Excellent stuff. Surprisingly less oaky than I would have expected for Vilmart, but that may well just be the chardonnay talking. The breadth of the wine is certainly out on display here. I love the intensity, concentration, and depth here, alongside classic chardonnay acidity. One of a rare group of non-Krug champagnes that I really enjoy.

Third time in as many months. This bottle felt very creamy and soft, and there's a biscuity quality too. Rounded and somewhat soft, very clearly showing the vintage character. It's a nice wine, but I wish that it had more overall cut.

A good, not great edition of CdC. For my taste, this came across as too angular, and there was a smoky quality on the nose that seemed distracting. On the palate, this was also somewhat diffuse.

I don't get this stuff. This seemed angular with some really odd notes that I'm going to attribute to the pinot blanc. Overall disjoint with a lot of sharp edges and a palate presence that feels dilute. Doesn't have much cut on the finish either. Odd bottle of champagne.

Presumably a late release. Definitely thinning and likely on its last legs; still some delicate red fruit on the nose and palate, however. Very lovely herbal aromatics, with a slight meaty quality as well. Not as interesting as my previous bottle.

Not as precise as the 1958. This feels a little muddled, and while there still remains some fruit, this definitely shows some dirtiness and age. Another wine that has mostly thinned out.

Took a little bit of time, but the mustiness got worse as this got more air. Likely corked.

Dark fruit, with a distinct iron tone. Meaty and rustic, somewhat reminiscent of what old Clape could do. Lots of tannic power and still plenty of dark fruit here. Very convincing sangiovese of a decidedly different style from the other wines tonight.

This bottle wasn't as good as the one from last year's dinner, and shows the muddled quality of 1997 more. The fruit is opulent and plentiful but the ripeness feels pushed a little and there is slight browning to the fruit. Lacks the precision of the 1998 alongside, though having this with food helped paper over some of the problems.

A clear step up from the bottle of 1997 alongside. Clean bright fruit here, with medium weight on the palate. The fruit profile veers more red, and there's a nice elegant minerality on the back end as well. Feels a little heavy especially next to the ethereal 1998 La Trame alongside.

A wonderful wine that far exceeds expectations. Lovely spice nose with generous and precise dark fruit. On the palate, this manages to have a lighter, lifted texture, but with plenty of stuffing on the palate from the fruit. Adequately mature, though there are still some slightly coarse tannins.

Probably one of my favourites this evening. It reminds me a bit of 2000 red Burgundy and Rhone in how well they are drinking right now, even if it's not the best vintage overall. Intense red fruit, with a crystalline quality that seems to define Poggio di Sotto. This feels very much resolved right now, with a silky texture on the palate that I really enjoy.

Another one of my favourites this evening. An intense nose with again plenty of the classic clean, mineral-driven red fruit that PdS seems to manage so well. This feels a lot coarser than the resolved 2000 normale likely owing to this wine's relative youth and higher designation. The tannins still need a few years to soften, but it's obvious how much potential lies in this wine. One that I'd be interested in finding for my own cellar.

There is a slight woodsiness to this that doesn't get in the way of the fruit. Probably more a symptom of youth than anything here. Again, classic crystalline red fruit from the estate with a bright, lifted profile. It doesn't seem to have as much palate weight here, so this is likely one that is better drinking on the relatively younger side.

This would have been a far better wine than the 2011 if it didn't show so much reduction (that never really disappeared either). It's the same PdS profile of crystalline red fruit which does come off as slightly candied in this case however. More breadth on the palate than the 2011 as well. The tannins here also feel more delicate and refined. I'd love to try this again in a decade, when hopefully the reductive notes may have eased off.

This got very little air, which was the recommendation from the estate. That was a good call, as this already showed a fair bit of maturity and browning fruit. Like the 1997 Pergole Torte, food helped to moderate some of those muddied/mature notes, but in the context of some other excellent bottles of Stella di Campalto tonight, it was pretty clear this was an underperformer.

Gorgeous red fruit on the nose with a purity that very few of the other wines managed to get. Next to the 2011, which I felt was drinking better, this was clearly the more tannic and brooding wine. On the palate, the tannins really clamp down hard on the finish, but given the sheer amount of stuffing here, there's no doubt that aging would be beneficial here. The only concern is losing that fresh, pure red fruit profile over time as it desiccates.

