France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Served double blind. Initially, a fair bit of reduction, but pretty much immediately identifiable as good white Burgundy. There's plenty of acid, good minerality, and a lean crispness here that defies the vintage generalization (the more I experience 2009 Burgundies, the more I realize that the overripe generalization was just plain wrong). Nice flinty minerality here as well. Thought that this was a high-end producer at a moderate-level site.
Served double blind. This bottle also seemed to have a little bit of reduction, but was mostly closed up and tight. There was a bit of high-toned aldehydes on the nose as well, but it was mostly the acid profile on the palate that led me to chardonnay. This was a little fleshier than the Moreau Maltroie and seemed to carry a touch of oak, so I ended up guessing that this was a new world chardonnay.
Served double blind. Tropical and flabby on the palate, with a little bit of oiliness that wasn't pleasant. Quite rich and fat, this seemed to be a clear warm climate chardonnay, from a producer that used a relatively lighter hand. The finish was marred by bitterness as well, though that didn't seem like it came from oak. I guessed California.
The last of my two bottles of this. This has always been a bit of a waxy wine, but somehow, it carries it very, very well. The amount of stuffing on the palate, I think, is what helps it along. I'm not sure as to the blend, but it seems that there's more semillon character here than not; certainly any green from sauvignon blanc has dissipated. Minerally and fairly acidic on the palate, with a good bit of ripe extraction.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Served double blind. Clearly an outstanding white Burgundy from a younger vintage (I correctly guessed 2014 in this case). This has a lovely balance of reduction, ripeness, and minerality, as well as notes of lemon and flint. It's a bit brooding in character, and seems to punch far higher than you would think for a "lowly" Saint-Aubin.
Served double blind. This was also an easy white Burgundy guess for me; in fact, I was thinking that this may have been a lower-end Roulot or some such steely white Burgundy, for that is exactly what this wine seems to be. It's lean, mineral, and crisp. Great acidity and freshness, and very much cut from the same cloth as the Lamy I had just before it.
Served double blind. Thought this was some sort of Alsatian wine, though I couldn't pinpoint what grape it was. It certainly had the palate and texture of one of my most hated grapes, gewurztraminer, but the insane amount of jackfruit on the nose (and lack of expected lychee) made that a terrible guess. At the end of the day, this was just one big headscratcher. There were no identifiable sauvignon blanc characteristics in this wine, though it did have a bunch of botrytis.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Served double blind. Upon tasting this, I joked then actually guessed 1996 Jadot. This was certainly advanced, though not premoxed. Perhaps one might call it oxed? Nutty, apricotty, and quite thick in texture, not unlike the 1962 Bourdy I had recently. This had some honeyed qualities as well as some classic chardonnay acidity. Honestly though, it was more impressive that this wine had held on so long than the wine was enjoyable.
Served double blind. Tons of minerality and crisp acids. There's a hint of greenness here that seemed to add interest to this wine, as well as some lemon and pineapple flavours. This is very densely packed with minerality, and I seemed to pick up some flinty characteristics to it. Tons of acidity. In fact, the greenness here made me think that this was a dry riesling at first.
Served double blind. Clearly dry riesling, especially with the contrast of the 2013 Moreau Clos just before. This reminded me most of the Trimbach single vineyard wines, so I ended up guessing that this was one of those. It has a lovely leanness in its acidity, but there's a hint of sweetness and enough fruit here that this isn't unpleasant at all.
Served double blind. Looks like pinot. Tastes like pinot. Guessed pinot. That lean, underripe characteristic here, alongside some slightly sweet fruit had me thinking one of the post-modern California pinots more than Burgundy. The stemminess and thinness here, along with heightened alcohol is not a good fit.
Served double blind. A profoundly troubling wine for me (especially after the reveal), where the nose and palate seemed to show a bit of the green taint that I found in 2004 and 2011 red Burgundy. In fact, I originally thought this was a 2011 red Burgundy. Very light and thin, with a meanness here that doesn't seem to represent the black-fruited meatiness and fleshiness of Cornas too well.
After the trauma that was the 2011 Allemand, this represented a big sigh of relief for me. Purplish and young, but this clearly possessed all the elements you would expect from a great northern rhone. It's silky with black fruit and a bit of peppered meatiness that represents Cornas so well. This straddles the polished and rustic line so well.
