40th Wedding Anniversary Celebration - Round 1

This was a celebration for our 40th wedding anniversary which was earlier this year. We wanted to do something special, and there was no better place we could think of to mark this momentous occasion than Meritage. We have always loved Meritage, and the Medoc Room is great room for a group like this. We had too many people to do this in one evening, so we planned it out for two nights. We ended up with 21 of us on each night. (1.0: KB/VB, SS/JG, LI/KI, ML/BL, CV, CS; DD/DD, DR/DR, BB/MB, LS/CS, JV/MV, DM) We started with a social hour that was a blast with killer Champagne and some Chablis to go with the best frites and oysters in town. Then we sat down for what proved to be an absolutely amazing tasting menu that we curated for the occasion. Our service was impeccable as one would expect. We really can't thank Meritage enough for making this a truly memorable evening. However, what really made it even more remarkable AND memorable was being able to share it with each and every one of you. Having this group of friends has been a true gift in our loves. We greatly appreciate your friendship, and we thank you for sharing a treasure trove of bucket list and amazing wines to make this a perfect evening. Kevin & Vicki

Suffice it to say, I was pretty busy this evening, and my notes were lacking and often from few if anything written down. I did try to make sure I included the vast majority of wines for the evening, but there were a couple I did not have. Also, I'm sorry if I did not specifically thank you within my note - I wasn't consistent in doing that throughout. But please know we really appreciated all the wines!

• NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siècle Iteration 23 Grande Cuvée 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light golden color, fine bead. Drank a glass over 20 minutes. Blend of 2006 (65%), 2004 (20%), and 2002 (15%). 58% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir. Aged on lees for 14 years. En Magnum only.
  This had that iron fist in a velvet glove presence. Gorgeous, sublime, steely, great minerality, earthy, toast, immense depth, stone, pear, creamy, this has that power but has so much finesse. Loved it. On a night with some great Champagne, only eclipsed by Siggy's superb '96 Salon.

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• 2007 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold color. Brief note. A classic Cristal, bright and fresh, apple, croissant, brioche, toast, nutty, long and simply delightful.

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• 1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 98 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold color. Drank a glass over 20 minutes. Sooo....this is something. Wow, this was so intense, just riveting, filled with pear, steely minerals, Meye lemon, and so bright still, impeccable balance and elegance, amazing length. Wow, simply, wow.

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• 2007 Louis de Sacy Champagne Grand Soir 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold plus color. Small glass, brief note. This was good, but lacked some verve and it was a fair bit more oxidative in style than I truly care for.

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• 2008 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold color. Small glass, brief note. This has that big Bolly style, oxidative, though not in the way, with all that great fruit and chalky minerality, this has a lot to offer. I expect this is only going to improve for the next few years at least. 94+pts.

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• 2014 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Light gold color. PNP, drank a small glass with our oysters. No notes, but this was spot on and really flying again. Deep, earthy, brine, tart, ocean, lemon, long. Always great, maybe be even better shortly.

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• 2014 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Light gold color. PNP, brought this as an extra for the oysters. No notes; love the producer, made in a classy, pure and finessed stlye, this was right where I love my 1er's at 10 years. The great vintage shows here too. 92+ to 93pts.

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• 2018 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Bright light gold color. Drank a glass over an hour plus. Candie's bottle, this is another favorite. Sspot on from a note a few months back. So briny with powdery lemon, tons of dry extract, excellent cut and minerality, racy.

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• 2017 Coche-Dury Meursault 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Light gold color. Drank a glass over an hour. And the embarassment of riches continues. This is one of those wines that might have a hard time meeting expectations. Well not so here. This was stellar. Everything you could want, and it's "only" a village. I'll reference Chablis28's spot on comments about why this is what it is. Wow, penetrating intensity, grabs your attention and won't let it go. Intense and steely minerality, sublime, Meyer lemon, lemon confit, so very long and pretty. Another true joy from Siggy. Fabulous.

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• 2017 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Light gold color. Drank a glass over an hour plus. Brief note; smoke, flint, rich, lemon, pear, full boided, creamy, spiced oak. Delicious. 93+ to 94pts.

