Magnum. Apple, berry, and cherry all coming through nicely here with fatter size than I recall from before, but still bright enough. Layered and interesting how this is evolving.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Magnum from the library. Great floral start. Cross-section of apple aromas and flavors with an interesting lemon/lime note, this is also big and powerful and I think the structure makes this slightly awkward right now. Better to cellar.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Magnum from library. Dense, almost chewy with so many layers of lean, fat, sweet, spicy, and so much more. Brilliant finish ties everything together in a beautiful knot. This is the 5th time I have had this wine, but first since 2019 and it just keeps getting better. And I expect even more in the future, so am thankful for the stash in my cellar.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Magnum from library. Mature apple start-to-finish with good depth and balance, this is holding in there nicely. This is the first vintage Alex extended the wine's aging in barrel.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Magnum from library. Mature apple and pear aromas and flavors with some rich poached pear as an added dimension. Rich start and finish with layers of savory and near-sweet elements unfolding in the middle. 1996 should have been a great white Burgundy vintage, and this wine is an example of what they could have been, if only....
Bottle had been opened at lunch, and the leftovers generously brought to dinner. Lots of bold lemon, lemon peel, lemon curd, and toasted walnuts with very good depth and length. Impressive Village wine, but it is Coche-Dury after all.
Less successful tonight than it has been in the past. Plenty of rich red cherry throughout but structure is front-and-center, resulting in a very good wine that just isn't completely harmonious right now. Barbaresco 2001 in the next glass was better.
Spiced start with fresh & dried floral charm alongside plenty of red and black cherry. Totally integrated and composed with very good density. Much better tonight vs the 2001 Barolo in the next glass.
Elegant and perfumed with red cherry, but not as weighty as the 2001s, but everything is fully integrated and resolved. The more recent bottles I have tasted have been less exciting than bottles tasted in the first two decades of its life.
The star of tonight's Piedmont wines. Black and red cherry everywhere with a meaty character and warm, rich spices. Certainly tannic, but great balance and length.
Floral with fully mature red fruits with good depth, but (based on previous bottles) I am certain this is more advanced than well stored bottles. 91 points tonight.
Dense and nearly meaty black and red cherry throughout with lots of power and density, while also layered on finish with an emerging brightness. Upside form here? Excellent tonight.
Floral with mostly mature red cherry with faintly sweet spice in complete control. Certainly very good, but I think I was getting tired of the same-ness of some of these wines.
Popped-and-poured. Somewhat dirty to start, this mostly cleaned up quickly but never completely, resulting in a wine slightly dirty in both good and bad ways. More earth throughout showing lingering memories of red and black cherry, with much more slowly cooked mushroom character. Good depth, better textures.
Showing exactly what you want from Chave at this age - lots here but in completely seamless combination. Black fruits, black pepper, anise, clove, roasted meat, but nothing is too pronounced and so may elements with silky textures. Good+ power. I didn't get a chance to try the 2nd bottle that was also opened.
Clearly maturing and aging gracefully, even if this might have been better a few years back. Charming aromatics start highlights its earthiness, followed by slightly more lingering fruit flavors. Good weight. Drink up.
Lots of black and red fruits here, well combined and nicely layered. Still slightly firm right now, this surprisingly reminded me a lot of the wonderful 1995 from earlier.
My first time tasting this vintage. Another great wine in its infancy. Structure dominates today, but so much great raw material is everywhere in the background. 94-95+ points from 2030 - 2060?
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
Ultra ripe aromatics are well spiced with gobs of red fruit. Dense on palate, with good balance already for a 2018 1er Cru, but also slightly simple for now.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
From the library. Popped-and-poured. Lingering red fruits with much more earth aided by sweet spice keep this aromatically interesting. Similar flavors with good balancing structure easily able to hold this wine upright. Medium+ weight, good+ balance. A real treat.
NV Agrapart Champagne Grand Cru Terroirs Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Too extreme in its extra brut style than I care for.
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2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Magnum. Lush and powerful with everything so harmonious, but then this goes and finishes with an even more exciting and energetic zip.
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NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 166eme 91 Points
France, Champagne
Magnum. Apple, berry, and cherry all coming through nicely here with fatter size than I recall from before, but still bright enough. Layered and interesting how this is evolving.
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2018 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Charmes Dessus 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Magnum from the library. Great floral start. Cross-section of apple aromas and flavors with an interesting lemon/lime note, this is also big and powerful and I think the structure makes this slightly awkward right now. Better to cellar.
