrus, lemon peel, oyster shell, wet stone, and minerality. Medium weight on the palate, but with a bit of a thin streak on the finish. I would drink this now if you have it.

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• 2007 Domaine Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet 94 Points

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

  Golden yellow color. A really nice nose of lemon, apple, oyster shell, and nuttiness. Really smooth and fresh on the palate. A medium-plus finish with good acidity. While not a stunner, this is a nicely matured Chardonnay.

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• 1961 Château L'Arrosée 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  From a magnum that was late release from the château. The youngest appearing of the 1961 flight. A wine that kept improving throughout the evening. This wine had a really intriguing aromatic profile, with a nice balance of ripe red fruit, plum, sous bois, truffle, baking spice, and iron that kept opening up. Lively on the palate, with silky tannins and medium body. Didn’t have a blockbuster finish, but did have good freshness. There is definitely some life left with this wine.

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• 1961 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Late release bottle ex-château. The best wine of the 1961 flight. A seductive nose that was equally matched on the palate. The nose revealed black currant, juniper berries, sous bois, pencil lead, violets, eucalyptus, and tobacco. Outstanding balance overall. A finish with good length. Much more charming, layered, and complex than the 1959 Ducru-Beaucaillou. I really loved this wine, which was one of the best of the evening.

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• 1961 Château Léoville Barton 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Started out a bit thin on the palate, but gained weight in the glass. A bit more rustic than the 1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou, with more earthy character. A nose of black currant, blackberry, cedar, a bit of old library book, cigar tobacco, and green pepper. Again, while it started out thin, it gained body and density to become a nicely balanced wine. An excellent wine that still has some tannic structure left. Could have used a bit more freshness on the finish.

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• 1959 Château Latour Grand Vin 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  It’s always special to taste a 1959 Latour, but this bottle was not quite the level of the one drank recently. It did have the Latour typicity, with cassis, pencil lead, and cedar, but it had a slight oxidized note to it. It was actually much better on the palate, revealing nice balance and concentration. It’s a testament to the 1959 Latour that a wine that is obviously not a perfect representative can still give so much pleasure.

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• 1966 Château Cheval Blanc 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  A nicely matured vintage but more on the austere side of things. Prune, dark fruit, old library book, and tobacco rounded out a rustic aromatic profile. It did have a nice mouthfeel and good length on the finish. Tannins still present but have integrated well. Acidity was perhaps a bit high contributing to some tartness.

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• 1971 Château Trotanoy 98 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  One of my favorite Bordeaux wines on this evening. This baby was stunning from the get-go but just kept getting better. A near perfect balance, where nothing stood out. The aromatics consisted of red fruits, raspberry, iron, truffle, sous bois, menthol, and violets. A gorgeous mouthfeel, hitting on all cylinders on the palate. Structured nicely with ultra-soft tannins and perfect level of acidity. A long finish with a signature freshness that just begged you to drink more. A stunner in every sense of the word.

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• 1966 Château Palmer Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Flawed. Maderized.

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• 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  An off-bottle, unfortunately. There may have been a hint of TCA, though it wasn’t obviously corked. There was an overpowering marine quality to it. Certainly drinkable, but it’s hard to describe or rate this wine that is so obviously not a typical 1986 Mouton. Still could detect the enormous structure this wine is known for. I will not give this a score, as this was obviously an off-bottle and not a good representative of the 1986 Mouton.

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• 2000 Château Ausone 99 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  An outstanding wine that is far from its drinking window. Very similar in evolution to the 1999 Guigal La Landonne, with also the same in potential. There is just so much complexity here. Ripe red fruits, truffle, iron, minerality, and chocolate. So elegant on the palate, with a beautiful weight. Everything is in balance here. An ultra-long finish with lots of fresh acidity. This baby is primed to become a near-perfect wine; just wait 10 more years if you can.

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• 2004 Sine Qua Non Grenache Ode to E 95 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Started out really concentrated and perhaps overpowering, but mellowed out to reveal a superb wine. Lots of dark fruits, black licorice, truffle, Asian spices, and chocolate. Precise and focused, this wine had really nice balance for being such a powerful wine. A very long, impressive finish.

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• 1985 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Drinking extremely well right now, this was one of the more interesting wines of the evening. But I have to say that this wine was holding back a bit, and may still need more evolution. Blackberry, black cherry, brown spices, roasted meat, smoke, and pepper. Beautifully textured on the palate, with a warm spiciness that just enhanced the experience. Still has a solid tannic structure. but nothing obtrusive. A long, memorable finish. While it wouldn’t be criminal to drink this now, you may be rewarded if you wait a few more years on this one.

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• 1999 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 99 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Loads of potential, but still needs 10-15 years. This is one of those wines that has the fruit, structure, and complexity to become a near-perfect wine, but it’s not showing much of it right now. Considering the number of great fully mature wines on this evening, this one wasn’t very popular with the group tonight. The fruit is ripe, dense, and pure, and is surrounded by a beautiful mix of smoked meat, black pepper, iron, truffle, and damp earth. On the palate, it’s even more complex, with amazing structure that just doesn’t come across as overly tannic or unbalanced. Ridiculous concentration and overall depth. The tannins still need softening and further integration. I’m always impressed that with the LaLas seeing over three years in oak, there is still no overpowering oak, which is always so well integrated. It’s easy to understand that this wine may not thrill some, because its potential to pleasure ratio is way too high right now. If you decide to open this now, give it at least a day of air.

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• 1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 97 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  A gorgeous wine that is in its sweet-spot right now. There is so much unmistakable Hermitage pepper, with a warm spiciness that melds beautifully with the fruit. Both red and dark fruits, pepper, Asian spices, and tobacco round out a beautiful nose. This is a powerful wine on the palate, but didn’t come off as aggressive. There is still ample tannic structure, and a nice level of acidity on the finish. The finish is ultra-long in length. This wine is at its peak, but it’s going to stay here for awhile. This is worth opening now if you have it.

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