Second Sunday Group: 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet

The 2nd Sunday group gathered for our regular double blind tasting. For this group, we are presented a couple of double blind warm ups before the main flight. The warm ups are discussed & unveiled before moving on to the themed main flight. We spent forty five minutes or so tasting and evaluation the eight wines for the main flight before ranking the wines and then making guesses as to what we were tasting. Wines are ranked 1-8, one point for each place, and then unveiled from last place to first place. After the tasting, dinner is served with the additional wines brought by the group, nonblind. For this tasting we had thirteen tasters and the cost was $60.

• 2014 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  Double blind. Bright yellow with a slight green tint. Aromas of toasted orchard fruit with lemony citrus and stony mineral notes underneath. The palate pretty much follows the bouquet, though the citrus is more of a lemon curd than freshly cut. Picks up a hint of mineral in the bright, lingering finish. Good underlying acidity. I was convinced this was a 2014 Meursault. 92-93 pts.

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• 2014 J. Rochioli Chardonnay Russian River Valley 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Double blind. A bit more toasted than the first wine, with a slightly almondy/nutty note underneath the orchard fruit aromas. A bit of toast on the palate as well, with grilled lemon, apple and wet stone flavors carrying through the finish. The toast hangs on the finish a bit than I would like, but that's really picking nits I guess. At first I thought Puligny, but I did not suspect California. 91+ pts.

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• 2014 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain 90 Points

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

  Double blind. Soft and quite reticent. Subtle bouquet of lemon and stone. Good acidity, with a lemony tinge to the fruit. Finishes well, with good length and balance, but never really blossomed or showed very much, remaining somewhat closed and tight.
  
  My #5, Domino's #6
  Group #6, 65 pts

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• 2014 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

  Double blind. Aromas of lemon, stone and apple, adding a floral element as it opened during the tasting. Flavors of apple, stone and citrus with nice underlying acidity and a nice finish.
  
  My #6, Domino's #5
  Group #7, 69 pts

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• 2014 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanée 93 Points

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

  Double blind. Aromas of apple and lemon with a terrific smoky/toasted overtone. Orchard fruit, lemon and mineral on the palate, with rich, toasted qualities. Long finish. A richer, toastier style than the others in the lineup but there's more then enough fruit to carry the wood. I like it. 93+ pts.
  
  My #1, Domino's #1
  Group #1, 19 pts

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• 2014 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers

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

  Double blind. Sharp and acidic. Apple and steely metallic aromas with a subtle chemical note too. Toasted bread crumb on the palate.
  
  My #8, Domino's #7
  Group #3, 59 pts

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• 2014 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets 88 Points

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

  Double blind. Reticent. Apple and citrus notes but tight and reticent, this never really opened up during the tasting. Apple, earth and clay flavors with a nice finish. Soft. 88+ pts.
  
  My #7, Domino's #8
  Group #8, 84 pts

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• 2014 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tête du Clos 91 Points

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

  Double blind. Lemon, apple and butterscotch notes. Stone and mineral notes emerge as it opens, with a good bit of wood underneath. Apple and stone on the palate with a long finish. 91-92 pts.
  
  My #4, Domino's #3
  Group #5, 65 pts

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• 2014 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Maltroie 91 Points

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

  Double blind. A bit reticent at first. Notes of lemon, stone and honeysuckle blossom. Softer on the palate, with an interesting dried pineapple quality.
  
  My #3, Domino's #4
  Group #4, 64 pts

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• 2014 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean 92 Points

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

  Double blind. Reticent; stony mineral notes, but very subtle. Remains light and soft aromatically, but it's quite a bit more expressive on the palate. Lemon, pastry cream, apple and wet stone with focused acidity. Very pure and precise with a long finish. Excellent cut and balance. 92-93 pts.
  
  My #2, Domino's #2
  Group #2, 43 pts

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With chicken and pasta.

• NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  L380505. Nutty overtones with terrific apple and prchard fruit qualities underneath. Fine bead with a lengthy finish. Nice toast.

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• NV Gosset Champagne Brut Grand Blanc de Blancs 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Apple, citrus, almond, dried yeast and floral notes. Terrific underlying acidity. Precise and focused.

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• 1962 Gaja Barbaresco 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Well here is something you don't see every day. Courtesy of Marty's cold cellar. Opens with a lovely bouquet of mixed floral tones including rose and lavender. Hints of wild phlox too, along with dried fruit. Remarkably, there's still fruit on the palate as well. White currants and dried cherry flavors, along with rose water and just the slightest hint of spice. Improved in the glass for half an hour at least. Very, very pretty. 93+ pts.

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• 1972 Pierre Bourée Fils Chambertin 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

  Courtesy of Neil and his cold cellar, in honor of Domino's birth year. Lovely fruit for a wine of forty five years, with notes of cherry, bordering on cherry liqueur, along with violets, sous bois and a hint of iron underneath. Flavors of cherry, iron and spice with a long finish. Silky texture. Terrific. 94+ pts.

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• 1975 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Another courtesy of Neil and moreover, a birth year bottle for me. Deep color, much darker than any other '75 I've had. Dried currant and leather aromas dominate. Flavors of black fruit, plum and earth with a medium finish. Perhaps a touch on the riper/plummy side, and the tannins are not as refined as I would like. Still, it's always a treat to try a wine such as this. Thank you, Neil. 88-90 pts.

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• 1998 Domaine Francois Lamarche Echezeaux 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Cherry and dark fruit notes. On the riper side of the spectrum. Flavors of red plum, cherry and spice. Subtle iron note with air. Good.

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• 1999 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Aromas of cherry, iron, bacon and cherry blossoms. Nice balance. Cherry and mineral accents on the palate with a long finish.

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• 2001 Gérard Raphet Charmes-Chambertin Cuvée Unique 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Soy, cherry, blue fruit and violet notes. The fruit lingers through the finish. I found the soy note just slightly distracting, otherwise I'd have been a couple of points higher. Nice balance on the palate and length in the finish.

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• 2010 Domaine Thunevin-Calvet Côtes du Roussillon Villages "Les Dentelles" 89 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages

  Dark color. Grapey dark fruit aromas dominate, though there's a terrific smoky incense undertone that I like a lot. Dark fruit and pepper on the palate. Soft, and on the fruity/sweet side of the spectrum.

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• 2015 Joh. Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Sulfur, white peach and tart apple notes. Just a little spritz on the palate at this youthful stage, along with melon, peach and slate. Long finish. Wonderful.

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• 2014 Clos du Marquis 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Tobacco and dark fruit notes. Currant and dark fruit on the palate, medium tannins, medium+ finish. Excellent, if a bit young. Drink from 2023+.

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• 2010 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino 88 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Vanilla, cherry and sour red berry fruit aromas. Medium-bodied, with red fruit on the palate. Medium finish. Good.

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• 2011 Nino Negri Valtellina Superiore Quadrio 87 Points

  Italy, Lombardia, Valtellina, Valtellina Superiore

  Nice red fruit and vanilla, turning plummy and ripe through the finish. 90% nebbiolo and 10% merlot.

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