*comms unit crackles* "On your left..."

• NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siècle Iteration 26 Grande Cuvée 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  (3/25/2026)

  Fresh, airy and clean-cut honeyed apricots (gently bruised) and white berries. Clean and subtle honeydew melon. Deep earth that smells like its been baking in the heat along with some shredded straw. A little bit of gentle cream too. Bruised aspect blows off eventually, leaving the nose cleaner and fresher than it started.
  
  Clean, white-fleshed crunchy peaches and pears, clean streak of gently bitter minerals, and tons of freshness. A bit of weighted honey to give it just some weight., and similar cream from nose.
  
  I am pretty curious to see how this will develop in a handful of years.. but this is a clean and crisp banger now though. So clean, pretty and tasty.

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• 2004 Oddero Barolo Villero 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (3/25/2026)

  Dark cherries that are still fresh, deep earth and decaying roses. Fallen autumn leaves and damp forest floor eventually shows up with a bit of time. For this kind of age, this showed pleasantly fresh with still some fruit on the nose here.
  
  Dark fruits on the palate but no major aging yet, as if this was aged in a slow and steady manner. A bit of faded black olives. The age shows with some time though and completely reveals itself. The earth is lovely on the palate, showing age in a nice way. With more air, the aged aspect seem to fade, almost completely gone, leaving all the rusticity and dark aged fruit with pencil shavings.

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• 2016 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize 95 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  (3/27/2026)

  White and yellow crisp fruits on the nose, clean crushed stones. White airy flowers and even a bit of peach in a form of spritz. Lots of mineral initially, but that steps back a bit, allowing the fruits to come to the front more as the this becomes more chilled.
  
  Clean stone fruit, dishing out a lot of stones and pebbles. The fruits unripe a bit unripe at first but quite crisp with a bit of limestone. With only about.. what, 10 minutes?.. the fruits are coming out, like green apples with its clean bitter skins and clean pears with a touch of ripeness.
  
  Note to self: if the person who brought the bottle says it is better chilled, learn to trust.

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• 1986 Joseph Phelps Insignia 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (3/27/2026)

  Strong teriary notes on the nose at first but it blows off with some swirling. It keeps coming back like a morning fog, so constant swirling was required to help it move outta the way. The fruits are holding strong, but was constantly fighting with the tertiary notes to be on top.
  
  Surprisingly deep dark red fruits on the palate, like black-red fruits. Just a kiss of savoriness, along with hints of tertiary notes like rotten mulch and autumn leaves, but the fruits really prevents all of that from going overboard. Very admirable how the fruit is still here, it never let go. Very impressive.
  
  If tasting now, do consume sooner than later. The age was catching up the longer this sat out.

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Thanks to the guys and gal who took the time to come out to celebrate. Shout out to @bsumoba for putting everything together and making the whole experience an unforgettable one. Getting to celebrate an occasion with your favorite people in life is such an incredible and awesome experience. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever been happier, and I'm forever grateful for it. Thanks, mon frère, for letting me live a moment I'll never forget!

Someone hand me a tissue please.