Pretty solid bottle of champagne -- shows good freshness and generally good intensity too. A bit of ripeness here gives sweetness to the palate, and there's some good depth here as well. the pinot seems to stick out a bit here.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Served double blind and correctly identified as white Burgundy, though I thought it was a good 1er cru. Sweet fruit on the nose, with a serious amount of power here. A touch of beautiful herbal tones here, and there's also good acidity and depth. There's a riper quality on this wine, which makes sense given the vintage, but the acidity is there to balance it out. Way to end with a bang.
Served double blind. A slight hint of popcorn from the reduction, as well as a mild matchstick quality. The palate shows richness that is a bit beyond Burgundy (though I guessed that this was white Burgundy from a ripe year like 2012). Despite the breadth here, there's adequate acidity to balance. I liked this much more than the 2011 Raveneau Butteaux served alongside.
Served double blind. Correctly identified as white Burgundy, and I even got the vintage on this. It's too smoky and reduced, with a bit of a green stemmy quality that mars pretty much the whole vintage, so the call isn't too difficult. Nice acidity and minerality, but it doesn't make up for the green taint. Sadly it looks like I've liked this wine less and less every time I've tasted it.
Served double blind. Correctly identified as Marcassin based on the incompetent oak use, though I thought this may have been a fair bit younger (thanks to a little bit of redeeming acidity). This is oily, fat, and bitter; all out of proportion and a poster child for shitty California chardonnay.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Gorgeous wine (though the story is that this had a very soaked cork and smelled really off upon opening). There was no problem here -- the nose shows a beautifully perfumed array of red fruit and a very slight mushroom tone. Light and airy on the palate, with a hint of strawberry, this has an ethereal quality, though it's certainly not lacking in complexity or concentration.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Served double blind. Identified as red Burgundy, but I was about a decade younger. The thing that threw me off was the freshness and power of the fruit here -- even though there were mature flavours of earth, the fruit still had a bright red element that was captivating. Admittedly, the bit of funk had me think that this could have been an old Vieux Telegraphe too, especially given that intensity of fruit.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Black-fruited, dense, and meaty. This was showing pretty true to form here, with awesome aromatics and palate density. A bit of leatheriness on the palate, with tannins that could stand to use a few more years to integrate.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
Served double blind. I thought this was a much lower-level wine than it was; there didn't seem to be the right intensity here. This is tuned down quite a bit and while the red fruit is pretty, there's also a slight rotty element on the palate. A touch dilute, and a little prickly tanninwise.
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Served double blind. This is a pretty distinct wine, and I successfully called it blind. It's no different than the last time I had it -- stunning nose, but a palate that just empties out. I can't believe anyone still pays attention (much less money) to Galloni after his review of this. What a clown.
Served double blind. Just another in a clown parade of fungible Napa trash. Blueberry milkshake and oak. You should have to pay me $200 to drink this shit.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Served double blind. Correctly identified as Burgundy, though getting to this vintage was pretty difficult. This was heavily reduced, and had a nice touch of crunchy red fruit, as well as a little bit of a stemmy quality (though from what I remember, Chevillon is mostly stemless). A bit dirty and slightly spicy; there was a moment I thought this was Boudots or Malconsorts. Overall, a fine wine, but this should have been so much better given the relative renown of the site and producer.
Served blind in a pair with 1989 Sperss, and correctly identified as the Bordeaux. This is a really solid bottle, though I would agree that this should have been a little more fresh and taut. There's a mild hint of barnyard here, in line with the 1990 as well. Good density and complexity; I'm not complaining, this is a splendid bottle to drink now.
Served blind in a pair with 1989 Montrose, and correctly identified as the "Barolo". Fairly undeveloped, this has still a bit of primary characteristics here, but also a bit of earthiness and some cough syrup. A bit more high-toned than I like as a result. I've never been a fan of Sperss and this bottle is no exception.