Served double blind. Initially this was quite stinky, and somehow that stink plus the red fruit had me thinking 1993 Jadot. Yeah, right? Anyway, if I had been more patient, I would have detected the light bits of pyrazines that started to emerge. Really nice fruit profile here, with tannins that don't seem too harsh, and acidity that is really racy. That the funkiness also blew off with some swirling leaves you with a pretty nice package.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Served double blind. "Smells like a fart." Pretty much called this as a fairly traditional 20-year-old CdP from the get go. The earth here seemed to be too stinky and there was too much animale here as well. Quite alcoholic and a big wine, with a fruit profile that seemed a bit decayed.
Served double blind. Tons of pyrazine and a palate riddled with ash makes me go to red Loire right away. This has a moderate amount of funk and earth, and the fruit profile here is clean enough that I thought it was a lot younger than it actually was (I was thinking something like 2005).
Served double blind. Pretty much went straight to turn-of-the-millenium Bordeaux for this one. Seemed to have a bit of graphite and cedar on the nose, as well as a fair bit of oak that was judiciously used. This was definitely longer on the structure than the fruit, but was fairly enjoyable all the same. I wonder if I would have liked this wine as much as I did had I not tasted it blind.
Served double blind. It's obvious that this is a high quality wine, but as a matter of taste, this really just doesn't do it too much. Laced with far too much alcohol, oak, and black currant extract, this is pretty much a Trumpian expression of Napa cab: more crass than class. I did pick this out as modern California cabernet.
Served double blind. Clearly a larger-scaled syrah, I did end up guessing that this was a well-made California wine. This doesn't have too much sweetness or confected qualities; in fact, there's a nice touch of earth to go along with the black pepper. After the reveal, I was certainly surprised that the fruit didn't seem as hedonistic as I would have expected.
Served double blind. I think this benefitted greatly from being served next to the SQN Labels. The contrast made this a very lifted and elegant wine, with tons of red fruit and acidity. It made it very clear that this was a northern rhone syrah. I've read about these wines being oaky or manipulated or what not, but I didn't find that here at all.
2009 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Served double blind. Initially, a fair bit of reduction, but pretty much immediately identifiable as good white Burgundy. There's plenty of acid, good minerality, and a lean crispness here that defies the vintage generalization (the more I experience 2009 Burgundies, the more I realize that the overripe generalization was just plain wrong). Nice flinty minerality here as well. Thought that this was a high-end producer at a moderate-level site.
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2009 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Served double blind. This bottle also seemed to have a little bit of reduction, but was mostly closed up and tight. There was a bit of high-toned aldehydes on the nose as well, but it was mostly the acid profile on the palate that led me to chardonnay. This was a little fleshier than the Moreau Maltroie and seemed to carry a touch of oak, so I ended up guessing that this was a new world chardonnay.
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2009 Arterberry Maresh Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard 85 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Served double blind. Tropical and flabby on the palate, with a little bit of oiliness that wasn't pleasant. Quite rich and fat, this seemed to be a clear warm climate chardonnay, from a producer that used a relatively lighter hand. The finish was marred by bitterness as well, though that didn't seem like it came from oak. I guessed California.
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1982 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
The last of my two bottles of this. This has always been a bit of a waxy wine, but somehow, it carries it very, very well. The amount of stuffing on the palate, I think, is what helps it along. I'm not sure as to the blend, but it seems that there's more semillon character here than not; certainly any green from sauvignon blanc has dissipated. Minerally and fairly acidic on the palate, with a good bit of ripe extraction.
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2014 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Served double blind. Clearly an outstanding white Burgundy from a younger vintage (I correctly guessed 2014 in this case). This has a lovely balance of reduction, ripeness, and minerality, as well as notes of lemon and flint. It's a bit brooding in character, and seems to punch far higher than you would think for a "lowly" Saint-Aubin.
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2014 Kumeu River Chardonnay Hunting Hill 93 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu
Served double blind. This was also an easy white Burgundy guess for me; in fact, I was thinking that this may have been a lower-end Roulot or some such steely white Burgundy, for that is exactly what this wine seems to be. It's lean, mineral, and crisp. Great acidity and freshness, and very much cut from the same cloth as the Lamy I had just before it.
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2009 F.X. Pichler Sauvignon Blanc Smaragd 80 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Served double blind. Thought this was some sort of Alsatian wine, though I couldn't pinpoint what grape it was. It certainly had the palate and texture of one of my most hated grapes, gewurztraminer, but the insane amount of jackfruit on the nose (and lack of expected lychee) made that a terrible guess. At the end of the day, this was just one big headscratcher. There were no identifiable sauvignon blanc characteristics in this wine, though it did have a bunch of botrytis.
