Small glass, brief note. Moderately mature red berries on nose and palate with anise, cloves and mint. Good weight, very good balance and elegance. Best to enjoy near-term.
Small glass, brief note. Surprisingly accessible. Fully open and engaging black fruit, liqueur and sweet spice aromas with floral hints. Similarly complex flavors, slightly less accessible, but so enjoyable. I'd expect this to take another decade to fully show its great potential. Probably the first time I'm tasting since en Primeur in 2006.
Small glass, brief note. Rich aromas are very engaging with black plum, cassis and dark chocolate. Palate starts out with a similar profile, just finishes early and abruptly, giving it a somewhat hollow middle. Tasted twice, one hour apart, with similar results.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
Small glass, brief note. Slightly reductive start, which slowly softened, but needed more time to dissipate. So much spice with plenty of bright red cherry and berry. Very good depth, good length. Better to decant for an hour+ if opening any time soon.
I opened this alongside the 1997. Nicely mature with lots of mature black fruit with slightly sweet spice and tobacco hints. Clearly still in its peak drinking window, but probably better a year or three ago. While I preferred the 1997, which is brighter and more structured, I can understand why half the tasters preferred this 1996.
Opened this alongside the 1996. Surprisingly firm and backward for the vintage, while still showing lots of ripe, fleshy fruit and very good concentration. I expect upside from here. The 1996 was more open but getting tired and less interesting to me, but half of the tasters preferred each.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Small glass, brief note. A surprising amount of reduction to start, with the SO2 character taking 10+ minutes in glass to dissipate, even with the wine already decanted. All red fruit coming across as enjoyable but simple. Better to cellar longer.
Small glass, brief note. Black plum, savory spice, roasted meat and liqueur aromas and flavors. Still backward and brooding, but clear hints of greatness, 2025-.
Small glass, brief note. Ripe black fruit with great spice. Wonderful balance despite the ripeness. Fun and interesting right now, with possible upside.
Small glass, brief note. Black berries with earth, black pepper, braised beef and savory spice. Barely evolved so this comes across as ripe and rich, but the concentration implies complexity to come. Cellar to 2025 or later.
Small glass, brief note. All red fruit, nicely bright and elegant with faint earth and spice. Very good balance, good weight, especially for its level. Tasted twice an hour apart with same results. Good now through 2023.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de Tart Grand Cru
An odd showing today. Lots of ripe fruit with VG balance made this come across as fun and somewhat simple to start. But the balance almost hides the impressive structure here, so I think this in that often uninteresting "in between" phase for Grand Cru. I wouldn't re-visit for at least 5 years. Tasted twice today, an hour apart, to give this more attention. 90-91 points today, 93-94 point potential?
Fairly large and dense, but also nicely balanced. That SQN pedigree and know-how comes through with the elegant use of silky tannins, keeping this charming and somehow restrained. good now with upside.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
Popped and poured. Very dark, black fruit, very concentrated and meaty but also very backward. Time in glass and aeration managed to coax out some charm, but this wine barely hinted at its very good potential, which I'm confident is there based on multiple previous bottles.
Plenty of toasted almond and walnut with some marzipan and dried stone fruit. Moderately sweet, beautifully supported by incredibly bright and refreshing acidity. Very long, persistent finish. Thanks, Ken, what a treat!
1993 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Small glass, brief note. Moderately mature red berries on nose and palate with anise, cloves and mint. Good weight, very good balance and elegance. Best to enjoy near-term.
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1994 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
From 3L. Wonderful nose shows nicely mature red cherry and berry. Similar flavors, just less intriguing and slightly drying.
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1995 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Small glass, brief note. Black fruit, some faint liqueur hints, finished somewhat rugged. Others liked this more than I did today.
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2005 Château L'Evangile 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Small glass, brief note. Surprisingly accessible. Fully open and engaging black fruit, liqueur and sweet spice aromas with floral hints. Similarly complex flavors, slightly less accessible, but so enjoyable. I'd expect this to take another decade to fully show its great potential. Probably the first time I'm tasting since en Primeur in 2006.