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• 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin 97 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Light medium translucent red color. PNP, drank a glass over 90 minutes. "And now we drink the reds." It's been four years since the last bottle - which was excellent for the record, and this has come a long, long way from there. This just screams Rousseau and purity, an amazing nose that bursts from the glass. From the quintessential transparency and finesse, to the beautiful fruit, to the florals and spices; this just makes you sit and contemplate how lucky we are to drink this. Thanks Craig, we really appreciate it.

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• 2010 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Medium plus ruby red color. Drank a glass over 90 minutes next to a gorgeous next to an '09 Rousseau Charmes in what may have been the flight of the night - and that says something. We had this Beze a couple years ago and it was outstanding then. Time has simply continued to work its magic and this was "wonderful tonight."
  This has the nose too, but the palate is powerful and expressive with all that high toned spice, red berry fruit, and mineral definiation. Splendid; thanks Lonny.

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• 1985 Château Brane-Cantenac 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Dark maroonish red color. Splash double decanted. Drank a glass over an hour - from Magnum. I picked this bottle up while we were in Bordeaux after Siggy raved about this being the best wine (en Mag) of their tour of Margaux during the big Commanderie meeting. For me, it did not disappoint at all. Fully resolved and offering all the tertiary expression one could ever want in a medium bodied package. Wonderfully perfumed with cigar ash, pipe tobacco, red fruits, and dried violets, with a silky soft texture. Simply a an elegant and beautiful wine.

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• 1995 Château Cos d'Estournel 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  Very dark red color. Slow-O for 2 hours. Drank a glass over an hour. We've had this now a few times over the last 10 years and it keeps wrokig up the curce. One might expect '95 Cos to ake forever in thisvintage, but a little air serves it well. Concsistent with previous notes. Great deep black fruits, tension, cigar and earth. Loved it Matt. 93+ to 94pts.

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• 2001 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Very dark red color. Drank a small glass over 45 minutes.I didn't write down any notes on this. But it was classic Chave, and it reminded me that we need to drink this more often. Plenty of game, intensely dark fruit and a lot mineral definition with a lot structure yet.

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• 1994 Weingut Hermann Ludes Klüsserather Bruderschaft Riesling Auslese 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Small pour. No notes, but this was in good shape. Our Craig friendly dessert wine. Thanks Candace! 92-93pts.

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• 2003 Château d'Yquem 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Medium deep gold color. Small glass from 750. This was gorgeous, spot on from a bottle about a year ago. Great way to celebrate.

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• 2018 Domaine Laurent Barth Riesling Rebgarten 92 Points

  France, Alsace

  Small pour. Some largely illegible notes suggesting this was quite crisp, good stony minerality and stone fruits. Very nice. 92+pts.

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• 2019 Albert Boxler Riesling Brand K 92 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Small pour. Red apple, peach, fleshy fruit and crisp mineral notes.

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• 2000 Edmond Cornu & Fils Corton-Bressandes 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Small pour. Big and bold, deep red fruits, full of berries, ready to go. Thanks Leo. 92+ to 93pts.

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• 1985 Château Cos d'Estournel 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  Small pour. This was in fine form, tobacco leaf, dark fruit, a touch of purple fruit here too, nice minerality and scorched earth. Thanks Jim!

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• 2000 Château Giscours 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Small pour. I've had this several times before, but not for about 6 years. This has really hit the spot now. Showing just great, gorgeous fruit, dark and savory. I loved it - thanks D & D!

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• 2003 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Small pour. Unfortunately my mind and notes had faded at this point, but did note that this was still very good, though it showed a bit of heat now.

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• 2006 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Small pour. Unfortunately my mind and notes had faded at this point, it seems to me there might have been something going on here, but I'd need to be reminded. No score or notes on it - sorry about that Dave.

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• 2013 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Small pour. Unfortunately my mind and notes had faded at this point, but I wrote down this was great. We had this years ago when it was quite young. Tonight it was rock'in. Thanks Dave!

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• 1996 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Small pour. Unfortunately my mind and notes had faded at this point. Jim;s bottle. Damned if I remember much about it, I think it was pretty rich and honeyed, and mature, but that's about it. No score noted.

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• 2009 Château Suduiraut 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Small pour. David's bottle. No notes, but this was killer. Love the '09's and this is in right in that early plus window. Gret balance, very bright. Loved it David!!

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