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2013 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Magnum from library. Dense, almost chewy with so many layers of lean, fat, sweet, spicy, and so much more. Brilliant finish ties everything together in a beautiful knot. This is the 5th time I have had this wine, but first since 2019 and it just keeps getting better. And I expect even more in the future, so am thankful for the stash in my cellar.
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2001 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Magnum from library. Mature apple start-to-finish with good depth and balance, this is holding in there nicely. This is the first vintage Alex extended the wine's aging in barrel.
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1996 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Grandes Ruchottes 97 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Magnum from library. Mature apple and pear aromas and flavors with some rich poached pear as an added dimension. Rich start and finish with layers of savory and near-sweet elements unfolding in the middle. 1996 should have been a great white Burgundy vintage, and this wine is an example of what they could have been, if only....
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2021 Coche-Dury Meursault 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Bottle had been opened at lunch, and the leftovers generously brought to dinner. Lots of bold lemon, lemon peel, lemon curd, and toasted walnuts with very good depth and length. Impressive Village wine, but it is Coche-Dury after all.
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2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 91 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Less successful tonight than it has been in the past. Plenty of rich red cherry throughout but structure is front-and-center, resulting in a very good wine that just isn't completely harmonious right now. Barbaresco 2001 in the next glass was better.
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2001 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà 95 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Spiced start with fresh & dried floral charm alongside plenty of red and black cherry. Totally integrated and composed with very good density. Much better tonight vs the 2001 Barolo in the next glass.
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1998 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Elegant and perfumed with red cherry, but not as weighty as the 2001s, but everything is fully integrated and resolved. The more recent bottles I have tasted have been less exciting than bottles tasted in the first two decades of its life.
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2004 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Corked
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1999 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 95 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The star of tonight's Piedmont wines. Black and red cherry everywhere with a meaty character and warm, rich spices. Certainly tannic, but great balance and length.
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1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Floral with fully mature red fruits with good depth, but (based on previous bottles) I am certain this is more advanced than well stored bottles. 91 points tonight.
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1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Spiced red and black cherry showing both fresh and mature character. Lots here, I think more air would have extended this wine further.
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1996 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Dense and nearly meaty black and red cherry throughout with lots of power and density, while also layered on finish with an emerging brightness. Upside form here? Excellent tonight.
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1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Floral with mostly mature red cherry with faintly sweet spice in complete control. Certainly very good, but I think I was getting tired of the same-ness of some of these wines.
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1974 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Corked
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1982 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Popped-and-poured. Somewhat dirty to start, this mostly cleaned up quickly but never completely, resulting in a wine slightly dirty in both good and bad ways. More earth throughout showing lingering memories of red and black cherry, with much more slowly cooked mushroom character. Good depth, better textures.
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1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Charming and ripe cherry and plum with good+ depth, but not up to the standards of some previous great bottles.
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1994 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Shockingly good, easily beating my low expectations. Black cherry, braised beef, anise, black pepper, all in balance and harmony. Good enough weight.
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1995 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Showing exactly what you want from Chave at this age - lots here but in completely seamless combination. Black fruits, black pepper, anise, clove, roasted meat, but nothing is too pronounced and so may elements with silky textures. Good+ power. I didn't get a chance to try the 2nd bottle that was also opened.
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1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Clearly maturing and aging gracefully, even if this might have been better a few years back. Charming aromatics start highlights its earthiness, followed by slightly more lingering fruit flavors. Good weight. Drink up.
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2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Lots of black and red fruits here, well combined and nicely layered. Still slightly firm right now, this surprisingly reminded me a lot of the wonderful 1995 from earlier.
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2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
2nd bottle nearly identical to the first, perhaps slightly less firm, but also maybe less depth.
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2005 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Hard as nails tonight, little pleasure in the glass. So much ere, but plenty of cellar time is still required.
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2012 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Richly spiced with bold, brawny black fruits. Just hinting at its full potential. There is a lot of fun to come from this going forward.
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2018 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
My first time tasting this vintage. Another great wine in its infancy. Structure dominates today, but so much great raw material is everywhere in the background. 94-95+ points from 2030 - 2060?
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1990 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
Fully, fully mature black cherry and braised meat. Good power, but a pronounced sense of ripeness is making this at least sleepy, if not tired.
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2018 Emmanuel Rouget Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
Ultra ripe aromatics are well spiced with gobs of red fruit. Dense on palate, with good balance already for a 2018 1er Cru, but also slightly simple for now.
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1974 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
From the library. Popped-and-poured. Lingering red fruits with much more earth aided by sweet spice keep this aromatically interesting. Similar flavors with good balancing structure easily able to hold this wine upright. Medium+ weight, good+ balance. A real treat.
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