Multiple bottles tasted with consistent notes. Very young, but loaded with crisp fruit and complex mineral/toast flavors. Lovely, fine-grained mousse. A delicious Champagne that should be even better with a few more years of bottle age.

Similar to previous bottes. No premox (yet). Less severe in personality than the '04, with a slightly exotic/tropical flair to the mid-weight yellow fruit. Lovely saline mouthfeel and textbook Les Clos oyster shell minerality. Long finish.

Brief notes, since I got a very small pour: Quite reserved overall, and a bit discombobulated at first; improved significantly with aeration. Once this settled down, it revealed intense citrus fruit, complex minerality, impressive verve and energy, and a long finish. Looking forward to trying this again when once it settles down.

From magnum. Beautiful brick-red color. Telltale Dujac whole cluster/stemmy nose. A lovely spice bazaar character, which at this youthful stage is partially obscured by oak and stems. The palate shows light- to medium-weight, mellow, harmonious red cherry fruit, minerals, and leafy forest floor, with a beguiling spicy complexity that carries through to the moderately long finish. The Seysses family believes their 2007s have a lot in common with their 2000s, which I love. They didn't own any Malconsorts until 2005, so who knows, but the analogy seems pretty apt with this wine.

Brief notes: Really enjoyed this after giving it lots of aeration -- still primary and showing a lot of energy. A bit stern at the moment, but like a lot of 2008s I've tasted so far, seems very promising.

Brief notes: Another very small pour by the time it reached my end of the table. Nice aromatics, dark fruit, a touch heavy and showing a lot of new oak. These should probably sleep for 5+ more years.

A nice upside surprise. I have been increasingly turned off by 2000 CDP, which seem to be growing worryingly pruny and alcoholic with age. Not this wine. Lovely mature red fruit, earth, garrigue -- just classic. Silky, fleshy texture with low acidity and lovely secondary flavors.

Not tasted.

What an experience -- my birth year wine and the first '71 Bordeaux I have tasted. A 5-liter bottle that I bought at auction. High shoulder fill. The cork and capsule were in decent shape when I picked up the bottle a few months prior, but in the course of driving to the restaurant on the day before our dinner, the cork slipped and nearly plunged into the bottle. This was a touch funky when first opened and decanted, but really woke up over the course of the evening. Lovely ruby/tea color, with considerable cloudiness. The palate is a beautiful, mellow, complex, still vigorous, yet fully realized Cheval at the peak of maturity. So many flavors -- cherries, minerals, spearmint, truffles, brown sugar -- dynamic and elegant, evoking wonderful memories of the 1921, 1955, 1962, and 1966 Cheval Blanc, which I had previously had the honor to share with friends who were present on this evening. While this lacks the fireworks and Zen-like sense of completeness of the best vintages of Cheval, it is a darn fine wine with more than a lot of life left.

Sadly, another small pour. Red fruit, pine needles, and rosemary. I didn't have time to really study this, but it seemed a little heavier and less elegant than other bottles from previous tastings over the past few years.

Consistent with previous notes. A bit less baby fat, and more elegant acidity, than previous bottles, which is a good thing. Should hold at this level for several more years.

A surprise bottle courtesy of my friends Anne and Neil, who had been saving this wine (from Neil's birth year) for 15 years. Lovely ruby/tan color; beautifully layered flavors of figs, red plums, nut skins, and raisins. Lovely balance; a long, rich finish. A fine, elegant Port and a real treat to taste.

A bonus bottle at the end of dinner, courtesy of Brad. Big, incredibly intense nose and palate. Underlying the sheer intensity and power lies primary red fruit and complex minerality. Really young, but I totally dug this for its brash, unrestrained personality.