Likely my favourite wine this evening. This was drinking so well right now it's a wine that's hard not to love. Some stemmy spice notes on the nose, with an overall red-fruited profile, with strawberries showing quite prominently here. Elegant and mineral, with acidity perfectly balancing the sweet red fruit and reasonably resolved tannins.

Served blind (with the producer known). Clearly lighter in palate presence than the Brunellos, so the Rosso was an immediate guess. Distinctly spicy, more so than any of the other wines in this flight. Lifted red fruit with a touch of reduction. Relatively large-scaled tannins had me think that this was from a relatively ripe vintage (right on that front) but I guessed that this was younger.

#12246. Late release; nevertheless still oxidized.

Corked.

This was double decanted around lunchtime, which I felt introduced more air than necessary, as the fruit was starting to show a little bit of oxidation, and the tannins seemed to feel like they were clamping down rather than loosening up. But overall I do like the red fruit profile here and think that this is a wine with very good long-term potential.

Served blind in a flight of Biondi-Santi. This seemed to be the victim of poor storage -- muddled and brown, with some soy notes as well. Some modest herbal tones on the nose.

Kind of an odd duck in the lineups tonight. Shows dark fruit on the palate but a bit of a weird, dusty thing as well. I thought it might have been oak. Quite dense and impenetrable now especially with respect to the tannins; probably could have used a modest decant of an hour or two.

Very bright fruit here with a sweeter profile. Somewhat juicy and easygoing, but I do find the scale of this wine quite impressive. It may not have the elegance of other vintages, but this has plenty of weight to throw around.

Corked. We batted .200 with Biondi-Santi tonight.

Slightly heat-damaged, made worse by the ripe nature of this wine. Shows some heat on the finish as well.

I am pretty sure this was the bottle that started my Cerbaiona obsession. It was my favourite in the flight, with a dark-fruited, perfumed nose showing just a slight bit of volatility and an intense smoky quality as well. On the palate, this is more resolved than the 2006 (which I also very much liked), so I found it more enjoyable to drink right now.

Not quite as impressive as the bottle I had back in 2019 at Bebu (RIP), but still a fantastic bottle of Cerbaiona (the table was evenly split between preferring the 2004 and 2006 -- I preferred the older wine). This has a very dark complexion, with intense black fruit and a classic touch of Cerbaiona volatility. Rustic, backwards tannins with some serious weight on the palate.

A bit of a whiff here -- not sure if the bottle was entirely sound. Slight stewy quality with muddled fruit. Very ripe and powerful, but showing a little raisiny and some heat on the finish. Not convinced this was fully representative either.

Corked.

The ripe vintage is treated very well here. This is a fruit-forward, juicy wine, and the profile does turn a mix of red and black, but it never shows overripeness or a lack of acidity. Structurally quite large, with the fruit built around a big tannic frame, but easy to enjoy now because of the sheer amount of fruit.

"Pop and pour, motherfuckers." Yeah, I forgot to open this at the beginning of the dinner (which would have given this about 3-4 hours of air by the time we got to it), but then we tried to pour out of the bottle but of course the cork was still in. Very ripe and large-scaled right out of the gate, but surprisingly accessible probably because we got it before air caused the tannins to clamp down. Like the other Salvioni wines, clearly very large-scaled and structured, but the plentiful fruit makes this far more accessible.

I'm not totally sold on the Salvioni style -- the wines just feel too big and intense for what I tend to like. While this was lighter and relatively more red-fruited than the massive 2009, it still showed much of the same producer signature. On the palate, this is simpler and is more focussed on the scale and structure than fruit or mineral nuance. An impressive wine nevertheless.

Served double blind. Obviously Burgundy, clearly high-calibre stuff. Red-fruited to the extent that this made me think 2010, and a bit of a spice note that made me think of Hudelot-Noëllat. In hindsight, this was more fruit-forward and plusher than 2010 (and showing a little less acid).

Served double blind. Incredibly spicy but with a lifted red-fruit quality and quite a bit of tannin on the back end. The midpalate didn't have as much weight, and I ended up guessing that this was a really top-notch villages wine, perhaps from 2013 Volnay.