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2011 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon "Old Sparky" Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Small glass, brief note. Rich aromas are very engaging with black plum, cassis and dark chocolate. Palate starts out with a similar profile, just finishes early and abruptly, giving it a somewhat hollow middle. Tasted twice, one hour apart, with similar results.
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2007 Domaine Jean Grivot Richebourg 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
Small glass, brief note. Slightly reductive start, which slowly softened, but needed more time to dissipate. So much spice with plenty of bright red cherry and berry. Very good depth, good length. Better to decant for an hour+ if opening any time soon.
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1995 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Trie Spéciale 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
Small glass, brief note. Nutty with apricot and marzipan, just reasonably mature and time to drink up.
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2009 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon DB4
USA, California, Napa Valley
Small glass, brief note. I guess there are people who enjoy wine this sweet and one-dimensional.
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1996 Cardinale 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
I opened this alongside the 1997. Nicely mature with lots of mature black fruit with slightly sweet spice and tobacco hints. Clearly still in its peak drinking window, but probably better a year or three ago. While I preferred the 1997, which is brighter and more structured, I can understand why half the tasters preferred this 1996.
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1997 Cardinale 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Opened this alongside the 1996. Surprisingly firm and backward for the vintage, while still showing lots of ripe, fleshy fruit and very good concentration. I expect upside from here. The 1996 was more open but getting tired and less interesting to me, but half of the tasters preferred each.
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2014 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Small glass, brief note. A surprising amount of reduction to start, with the SO2 character taking 10+ minutes in glass to dissipate, even with the wine already decanted. All red fruit coming across as enjoyable but simple. Better to cellar longer.
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2005 Château Montrose 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Small glass, brief note. Black plum, savory spice, roasted meat and liqueur aromas and flavors. Still backward and brooding, but clear hints of greatness, 2025-.
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2012 Sine Qua Non Syrah Stock 93 Points
USA, California, Central Coast
Small glass, brief note. Ripe black fruit with great spice. Wonderful balance despite the ripeness. Fun and interesting right now, with possible upside.
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2012 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Small glass, brief note. Black berries with earth, black pepper, braised beef and savory spice. Barely evolved so this comes across as ripe and rich, but the concentration implies complexity to come. Cellar to 2025 or later.
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2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia 89 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Small glass, brief note. Ripe black fruit, pronounced new oak and sweet spice. Great fruit, but still a bit toasty to me. Others enjoyed this more.
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2013 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Bourgogne 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Small glass, brief note. All red fruit, nicely bright and elegant with faint earth and spice. Very good balance, good weight, especially for its level. Tasted twice an hour apart with same results. Good now through 2023.
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2009 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de Tart Grand Cru
An odd showing today. Lots of ripe fruit with VG balance made this come across as fun and somewhat simple to start. But the balance almost hides the impressive structure here, so I think this in that often uninteresting "in between" phase for Grand Cru. I wouldn't re-visit for at least 5 years. Tasted twice today, an hour apart, to give this more attention. 90-91 points today, 93-94 point potential?
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1996 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Small glass, brief note. Wine's incredible ripeness and its maturity combine to make this flabby and tired.
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2011 Lillian Winery Syrah Gold Series No. 1 91 Points
USA, California
Fairly large and dense, but also nicely balanced. That SQN pedigree and know-how comes through with the elegant use of silky tannins, keeping this charming and somehow restrained. good now with upside.
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2002 Louis Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
Popped and poured. Very dark, black fruit, very concentrated and meaty but also very backward. Time in glass and aeration managed to coax out some charm, but this wine barely hinted at its very good potential, which I'm confident is there based on multiple previous bottles.
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1853 Souto & Co. Madeira vinho da madeira 96 Points
Portugal, Madeira
Plenty of toasted almond and walnut with some marzipan and dried stone fruit. Moderately sweet, beautifully supported by incredibly bright and refreshing acidity. Very long, persistent finish. Thanks, Ken, what a treat!
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