From a fairly young bottle that arrived at retail some time in 2010. Floral nose with strawberry aromas. Also flavors of strawberry on palate with good level of spice. Lots of acid and energy provide lots of zip on finish.

Tasted single blind. Opened 10 minutes before serving. Nose and palate show good spice. Still has some primary fruit even if mostly secondary with elegant mushroom flavors. Bright acidity has helped keep this bottle lively and energetic, despite being from a challenging vintage.

Tasted single blind. Opened 10-15 minutes before serving. Mostly secondary character on nose with minimal trace amount of spice. Some black fruit comes through on palate, nicely balanced with earthy flavors, but some sharp edges that didn't seem completely integrated and shortest finish of the flight. Still, quite nice for another weak vintage...and being almost 30 years old.

Tasted single blind. Wanted to do a "pop-and-pour" but the cork fell apart, so unfortunately we had to decant this bottle, which probably detracted from some of the remaining freshness in the wine. All secondary character but still showing meaty textures and good spice. Long and powerful on palate, earthy flavors and spice, slightly muddy on finish. Not as good as a bottle from the same case that I opened this summer.

Tasted single blind in a flight with Faiveley from 1985, 1990 and 1993, this bottle stood apart as quite different and much less interesting. Nose was all black fruit and meaty spice, which continued through to the palate. Good length but comes across as somewhat rustic with lots of tannins that come across as certainly rustic, even slightly harsh. Open 90 minutes before serving, spent about 20 minutes in decanter.

Tasted single blind. Big and powerful aromas with lots of black fruit. Same blackberry flavors on palate with lots of spice, which helped keep the tannins from dominating the start and middle. Tannins and acid became a bit more prominent on the end, giving this an ever-so-slightly bitter finish. I think this will keep getting better for at least another decade as more earthy flavors emerge. Open and decanted 2 hours before serving, then returned to bottle 1 hour before serving. I'd either give this even more air prior to serving or hold onto this another 5-20 years.

Tasted single blind. Ripe fruit on nose showing less aromatic spice than the Faiveley 85 or 93 served alongside. Same fruit on palate with great concentration and density, also more spice than on the nose. Very powerful and long, but somewhat hidden behind the tannins. Still needs more time, but I would point out the tannins are not harsh or awkward. Open and decanted 2 hours before serving.

Tasted single blind. Incredibly impressive spice on nose with great combination of primary and secondary aromas. Palate was still more primary than secondary with great spice from beginning to end.. Acid and tannins were well balanced and integrated, helping provide complexity and sensational textures. Start starting to enter its peak. Bottle was pristine. Opened and decanted 2 hours before serving, then returned to bottle after spending 1 hour in the decanter.

Served single blind. Black fruit with some emerging sous bois on nose. Mostly primary on palate with some good emerging earthy flavors, but the spice was the highlight. Tannins are still quite prominent, making this seem more rustic than another bottle I had the opportunity to taste last year. Open 2 1/2 hours before serving, spent about 1 hour of that in a decanter.

Tasted single blind with Rousseau 1988 and 1990. I think our server accidentally mixed up this wine and the Rousseau 1990, so my note here is what I believe is the Jadot 1988. I've had this wine 5 or 6 times over the past 5 years with different experiences, even though many of those bottles came from the same single case. Oh well, that's Burgundy. Tonight's bottle was one of the great ones. Excellent combination of red fruit and black fruit, as well as primary and secondary character. Sensational meaty spices with great acidity, minerality and tannins helping provide sensational textures and nuance. Really long, evolving finish. Opened 2 1/2 hours before serving, of which it spent about 30-45 minutes in decanter.

Tasted single blind with Rousseau 88 and Jadot 88. I think our server accidentally mixed up this bottle and the Jadot 1988, so my note here is for what I think was the Rosseau 90. Powerful super-ripe red and black fruit on nose with intense spice of roasted meat. Same ripe fruit on palate, perhaps not the most perfectly balanced or elegant wine, but it is beautiful and sensationally hedonistic. This was opened 2 1/2 hours before serving, most of which was in decanter.

