Seattle offline at Daniel's Broiler

Peter Finkelstein was in town, so 13 of us gathered at Daniel's Broiler on Lake Union in Seattle to enjoy some steaks and a variety of wines.

• 1986 Château de Lucques Blanc

  France, Bordeaux, Graves

  Madeirized, over the hill. Totally gone.

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• 2002 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc 82 Points

  South Africa, Western Cape

  Lovely, pale green. A beautiful nose of grass, some lemon, and starfruit. This is very lithe but somewhat dilute on the palate, shy on fruit, high on acid, and thin on the finish. From the nose I was expecting much more, but I found this lacking.

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• 1998 Mount Baker Pinot Gris Sur Lies 80 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  Slightly 'cheddary' on the nose with a somewhat oxidized smell. On the palate this is surprisingly thick and spicy but with altogether too much wood. Ugh, I like my Pinot Gris fresh...

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• 2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Viognier 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  My bottle. Wildly tropical nose with apricot and pineapple. This has a lush entry, dances on the palate, and tastes flittingly of fruit cocktail. On the finish a fair bit of wood and heat shine through marring the wine somewhat.

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• 1994 Maison Valette Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Reyssié 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  This was among my favorite white wines of the night. Deep gold. On the nose this has a slight doughy smell with some burnt sugar, ash and mineral. On the palate this has a sexy entry with really voluptuous mouthfeel and incredible fruit for wine of this age. This has a nice, long finish. Lovely!

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• 1997 Stony Hill Chardonnay 75 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  When I poured this in the glass I was optimistic to see a light color. Is this unoaked Chardonnay from Napa? The nose of green apple confirms this. On the palate this show nice acidity with simple fruit, but it is very light, very tart, lacking in character. In fact, it has an overly bitter, green finish that starts to grate on me.

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• 1999 J. Rochioli Chardonnay Russian River Valley 85 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  This is somewhat cloudy and light in the glass. The nose is very toasty with a hint of ash. On the palate this has lots of wood with a nice core of acidity. The finish is tight and tart. Solid effort but not great.

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• 2000 Matthews Chardonnay Elerding Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  My bottle. Butterscotch nose. The palate is like a fluffy, down pillow it is so soft. Compared to the prior whites this seems almost flabby, but it is pleasant with an almost marshmallowy softness and sweetness. I liked this more than I expected.

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• 2000 Kistler Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard 85 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

  My bottle. On the nose this is very spicy with some toasted filbert hiding. Voluptuous mouthfeel. This has an incredible finish of searing green apple. However, despite the descriptors this doesn't hang together terribly well.

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• NV Delgado Zuleta Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda Amontillado Quo Vadis? 92 Points

  Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

  This was quite a treat. This was recently bottled from a 150 year old Solera, and the wine is only bottled every 20 years. On the nose this is very nutty, almost buttery. Roy said he would kill me if I described this as "spirity", and while I picked that up at first either it softened or I got used to it. On the palate entry, this is shockingly salty and almost has a lime-juice sharpness to it, laser focused. This is an acquired taste which starts to grow on you and is amazingly cleansing and refreshing. The real surprise is the finish and long aftertaste which sneaks up on you and then hits you over the head with butter pecan. Gorgeous!

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• 1999 Domaine Roger Belland Volnay 1er Cru Santenots 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  This has a reluctant, earthy, dusty nose. On the palate this has an explosive entry and is lusciously silky. I don't have a lot of notes, but this was a classy young Pinot with loads of power and elegance.

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• 1985 B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon Olive Hill Estate Vineyards 87 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  This has mint and olive on the nose. On the entry this has a mild note of sweet dill and a medicinal quality I have come to expect from aged CA-cab. Unfortunately the finish is a bit thin and dry which took away from the experience.

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• 1982 Château Léoville Poyferré 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  My bottle. Wow, I have had this wine three times this year, and it has given me unprecedented pleasure. This was the unanimous wine of the night. On the nose this has tobacco, earth, some clove, and a very distinct barnyard element. At first the palate is searing, but with time this gains in sweetness and fleshiness. All the while it has remarkable complexity. A long, balanced largely resolved finish caps the experience, yet there is still clearly structure there. This wine has to be at peak and is simply amazing drinking right now.

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• 1987 Spring Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 82 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  A very faint nose. On the palate this was dilute, almost vinegared. Somewhat bitter on the finish. While it is pleasant to drink a largely resolved cab, this one wasn't giving me much pleasure.

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• 1988 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, Washington

  This was my #2 WOTN. The usual piercing, floral aromatics of Quilceda with a distinct violet element. On the palate this shows stunning power and depth. This is amazing juice, although it is monolithic in comparison to the 1982 Leoville Poyferre we enjoyed on the same evening. The finish is endless and caught both myself and Peter off guard garnering some loudly exclaimed "whoa" shouts.

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• 1997 Glen Carlou Grand Classique 83 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl

  Bell pepper on the nose. A sweet entry. Fairly thin finish.

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• 1996 Andrew Will Merlot Washington 85 Points

  USA, Washington

  Remarkably intense dill on the nose on the palate. This is simply overpowering, and I have never seen an herbal element this clear on a wine. This has good persistence on the finish, but an otherwise well made wine is marred by this 'over-dilling.'

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• 1995 Woodward Canyon Charbonneau 80 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  Grapey, simple and hot. Not my cup of tea.

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• 1994 Judd's Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 87 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  My notes are thin on this one. It is minty on the nose, sweet on the entry, and has a very fresh wintergreen element that I found to be very refreshing. This is a nice, distinctive wine.

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• 1999 Château Péby Faugères 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  My bottle. This is very international in style with obvious chambord and floral elements. While the descriptors are similar to Quilceda, this is far less Bordeaux in spirit in my opinion. On the palate this is searing and primary, but with time this is softening quite a bit, gaining a plush, sexy texture, and some earthiness is peeking through all that fruit. The finish is endless and searing. I won't revisit another one of these for about 6 years I think. I initially rated this as 88 and upgraded as I had a chance to see this evolve and soften a bit.

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• 1997 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 89 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  At first I was put off by this, but it is a harlot of a wine and eventually wears you down with its incessant flirting. This of course has the trademark elements of huge wood, yet somehow this is sweet, creamy and almost integrated amidst all that plush fruit. This has lots of power and is quite pleasant although something you could easily burn out on.

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• 2000 Jacob Franklin Petite Sirah Howell Mountain 85 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  My bottle. The blueberry element on this is over the top on both the nose and palate, and of course this has toungue-numbing tannin. It didn't do well relative to the other wines, and compared to the Pride Petite Sirah I had a couple of weeks ago this was more monolithic and lacking in spice.

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• 2000 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru 95 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru

  Wow, I loved this. Honeysuckle, lavendar, simply unctuous. Just unreal.

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• 1975 Château Coutet Barsac 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Caramel, some nail polish, very syrupy. Enjoyable.

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• NV Coster Tokaji Szamorodni 92 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  This was a bottle with a remarkable story. It still had the pricetage on it from a purchase back in 1940, this was apparently bottled in the 1920's. This was a unique experience for which I have few words. Amazing acidity and that saltiness on the entry which reminded me of the sherry we had earlier in the evening. This has simply remarkable persistence on the finish.

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• 1977 Graham Porto Vintage 90 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  My bottle. Well Roy thought it was horrendously spirity, although I enjoyed it. Coffee and chocolate dominate the nose and palate, and with fallen chocolate cake this is a lovely accompaniment.

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Thanks everyone for another great gathering and to Peter for giving us an excuse.