Acker April 2019

Marea in NYC
Tasted Saturday, April 6, 2019 by MC2 Wines with 290 views

Introduction

Pre-tasting was all burgundy as were a lot of the wines poured so a fair amount of that in the below. Some other great wines at the tables though.

Flight 1 - Pre-tasting Rousseau (6 Notes)

Flight 2 - Pre-tasting Liger-Belair (5 Notes)

Flight 3 - Auction proper (26 Notes)

  • 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne

    France, Champagne

    Bubbles for breakfast which is a favorite of mine. Served next to a 2004 from magnum. This is definitely the better vintage - there's so much there and going on - but it also comes across as a lot younger. It is very bright and at the same time very tight. You can tell there's a lot going on, but it's like the whole song is crammed in one second and needs to lengthen out so you can hear it all. More lemon and crisp style.

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  • 2008 Deutz Champagne Amour de Deutz Brut

    France, Champagne

    Another wine that is just much too young to be drinking. It did seem to soften with some time, but we'll hold our other bottle for a number of years. It's very acidic at this point. Very lean. Lemon and citrus, but with too much crispness to be able to fully enjoy them.

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  • 2004 Dom Pérignon Champagne

    France, Champagne

    As compared to the last time we had this wine I thought it was much more enjoyable. From a mag and I would say champagne from a mag does seem to be much better than from a regular 750. Tons of that nuttiness just jumping out of the champagne. Toasty. Brioche. I don't think this is as good as the '02 in terms of years, but it does seem more expressive at this moment.

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  • 1967 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    I was pretty excited to try this one, but at least this bottle I think was a bit over the hill. It started very musty and done, got a bit of life back, and then closed down again. Lots of sediment at least in this bottle so would look to do a decant off that and rebottle if drinking.

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  • 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Flawed

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    When this wine is on it's pretty special. Unfortunately this bottle was corked. Not full out wet cardboard, but totally muted and hard to pick up many flavors. Too bad.

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  • 1988 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Really great wine that got better and better over the course of maybe 30-45 minutes. It started off with a lot of spiciness and a great fruit backbone to it. With some time it had more chocolate flavor than I've ever tasted in a wine so it was like a spiced chocolate covered strawberry. Which is not something I've ever had, but was pretty compelling.

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  • 1996 Château Montrose

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    This was a very happy bottle. Ready to jump out right from the start. I would say prob still too much on the young side - it's darker and a bit deeper and still very strong with the red fruits. Tasty and almost a touch hedonistic for a bordeaux. Enjoyable.

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  • 1970 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia

    Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

    Part of an RS - Rioja smackdown - from 1970. The fruit is a bit more faded here, but the spice component fills in and is very tasty. It's got a bit of interest from the years.

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  • 1970 Bodegas Bilbainas Rioja Vendimia Especial

    Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

    Part of an RS - Rioja smackdown - from 1970. This was still going strong. Red fruits there. A bit of potpourri. Some more leather and a hint of the tomato paste. Drinking much younger than its actual years.

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  • 1971 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Reserve

    USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

    Age definitely more apparent with this wine which makes sense. It's very tart and a touch acidic. Mostly just aged flavors left. More of that oily note. Not as much fruit. It's alright.

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  • 1958 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    I'm always impressed by this wine. In the past have had to open and decant for it to be ready for business, but this time it was good basically from the get-go. Still very fresh. Some red fruits. Some brighter notes. Very pretty.

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  • 1989 Château Margaux

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    This was probably my WOTD. It's too young for sure. Will hold on our bottle for at least 5 years. It's still got it's fruit, but also tons of lovely herbs and a bit of the floral and the wonderful Margaux silkiness. Really a beautiful wine.

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  • 1966 Château Lafite Rothschild

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Again very pretty and classic. Fruit much more muted. This is classic bordeaux with the library and the cigar and all of that fun stuff. It's well structured. Probably time to drink up, but very much in the enjoyable phase.

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  • 1964 Château Montrose

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Very fruity and fresh and yet still has all of the other aged flavors like shoe polish and more oily notes. Coming around to this Chateau which seems to have wine that can really hold up to the aging. Very tasty.

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  • 1990 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    This was one of the best wines of the day. Only had a small sip, but it just bursts onto the tongue. It's very pretty and delicate and clean and a bit floral and a bit of fruit and also just this overall interesting side to it where it's constantly changing in the mouth. Very enjoyable.

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  • 1985 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut

    France, Champagne

    Respectfully disagree with the other note on this bottle, but perhaps that's because I like aged champagne and aged champagne tends to come with a bit of an oxidized note which is part of what makes it fun and interesting I think. This was to be fair very much fresher than an '85 often is, but it was poured from magnum (and of course big formats always awesome for bubbles especially). Bubbles still there which is great. Lots of nuttiness. Very fun.

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  • 2001 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    This seems to be an interesting year for the Rhone - a bit more subtle and softer than some others. This was quieter than your average Chave. Missing the animal. Still had some more herbal and fruit notes. Probably too young. But a bit more refined than the wine can sometimes be.

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  • 1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

    This is the kindof burg that I understand. It's clear and crisp and clean and all of that. Really elegant. Perhaps a touch more sediment at the bottom of the bottle and this was a pour towards the end so that detracted a bit, but it was still good.

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  • 1982 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru)

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Opened and decanted. Started a bit thin, but the decant helped to add some body to it. Good age and good fruit to it. Drinking well.

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  • 1995 Antinori Tignanello

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    This is incredibly vegetal which might not be for everyone, but worked for me. Felt a bit like a wine's version of salad. Still has some good brightness. And a bit of intensity. I like it.

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  • 1970 Louis M. Martini Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    This was probably over the hill for this wine, but could also have been because my pour was towards the end of the day and the bottle had probably been open for a few hours before that.

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  • 1990 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This was in an great spot right now. Lovely fruit and freshness without being over done or over ripe. Good age notes. Just overall balanced between all of the components.

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  • 1998 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    Lots of the pepper and again a more vegetal style. Some pepper. No real fruit. It was fine. Not as good as I'd have expected for the price point.

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  • 1972 Château Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    From a 5L. Interesting to try an older CdP. A lot less ripe and intense than a lot of the newer styles. Totally fine. Didn't stand out with a lot of other great wines this day.

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  • 1999 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

    This wasn't a burgundy that spoke to me. Too much sediment. Not quite that light and airy and ethereal note. More just basic wine. I guess makes sense given difference in price tag with some of the other wines, but there's wines in this price point from other regions I like a lot more.

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  • 1970 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Served originally as a mystery wine and I don't think I would have guessed. This had been opened and decanted and even with that it was still on the quieter side. It's not as intense as a truly young Unico with the very strong wood and all of that. Much more integrated. But some of the power I would have expected wasn't there, but there was a level of class to it too.

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Closing

Lots of great wines throughout the day. I think WOTD was 89 Margaux, but I did find myself enjoying even a few of the burgundies so a bit of a different one.

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