Tasted single blind. Charming and alluring spicy aromas with more red fruit than normally expected from Beze. Red and black fruit on palate with same exotic spice component that was also not classically Beze (or Gevrey) in style but really enjoyable. Opened 3 hours before serving, 2 of which were in decanter.

Tasted single blind. This wasn't bad (perhaps 87 or 88 points) and some thought this corked. I didn't think it corked, but its performance vs. another bottle from the same case opened in July makes me agree this bottles was somehow (?) defective.

Tasted single blind. Started of as just somewhat simple with the fruit quite muted, but this became increasingly disjointed and shrill with more time in glass.

Tasted single blind. Really great spice on the nose, albeit some from the oak. Red and black cherry flavors, also complemented nicely with spice. Acidity and mineraility help provide great textures, lots of nuance. Somewhat subtle for a mid-aged Beze from a good vintage. This was the North Berkeley "Cuvee Unique" bottling. Opened 3 hours before serving, decanted 45 minutes before serving.

Tasted single blind. I don't think I have ever tasted a Chambertin Clos de Beze from Jacques Priuer, so this was a treat, plus surprisingly great. Red and black fruit with a pantry full of spice. Great structure and beautifully textured, this wine kept unfolding in different ways over its long, complex finish. I believe Prieur has a tiny parcel in a small terrace down slope from most of the Chambertin Clos de Beze vineyard, but think they never include that in their Grand Cru. I'm not sure where this parcel is situated. Really impressive. Opened 3 hours before serving, last 45 minutes in decanter.

Tasted single blind. Incredibly perfumed nose with ripe fruit. Good fruit on palate with reasonably good spice as well, but this didn't come across as very clean or precise, particularly compared with so many of the great other bottles of Chambertin Clos de Beze tonight. Not nearly as good as several other bottles of this same wine I've had over the past few years. Open 3 1/2 hours before serving.

Tasted single blind. black fruit and big spice with lots of concentration. Compared with many other bottles of great Beze tonight, this seemed a bit simpler and even a little awkward, showing all the power of Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru, but not the charm and complexity of Beze. Opened 2 1/2 hours before serving.

Tasted single blind. Dense, dark fruit on nose and palate, complemented on both with big meaty spice. Really long, textured finish. Very similar to another bottle opened earlier this year, although this bottle seemed a bit less forthcoming. Open 2 1/2 hours before serving, but not decanted.

Tasted single blind. This was one of my favorite wines from the 2004 vintage when tasted in Burgundy while there for 2006's Grands Jours de Bourgogne. Not so much tonight. Big black fruit with some good Beze spice consistent with the other wines from dinner. The 2004 telltale green streak was quite prominent, and seemed particularly unusual and "uncharming" with the wine seemingly over-concentrated. Opened 2 hours before serving.

Tasted single blind. I don't think I've tried this in 2-3 years, and it again continues to impress for the vintage. Clearly lots of ripe plum and black cherry on the nose with some good floral and spice elements behind the fruit. Huge dry extract, great concentration along with beautifully integrated tannins and oak. Low on acidity vs. almost all other bottles of Beze tonight, but I think the density of everything else will keep this wine improving for at least another decade. Opened and decanted two hours before serving.

Tasted single blind. Nose shows red fruit and briar patch. Palate has red and black fruit, some emerging earthiness and ok spice. Maybe it was just getting too late, maybe I was tired after 20 other bottles of Chambertin Clos de Beze, maybe it was a bad night for 2004s, but I wasn't thrilled with this wine. While it's the first time I recall trying this, I have previously been quite enthusiastic about Rousseau 2004 Chambertin and Gevrey-Chambertin CSJ, so this bottle perplexed me. Open 2 hours before serving.