Served double blind. Heaps of American oak plus a good dose of acidity here had me going to Rioja right away. The texture here is fairly silky, and there's a well-done rustic leatheriness here that's very enjoyable.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Served double blind. Clearly top notch Burgundy; the nose had this spicy intensity that made me think Leroy for a moment. This is very ripe and complex, and shows layers of fruit and mushroom, counterweighted by plentiful but balanced acidity and minerality. The fruit is a little more secondary here, but I found this to be a little more resolved than the 2006 alongside, and of the pair, I would have to give the nod to this bottle.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Served double blind. Again a very easy high-quality red Burgundy call. The nose has a bit of the crushed vitamins thing, followed by a very generous amount of red fruit. This is pushing the ripeness boundary, but it's done in a very restrained way, with the acidity as a harness to hold everything in place. I preferred the 1998 of this that we had alongside a little more, as it felt more resolved and there was more material on open display, but this was no slouch of a wine at all.
A slight hint of brett that's kind of atypical for Giacosa (and the region, really). At the same time there is some wispy red fruit and a bit of a floral perfume. The palate is pretty high in acid and earth tones; there's still red fruit but I think it's more dominated by acidity. The tannins are mostly resolved now; this isn't a bottle that has significant upside, given the weaker vintage.
Lot May 2014, disgorged November 2016. At this point in the evening, palates were admittedly a bit fatigued, but this was a decent refresher. A nice bit of citrus and minerality, though this doesn't have the breadth I've become accustomed to.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Served double blind. I had a lot of trouble getting to grand cru in this wine -- it's just so incredibly tannic and structural without enough ripeness and fruit that this felt a little ungainly. The finish here came across a little short too. I will concede that this got better with more and more air, and evaluating it on the pop and pour may not have been the fairest thing to do.
NV Marie-Noëlle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Extra Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Pretty solid bottle of champagne -- shows good freshness and generally good intensity too. A bit of ripeness here gives sweetness to the palate, and there's some good depth here as well. the pinot seems to stick out a bit here.
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1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires Flawed
France, Champagne
Original release. Corked. And it wasn't even psmith's bottle.
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2016 Domaine Dublère Corton-Charlemagne 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Served double blind and correctly identified as white Burgundy, though I thought it was a good 1er cru. Sweet fruit on the nose, with a serious amount of power here. A touch of beautiful herbal tones here, and there's also good acidity and depth. There's a riper quality on this wine, which makes sense given the vintage, but the acidity is there to balance it out. Way to end with a bang.
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2012 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard 93 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Served double blind. A slight hint of popcorn from the reduction, as well as a mild matchstick quality. The palate shows richness that is a bit beyond Burgundy (though I guessed that this was white Burgundy from a ripe year like 2012). Despite the breadth here, there's adequate acidity to balance. I liked this much more than the 2011 Raveneau Butteaux served alongside.
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2011 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Served double blind. Correctly identified as white Burgundy, and I even got the vintage on this. It's too smoky and reduced, with a bit of a green stemmy quality that mars pretty much the whole vintage, so the call isn't too difficult. Nice acidity and minerality, but it doesn't make up for the green taint. Sadly it looks like I've liked this wine less and less every time I've tasted it.
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2000 Marcassin Chardonnay Alexander Mountain Upper Barn Alexander Valley 70 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
Served double blind. Correctly identified as Marcassin based on the incompetent oak use, though I thought this may have been a fair bit younger (thanks to a little bit of redeeming acidity). This is oily, fat, and bitter; all out of proportion and a poster child for shitty California chardonnay.
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2006 Domaine Bruno Clair Corton-Charlemagne Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Oxidized.
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2010 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Clos Vougeot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Gorgeous wine (though the story is that this had a very soaked cork and smelled really off upon opening). There was no problem here -- the nose shows a beautifully perfumed array of red fruit and a very slight mushroom tone. Light and airy on the palate, with a hint of strawberry, this has an ethereal quality, though it's certainly not lacking in complexity or concentration.
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1985 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Served double blind. Identified as red Burgundy, but I was about a decade younger. The thing that threw me off was the freshness and power of the fruit here -- even though there were mature flavours of earth, the fruit still had a bright red element that was captivating. Admittedly, the bit of funk had me think that this could have been an old Vieux Telegraphe too, especially given that intensity of fruit.
