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6th Annual Christmas dinner and cellar raid
Naperville, IL
Tasted December 17, 2016 by bablues with 496 views
Introduction
6th Annual Christmas dinner and Cellar Raid. This year we started with a nice Barbaresco (3 of them) and a Kosta Browne to get started as people arrived. The theme of the night was Amarone vintage vertical with 4 different Amarone's from 2003 - 2006. We had Venison tartar, then Turkey Leg confit with roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Cellar raid was epic as usual with some amazing wines.
Flight 1 - Opening and Theme (9 notes)
Opening Wines and Amarone Flight
Red
2007 Cascina Bruciata Barbaresco
92 points
Part of wine dinner and cellar raid. This was the opening wine for when folks arrived. Its been about four years since I last tried this and it was very disjointed back then, but time has helped this a lot. This was very smooth with a nice finish. Tannins are still present so I believe has a good amount of life left in it.
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Red
2011 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
91 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Very tasty
Red
2006 Orlando Abrigo Barbaresco Montersino
91 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes.
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White - Sparkling
2010 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Blancs
91 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Drank this as a toast to Cam and Ashly's engagement. Very nice bubbly.
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Red
2003 Sartori di Verona Amarone della Valpolicella "Estate Collection"
90 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. My 3rd fav of the Amarone's
Red
2004 Villa Girardi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
89 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. My #4 out of 4 for the Amarone's
Red
2005 Tenuta Valleselle (Tinazzi) Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Aurum
91 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. My #2 of the Amarone's
Red
2006 Giuseppe Campagnola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Caterina Zardini
92 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Been dying to try this as the Valpolicella (black Label) was one of the first wines that helped me fall in love with wines when I first started drinking. This was by favorite of the Amarone's
Flight 2 - Cellar Raid (13 notes)
Red
2007 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes
97 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. This was the first wine of the raid, which I chose. I usually don't hose but I wanted to go with a 100 pt wine and wanted to try while we can appreciate this. Though a 100 pt wine it wasn't the WOTN. This decanted for about 5 hours at cellar temp. Nose was rustic and a little sweet. Caramel notes which were very interesting. Mouthfeel was really nice and overall amazing
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Red
2011 Horsepower Vineyards Syrah The Tribe Vineyard
96 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Typical Horsepower nose of oil and lots of power. A real bruiser.
Red
2007 Ciabot Berton Barolo
94 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. One of the real surprises of the night. Very light on it's feet but still the typical power of Barolo. This was def a crowd pleaser.
Red
2009 Mollydooker Shiraz Blue Eyed Boy
89 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Blueberry cobbler in spades. Just a little too over the top for me. Still a nice drinker
Red
2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven Series
97 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Not much you can say that hasn't already been said about this. Power and elegance in one package
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Red
1998 Alban Vineyards Syrah Seymour's Vineyard
98 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. This is getting to be a tradition. This blew me away last year and hasn't changed at all. One of my favorite wines.
Red
2005 Château Lascombes
95 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Been sitting on these for quite some time. I love the 05's and want to wait to give them time to evolve but was happy that someone chose this as I think it's the right time to take a peek and see what is there. This is amazing and will continue to show more as time goes on.
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Red
2010 Cayuse The Lovers
97 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. This is such a sexy wine and a real treat to drink. Looking forward to the 11's and 12's
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Red
2007 Carlisle Syrah James Berry Vineyard
95 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. I wanted to through this one to compare with all of the higher priced Syrah's and GSM that we were drinking to see how it would stack up, and stack up it did. Carlisle Syrah's amaze me and they drink well about their weight. Can easily be the best QPR's out there.
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Red
2011 Sine Qua Non Grenache Patine Eleven Confessions Vineyard
96 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. My first EBA SQN and I was expecting a little more. Don't get me wrong, this was amazing but when drinking up against other top wines this fell a little short. Will see how it evolves as I will give my other one s few more years
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Red
2010 Saxum James Berry Vineyard
98 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. This was most likely the WOTN for me. Beautiful nose and a velvet taste and long finish.
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Red
2005 Alban Vineyards Pandora
97 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. Much better than the first time I tried this. Elegant, light with a powerful finish
Red
1985 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle
98 points
Part of Christmas Dinner and Cellar Raid, didn't take detailed notes. This was the other that was my WOTN. It was the last bottle and some people had left so I had a little more of this and was amazed on how it evolved in the glass. To me this is how wine should be drunk. 30+ years and this was still singing.
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