Duck Juice and Barolos

I went over to shanes where we were celebrating a friend of shane's having a new born. Shane put together a real good veal stew, so we made sure to have some barolo to go with that and then moved onto the Pinots

• 2006 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Ried Kreutles 89 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  nose: real nice and fresh nose that has a good crispness to it along with excellent tones of lemon zest, pears, minerals, crushed rocks and bits of citrus'. Nice depth, but this is more of an upfront wine right now
  
  taste: tasty and crisp lighter feel with well balanced tones of lemon zest, pears, minerals and citrus tones. Good medium acidity backs this up and gives it a real good crispness to it
  
  overall: This has started to warm up a bit by the time I got to it. I think if it were a bit cooler the acidity would've been more fresh. A real nice and fresh wine that would be great with salads and fish while also being a perfect summer or spring white

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• 1993 Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  nose: pretty and subtle nose with rounded tones of cherries, herbs, fresh berry tones, violets, and rose petals. Excellent depth with a real expression on the nose that is also fairly lively. There is a layered effect on the wine that melds into the tones
  
  taste: Elegant medium feel with fresh medium+ acidity and pretty tones of maraschino cherries, berries, rose petals, various other florals and some bits of vanilla bean tones. Good tannins still carry well on this while having a sleek style to them
  
  overall: mature and quite lovely. A real attractive barolo that is showing extremely well right now. This bottle was popped and poured and drank up quickly by those at the dinner, so this is essentially a first go around impression. It was slightly tight upon opening and needed a bit of coaxing to get going, but it was very rewarding when it fully opened up

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• 1993 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Cannubi 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  nose: very perfumed nose that fills the glass with smooth and melded tones of rose petals, bits of tea, red cherries, herbs, tar and a touch of hi-toned spices. A very heady and intoxicating nose that has some real good depth and layering
  
  taste: lovely medium feel on the palate with good medium+ acidity with cool and elegant tones of rose petals, plush red cherries, tar, and an assortment of spice tones. It works its way across the palate in an artful manner that is real deft and silky
  
  overall: This was popped and poured out of a magnum. A real beauty of a wine that real got going with some swirling in the glass and air. This was very elegant and balanced that also showed off the aging as it had great layering and a real sense about it

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• 2003 E. Pira & Figli (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Cannubi 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  nose: robust with an intensity to it and richer tones of plump red cherries, roasted herbs, spice tones and bits of tar. Good depth and obviously youthful right now. Has a real power behind it right now that is almost too much, but pulls back a bit
  
  taste: Rich with chewy tannins and medium+ acidity with powerful tones of red cherries, roasted herbs, tar, some bits of star anise, and a hint of oak on the back end. Young and rich right now that gives it an amped up feel
  
  overall: This was popped and poured. It showed pretty well for pop n pour, but is certainly young. It could be approachable with an aggressive decant, but a few years should round it into form a lot better. Has the ability to be a real interesting barolo when it calms down a bit and some more layering happens. Its not a long distance runner, but definitely worth having around in the mid-term

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• 2006 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Diversite 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  nose: very rich and powerful, but also has an extracted edge to it as well. A bit too rich on the nose at first this needed a bit of glass time to sort itself out and bring tones of dark chocolate, dark red cherries, some bits of coffee, and rich tones of plums
  
  taste: fuller bodied and rich, but also a bit chunky as well. Darker tones form the base with dark red cherries, coffee, dark spices, Plums and a bit of oak that creeps in. Very young on the palate as it comes off a bit rough right now
  
  overall: This is very young, but not sure where its gonna go. If it rounds out and tones back a bit on the power it could be better. There is a roughness and richness to it that does show off the riper side of the vintage. Its definitely oregon as it doesn't come off as a cali clone, but its definitely bigger then I'm used to from oregon and needs a bit of time to smooth out

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• 2007 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Savoya Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  nose: nice lighter styled aromatics with feminine tones of plums, violets, dark red cherries, bits of spices and some warm earth tones. Showing its youth on the nose as there is a vibrant quality to the tones and good depth right now
  
  taste: pretty and effusive medium feel with excellent medium+ acidity and pretty tones of plums, dark red cherries, red fruits, and spices. A bit delicate right now, this does seem that it needs to come together a bit first
  
  overall: This was bottle aired for several hours. This is very nice and has room to improve. If more depth is added on it with some aging, this can be a real lovely wine that would really show off the aromatic and sensual side of the grape

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• 2002 Hamacher Pinot Noir Oregon 91 Points

  USA, Oregon

  nose: still fairly primary and has real rich and pungent aromas with tones of plums, dark cherries, mixed berries, bits of smoke, and bits of dark chocolate and oak. Real good depth and expression right now, but has a bit of an untamed streak to it on the nose
  
  taste: fuller feel with good tannins still showing themselves off. Real good depth with good layering and tones of dark cherries, mixed berries, plums, smoke, and a bit of oak. Excellent expression on the palate, but a bit rough at this time
  
  overall: This had been decanted for about an hour. Seems still fairly young, the depth is really coming around and some of the secondary tones are coming about, but this still needs some settling to do in its current form. There is something really good lurking underneath, but just needs to have a bit more time to let it really work

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• 1999 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  nose: intriguing and mature nose of tart red cherries, plums, mineral rich earth, bits of smokey tones and hints of florals. Good depth with an almost changing appearance to it
  
  taste: Real polished medium feel with smooth and silky tones of red cherries, plums, mineral rich earth, and bits of smoke. Excellent attack, but it thins out a bit on the mid-palate and the finish is clipped which brings it down
  
  overall: This was double decanted for sediment and then bottle aired. This was a real nice one to have. Its at or slightly past its peak, but has a real intriguing side to it that is very enjoyable right now

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• 1999 Château La Fleur-Pétrus 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  nose: silky and smooth nose of dark berries, red cherries, floral tones and bits of cedar. Very good depth and shows off that sexiness that pomerol can bring
  
  taste: Polished tannins support this with a real good medium feel and well balanced tones of tobacco, dark berries, red cherries, and cedar. Excellent depth and drinking very well right now
  
  overall: This had a good decant on it, about 1 1/2 hours or so. This is drinking very well right now and should hold for a while. Excellent depth and polish on the wine, this really shows off what Pomerol can bring

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A real fun night. The barolos showed real well, and the Pinots were very good on the whole. It would've been nice to have the pinots show a bit better, but there's really no complaint in the end. Lots of really good stew and a lot of great wine went along with a real fun night