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1998 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Domaine Louis Jadot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Black-fruited, dense, and meaty. This was showing pretty true to form here, with awesome aromatics and palate density. A bit of leatheriness on the palate, with tannins that could stand to use a few more years to integrate.
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2008 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
Served double blind. I thought this was a much lower-level wine than it was; there didn't seem to be the right intensity here. This is tuned down quite a bit and while the red fruit is pretty, there's also a slight rotty element on the palate. A touch dilute, and a little prickly tanninwise.
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2016 Pax Syrah Sonoma Hillsides 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Served double blind. This is a pretty distinct wine, and I successfully called it blind. It's no different than the last time I had it -- stunning nose, but a palate that just empties out. I can't believe anyone still pays attention (much less money) to Galloni after his review of this. What a clown.
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2012 Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard 60 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Served double blind. Just another in a clown parade of fungible Napa trash. Blueberry milkshake and oak. You should have to pay me $200 to drink this shit.
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2002 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Served double blind. Correctly identified as Burgundy, though getting to this vintage was pretty difficult. This was heavily reduced, and had a nice touch of crunchy red fruit, as well as a little bit of a stemmy quality (though from what I remember, Chevillon is mostly stemless). A bit dirty and slightly spicy; there was a moment I thought this was Boudots or Malconsorts. Overall, a fine wine, but this should have been so much better given the relative renown of the site and producer.
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1989 Château Montrose 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Served blind in a pair with 1989 Sperss, and correctly identified as the Bordeaux. This is a really solid bottle, though I would agree that this should have been a little more fresh and taut. There's a mild hint of barnyard here, in line with the 1990 as well. Good density and complexity; I'm not complaining, this is a splendid bottle to drink now.
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1989 Gaja Barolo Sperss 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Served blind in a pair with 1989 Montrose, and correctly identified as the "Barolo". Fairly undeveloped, this has still a bit of primary characteristics here, but also a bit of earthiness and some cough syrup. A bit more high-toned than I like as a result. I've never been a fan of Sperss and this bottle is no exception.
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NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 1985, 1990, 1991 (2003 Release) 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Served double blind. Heaps of American oak plus a good dose of acidity here had me going to Rioja right away. The texture here is fairly silky, and there's a well-done rustic leatheriness here that's very enjoyable.
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1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Served double blind. Clearly top notch Burgundy; the nose had this spicy intensity that made me think Leroy for a moment. This is very ripe and complex, and shows layers of fruit and mushroom, counterweighted by plentiful but balanced acidity and minerality. The fruit is a little more secondary here, but I found this to be a little more resolved than the 2006 alongside, and of the pair, I would have to give the nod to this bottle.
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2006 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Served double blind. Again a very easy high-quality red Burgundy call. The nose has a bit of the crushed vitamins thing, followed by a very generous amount of red fruit. This is pushing the ripeness boundary, but it's done in a very restrained way, with the acidity as a harness to hold everything in place. I preferred the 1998 of this that we had alongside a little more, as it felt more resolved and there was more material on open display, but this was no slouch of a wine at all.
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1993 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
A slight hint of brett that's kind of atypical for Giacosa (and the region, really). At the same time there is some wispy red fruit and a bit of a floral perfume. The palate is pretty high in acid and earth tones; there's still red fruit but I think it's more dominated by acidity. The tannins are mostly resolved now; this isn't a bottle that has significant upside, given the weaker vintage.
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NV Agrapart Champagne Grand Cru Complantée Extra Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Lot May 2014, disgorged November 2016. At this point in the evening, palates were admittedly a bit fatigued, but this was a decent refresher. A nice bit of citrus and minerality, though this doesn't have the breadth I've become accustomed to.
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1999 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Served double blind. I had a lot of trouble getting to grand cru in this wine -- it's just so incredibly tannic and structural without enough ripeness and fruit that this felt a little ungainly. The finish here came across a little short too. I will concede that this got better with more and more air, and evaluating it on the pop and pour may not have been the fairest thing to do.
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