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1996 Verget Bâtard-Montrachet 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Served double blind. Upon tasting this, I joked then actually guessed 1996 Jadot. This was certainly advanced, though not premoxed. Perhaps one might call it oxed? Nutty, apricotty, and quite thick in texture, not unlike the 1962 Bourdy I had recently. This had some honeyed qualities as well as some classic chardonnay acidity. Honestly though, it was more impressive that this wine had held on so long than the wine was enjoyable.
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2013 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Served double blind. Tons of minerality and crisp acids. There's a hint of greenness here that seemed to add interest to this wine, as well as some lemon and pineapple flavours. This is very densely packed with minerality, and I seemed to pick up some flinty characteristics to it. Tons of acidity. In fact, the greenness here made me think that this was a dry riesling at first.
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2009 Hugel Riesling Jubilee 90 Points
France, Alsace
Served double blind. Clearly dry riesling, especially with the contrast of the 2013 Moreau Clos just before. This reminded me most of the Trimbach single vineyard wines, so I ended up guessing that this was one of those. It has a lovely leanness in its acidity, but there's a hint of sweetness and enough fruit here that this isn't unpleasant at all.
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2009 Coche-Dury Bourgogne 83 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Served double blind. Looks like pinot. Tastes like pinot. Guessed pinot. That lean, underripe characteristic here, alongside some slightly sweet fruit had me thinking one of the post-modern California pinots more than Burgundy. The stemminess and thinness here, along with heightened alcohol is not a good fit.
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2011 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot 83 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Served double blind. A profoundly troubling wine for me (especially after the reveal), where the nose and palate seemed to show a bit of the green taint that I found in 2004 and 2011 red Burgundy. In fact, I originally thought this was a 2011 red Burgundy. Very light and thin, with a meanness here that doesn't seem to represent the black-fruited meatiness and fleshiness of Cornas too well.
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1998 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire Flawed
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Heat-damaged.
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2015 Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
After the trauma that was the 2011 Allemand, this represented a big sigh of relief for me. Purplish and young, but this clearly possessed all the elements you would expect from a great northern rhone. It's silky with black fruit and a bit of peppered meatiness that represents Cornas so well. This straddles the polished and rustic line so well.
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2002 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos du Chêne Vert 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Served double blind. Initially this was quite stinky, and somehow that stink plus the red fruit had me thinking 1993 Jadot. Yeah, right? Anyway, if I had been more patient, I would have detected the light bits of pyrazines that started to emerge. Really nice fruit profile here, with tannins that don't seem too harsh, and acidity that is really racy. That the funkiness also blew off with some swirling leaves you with a pretty nice package.
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1999 Lucien Le Moine Bonnes Mares 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Served double blind. "Smells like a fart." Pretty much called this as a fairly traditional 20-year-old CdP from the get go. The earth here seemed to be too stinky and there was too much animale here as well. Quite alcoholic and a big wine, with a fruit profile that seemed a bit decayed.
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2001 Couly-Dutheil Chinon Clos de l'Echo 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Served double blind. Tons of pyrazine and a palate riddled with ash makes me go to red Loire right away. This has a moderate amount of funk and earth, and the fruit profile here is clean enough that I thought it was a lot younger than it actually was (I was thinking something like 2005).
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1998 Fernando Remírez de Ganuza Rioja Reserva 90 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja
Served double blind. Pretty much went straight to turn-of-the-millenium Bordeaux for this one. Seemed to have a bit of graphite and cedar on the nose, as well as a fair bit of oak that was judiciously used. This was definitely longer on the structure than the fruit, but was fairly enjoyable all the same. I wonder if I would have liked this wine as much as I did had I not tasted it blind.
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2009 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Monsieur Étain 70 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Served double blind. It's obvious that this is a high quality wine, but as a matter of taste, this really just doesn't do it too much. Laced with far too much alcohol, oak, and black currant extract, this is pretty much a Trumpian expression of Napa cab: more crass than class. I did pick this out as modern California cabernet.
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2007 Sine Qua Non Syrah Labels 88 Points
USA, California, Central Coast
Served double blind. Clearly a larger-scaled syrah, I did end up guessing that this was a well-made California wine. This doesn't have too much sweetness or confected qualities; in fact, there's a nice touch of earth to go along with the black pepper. After the reveal, I was certainly surprised that the fruit didn't seem as hedonistic as I would have expected.
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2007 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Served double blind. I think this benefitted greatly from being served next to the SQN Labels. The contrast made this a very lifted and elegant wine, with tons of red fruit and acidity. It made it very clear that this was a northern rhone syrah. I've read about these wines being oaky or manipulated or what not, but I didn't find that here at all.
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