Season Ending Sunday at Chateau du Clayton

shane called me up to have some wine and watch the last bears game of the season. The main theme was Brunellos, but more wines were opened and eagerly consumed over the course of the day and into the night

• 2001 Domaine Bachelet-Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Grande Montagne Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  nose: on the first go, this was very steely and mineral driven and acted almost like a Puligny at first. With more air, it rounded out into beautiful and balanced tones of minerals, tropical citrus fruits, lemon curd, smokey tones, and as more air was given to it, it took on a nuttier aspect and bits of apricots became apparant as well
  
  taste: every evolving on the palate, but always enjoyable. It picked up weight as the day/evening went on, but never got heavier then medium bodied. Rounded tones of minerals, lemon curd, sea salt, and a good dose of tropical citrus at first, that then gives into a smokier and dark aspect in a sense with some smoke tones, roasted nuts, and later on distinct tones of apricots really start to emerge
  
  overall: a very interesting wine. It grew and changed as the day went on. At first, it didn't seem much like a chassagne as there was a more focused and lighter feel to it that I normally associate with young Pulignys. It rounded out more and took on that chassagne feel to it and picked up a bit of weight. Very aromatic at all phases of it and it had a lovely medium+ acidic spine to it. This will certainly age well and while a lot of fun now, should evolve well over the course of the next 10-12 years

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• 2000 Azienda Santa Lucia Brunello di Montalcino 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  nose: very expressive at this young stage with very traditional tones of dark cherries, leather, roasted herbs, bits of dark florals, and then with air, nice and pretty tones of perfumes emerge. Nice and elegant with medium depth and becomes more expressive with air
  
  taste: firm tannins reminding you that this is young, but with a lush quality to it with lovely tones of dark cherries, perfumes, roasted herbs, and with some air, bits of spice and small hints of anise start to come through
  
  overall: a very pretty young brunello. It needs another 18-24 months to really start to come into its own, and it should be a very pretty brunello when that happens. Still fairly primary and with firm tannins and medium/high acidity to boot. Once this hit the 3-4 hour mark of being open/decanted it really started to sing

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• 2002 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  nose: a bit tight at first, it started to unwind around the 3 hr mark with robust tones of forrest floor, dark cherries, bits of earthen tones, and tart tones of raspberries. Nice and young on the nose, but doing a great job showing off the Gevrey terroir with classic flavors
  
  taste: medium/high acidity dominates on this at first with firm tannins to boot. Very young, but has classic and elegant flavors of raspberries, earthen tones, bits of red florals, forrest floor tones, and nice tart dark cherry tones. Great light feel that has a robustness to it at teh same time
  
  overall: needs a couple more years to really get going, but this is a great village wine that has a lot of upside. Does a perfect job showing off the terroir and has nice depth to go with well defined flavors and aromas. Very lovely, this will be very pretty when it fully comes around

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• 2001 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  nose: took a while to get going(it had been in the decanter for about 3 hours), but when it did, it was very expressive with lush and savory tones of red cherries, roasted herbs, all sorts of wild spices, bits of leather, and lovely tones of violets underneath. Well balanced and just a joy to smell
  
  taste: very firm tannins, but they aren't over powering. Expressive and silky tones of red cherries, violets, roasted herbs, and leather flow well on the palate. The tannins do beat up the mid palate a bit
  
  overall: still needs a couple more years, but there is something very beautiful waiting to come out. Everything that I love about brunello on this and has all sorts of silky polish on it and great length on the finish.

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• 2005 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  nose: rich, candied nose filled with cola, cherries, strawberries, spice tones, and a good dose of baking vanilla. A lot of depth on the nose and very plush that leaps from the glass. Pure, quintessential california styled nose
  
  taste: Extremely rich and lots of candied fruits. Medium body with a lot of polish that smoothly caresses the palate with tones of candied cherries, spices, raspberries, and cola notes. Again, the word plush comes to my mind with this along with being rich, while still having a pinot feel to it
  
  overall: an interesting change of pace from what I normally drink. Extremely enjoyable and an outstanding wine, its fun to change things up every now and then. There was a slight bit of heat on the palate, but it wasn't overbearing and it was nice to be able to fully experience a KB that was properly decanted and having the chance to spend some time with it

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• 1990 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio All'Oro 94 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  nose: wonderful aged tones on the nose with great balance and depth emiting lush notes of black tea, wild game notes, lush red cherries, all sorts of perfumes, incense tones, and a good helping of wild roasted herbs. Great depth on the nose with a lot of class, though there is a bit of restraint on this to where it seems like the bottle just isn't giving me everything it has to give
  
  taste: good tannins still persist with medium/high acidity, this really has a young feel to it with great smooth texture to boot. Lots of depth on this showing that there certainly is something special in this with loads of perfumes and incense striking you right off the bat that then flow into lush tones of red cherries, roasted herbs and lots of dark florals
  
  overall: this will be able to age for a long time. There is a very interesting evolution on this and the wine really picked up weight in the glass and the aromas really started to come out. Its getting close to its full maturity and is a great showing of an aged brunello from a period before the more fruited style of brunellos really started to take hold

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a really fun afternoon and evening as far as the wines went(the bears game was another matter). Lots of good wines that showed pretty well across the board. this will have to be done again next season, and of course look for these types of excuses in the near future also