Ripe apple, some lemon, lots of mineral textures. Long finish ends very brightly, with the wine well balanced throughout. I typically think of Gimmonet as a Chardonnay producer, but I somehow felt this had a rounded Pinot Noir influence, but maybe that is the ripe 2012 vintage coming through.

Lots of honeycomb and apple pie with both sweet and savory spice. Very impressive depth with enough bright energy to keep it fresh. Nearly effervescent. A great bottle that had been stored since shortly after release.

Lots of ripe apple with faint pear and berry notes and a hint of toasted rye bread. Vibrant, racing acidity with powerful character from start-to-finish. Ending so complete, and so very long. A great bottle of this sometimes tired/ disappointing wine.

Lean and ultra bright apple and pear everywhere. Exceptional length and attention-grabbing textures. Some lemon and lemon peel coming through on long, explosive finish.

A great Champagne, just overwhelmed tonight by Krug 1996 and Salon 1996. While this showed the most complex array of fruit (apple, quince, pear, mango, berry, lemon - really some of everything - and spice with earth hints, it is less powerful or long vs the other two brilliant 1996 bottles that were nearly showstoppers tonight.

Ripe and nearly tropical with the faint background sweetness of the best 2013s, this shows so much peach and apple with both sweet and savory spice and a minerally edge in its long-ish finish. This should age gracefully.

Also faintly sweet-spice driven like the 2013, but with a more savory fruit profile. Elegant and layered, showing some signs of maturity, but still nicely fresh (compared to a very advanced bottle I tasted last year). Good weight and well layered. Alongside, the 2013, I preferred the younger vintage, which I found more concentrated, while others liked this 2010 more than I did tonight.

Glorious in almost every way. Ripe and yet tart with green apple, baked apple, honeycomb but also Meyer lemon. Intense Grand Cru density with structure just in the near background, providing plenty of support without ever seeking center stage for itself. Great length, even if not a particular powerhouse. At its absolute best when re-tasted at the end of the evening, at which point it had been open for 4+ hours. This was the wine I was most excited to try tonight and it turned out to be my Wine of the Night. I wish more white Burgundy could be made like this today.

Drinkable but much too advanced, while clearly showing great substance.

Popped-and-poured as a replacement Bienvenues. Plenty of ripe apple, baked apple with some slight tropical character. Slightly sweet spice, good richness throughout and a faint mint note. Very good weight and concentration. Very good now.

Last bottle from a case purchased almost 20 years ago. This was one of the less perfect bottles, with a slightly plastic note on the nose in between floral, mature red & black cherry, black truffle, and cooked mushroom notes. Similar flavors but without that odd note, coming across as beautifully mature, layered, well spiced, and so elegant. Still plenty of structure, this improved noticeably when enjoyed with food.

Asian five spice, red berry and cherry and plenty of earth on both nose and palate. Slightly austere finish, but very good length. Very Vosne. I liked this a lot, but others enjoyed it much more.

Dense and meaty with lots of concentration. black and red cherry come across as enticing and mature to start, more powerful and hefty on its very long finish. I was surprised at how great this wine showed tonight, but I should never be surprised by great Musigny from a great vintage.

What a treat. Very good color and condition. A hint+ of madeira did not bother me, given still assertive and bold black and red cherry, with fruit managing to mostly hold its own with the overt earth notes. A firm, minerally, crunchy finish with very good+ length added further complexity. I enjoyed this more than did most others, partly because the madeira hints didn't deter me, and partly out of shock for how interesting it remained.

1961 Bordeaux Flight. Mature black plum and cherry with savory and sweet spice. Good weight, still vibrant and interesting enough, this remained interesting for at least one hour. but alas, it got lost alongside its flight-mates. Better vs another bottle I tasted five years ago.

1961 Bordeaux flight. Opened an hour before serving. Great color and fill. Cassis, currant and red cherry with sweet spice and roasted meat. Certainly very ripe, but so much background structure to keep this vibrant and powerful. More nuanced character kept slowly emerging, included sautéed porcini and black truffle, making this better and better with more air.

1961 Bordeaux flight. Opened an hour before serving. Also great color and fill. Cigarbox with earth and so much black cherry. Good weight, great depth and balance. I preferred this over the Cheval Blanc when first poured, and while this remained beautiful for its 30 minutes in glass, the Cheval Blanc kept improving and unfolding.

Opened several hours in advance. Alluring start is beautifully perfumed with so much red cherry, licorice, cherry candy and subtle meatiness. This tails off slightly at the finish, but just so much here. A great bottle.

Also opened several hours in advance, but unlike the Giacosa 1978 Barbaresco Santo Stefano, this seemed like it needed more time and/ or more air. Firm start that was not particularly friendly, we managed to gradually coax pleasure from the glass. Red cherry, cloves, anise, dried herbs and floral hints emerged by the 30-minute mark, but this remained backward, while also powerful, regal and hinting at its vast potential. I know my note doesn't sound like the wine thrilled me, but we all enjoyed it, but all knew there is more to come.