Wine and dinner with great friends in Denver

A small get together with great old friends in my old stomping ground. Best freshly baked bread in the city and nice cheeses, lovely sea bass dish, rack of venison with a bread pudding, apple pie dish.

• 1998 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 89 Points

  France, Champagne

  Showing advanced age with a bit of browning at rim, moderate to high mousse. On nose the wine started off a bit oxidative, nutty with good, firm Pinot fruits, no barrique notes, moderate toast. On the palate the wine is firm with moderate + acidity, a full and firm midpalate, low dosage, high effervescence, and good palate weight. The wine got more complex over the night showing deeper spices, fruit intensity, autolytics. A good rather than great, softish WC that needs time to show its best, try again in 3-5.

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• 2001 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Straw rim, light color. Very aromatic in nature with loads of lanolin, citrus, grapefruit, quite exotic and tropical... firm stony minerality, hints of new barrique spice. On the palate dry with high acidity, low to moderate phenolics, low alcohol. No botrytis, some creamy/leesiness here. Medium + weight with a viscous, creamy mouthfeel. The wine has wonderful balance between the firm acids and luscious texture, excellent length, intensity, and very good complexity. Quite a bit of finesse with great texture and classic expression of place. Drank just as well the next day and even firmed up a bit with SB notes becoming more obvious. Truly outstanding bordering on extraordinary wine that is one of the highest quality examples of its style... this is drinking great now and shows no signs of reaching a peak yet... can decant and enjoy over a couple of days.

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• 1997 Domaine Matrot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 87 Points

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

  Deep color, golden yellow rim. Once it warmed up the wine showed moderate aromatic intensity with minerals and fruit in the front... citrus and stones... some background barrique spice. Dry, very firm acidity, low to moderate phenolics, low alcohol. No obvious botrytis, some faint diacetyls, some leesiness. Medium weight, not real creamy. The wine was a bit firm on the balance side, had good length and intensity, moderate complexity. Good finesse, a fine texture, moderately expressive of place. Overall a very good wine that is mineral driven and focused/firm that is at its peak.

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• 2002 Domaine Maume Mazis-Chambertin 90 Points

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

  Decanted a couple hours before tasting. Light color, ruby rim of low extraction. Very aromatic nose that is fruit dominant and rather primary... great depth of dark cherry, black currant fruit... firm minerality, some new barrique spices in there... some florality. On the palate very high acidity, a firmish but Pinot-like midpalate breadth, a nice transition into a moderately tannic finish. Good balance though still quite firm, good length, high intensity, moderate complexity. Certainly good finesse and texturally pleasant wine... very expressive of its origin. The wine held up well overnight. A very deeply flavored, firm, young, excellent to outstanding wine. Try again in 2-4 years.

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• 1983 Château Cheval Blanc 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Brown and clearing rim, hazy and moderate depth of color. On the nose the wine was very aromatic with loads of tertiary notes... truffle, tobacco leaf, various teas, herbs, spices, red cherry fruits. On the palate the wine has firm acidity still, a moderately broad midpalate, a seamless transition into a very integrated moderately tannic finish. The wine has great balance, good length at around 30 seconds, very good intensity, excellent complexity. Wine has great finesse, a fine texture, and is very expressive of place. Fully mature, very fresh and classically textured wine that is in a very good place right now... according to a more experienced taster at the table, this was a good not great bottle of this particular wine.

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• 1996 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Decanted for a few hours prior to opening. Moderate + depth of color, a ruby red rim that shows very light extraction. The nose has that Barolo “wow” factor changing throughout the course of the night... great core of fruit, red and dark cherry, very exotically spiced with waves of tea house, baking spices and herbs/seeds. Occasional waves of tar and florality... good soily minerality in the background, any barrique use is quite integrated and shows in the spices. On the palate the wine has a ton of acid, a moderately fleshy midpalate, a firm transition into a still not completely integrated moderately tannic finish. Wine is balanced though still young and firm on the palate, very good length, superb intensity and complexity. Finesse is high, texture firm, and the wine very expressive of its origin. An outstanding wine in a clean, less overtly modern style than I expected, that has decades ahead of it but offers quite a bit of pleasure at this point with some aggressive decanting if you don't mind the firmness or have with food.

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• 1999 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac Cuvée Madame 86 Points

  France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac

  Very dark color with gold rim. Very intense aromatics with loads of botrytis dominating... honey, spice, dried orange skins, mushrooms. Quite a dollup of new barrique influence showing some vanilla. Background minerality. On the palate the wine is sweet with moderate at best acidity, high phenolics, low to moderate VA, moderate alcohol. Loads of botrytis, no creamy/malo/leesiness going on... very weighty wine. Balance wise the wine is a bit too soft, very good length, great intensity, lacks a little detail but is a complex wine. Finesse is so, so... texturally fine, good expression of place. A very good wine that is high on the botrytis and new oak and lacks the acidity/focus/detail to be great. Drink now or should hold for several years.

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Fantastic friends, food, and wine... what else is there?