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Delmonico Wine Dinner
Delmonico Las Vegas
Tasted February 15, 2009 by Clarkmeister with 1,002 views
Introduction
Dinner for 29 with DaveR supplying a bunch of wine and Master Somm Kevin V helping us round out the list. Some truly amazing pairings were had and both the wine and food were outstanding. Good times.
Flight 1 - Wine list (14 notes)
The Champagne was served as a starter and the Maury brought up the rear. All other wines were in pairings of two, in order.
White - Sparkling
White
2006 Lucien Crochet Sancerre Le Chêne
91 points
Wow, this was must so smooth and balanced. Wonderful stuff.
White
2003 Shafer Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch
87 points
Super over the top Napa Cardonnay with all the wood you could ever want. Big and spicy. Not my style but plenty of people loved it.
Red
2005 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard
90 points
A little hot for my taste, but definitely got better and smoother with air.
Red
2005 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Beaux Frères Vineyard
93 points
A somewhat simple nose, but the wine just kept getting more and more nuanced in the glass. Needs time but this is a beauty. Very old world. Yummy.
Red
2006 Linne Calodo Nemesis
92 points
I hate Syrah, but man this was good, and paired tremendously with andouille crusted redfish. Silver medal winner for the night - wildly popular.
Red
2001 Blankiet Estate Merlot Paradise Hills Vineyard
84 points
Drink now! On the downside. Good balance with some standard older merlot flavors, a little bell pepper. Not much fruit left. Voted worst wine of the night.
Red
1999 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
94 points
Maybe worth 95pts. This is just in the window now. So integrated and balanced, its hard to see where this could really get any better. My personal favorite of the night. Great wine drinking great now.
Red
2000 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
89 points
Man, this just had a hollow spot mid palate for me. A little hot as well. Liked by several others, but it wasn't doing it for me.
Red
1999 Harlan Estate
93 points
A huge, bruising wine that is just massive and thick from the word go. It has trouble maintaining the assault through the finish, but thats more a sign of how huge the front is than a knock on the finish. I wish it were a little more subdued and balanced but this is no doubt a big tasty Napa cab.
The group chose this as the Bronze medal winner for the night.
The group chose this as the Bronze medal winner for the night.
Red
2000 Harlan Estate
89 points
A little hot and not nearly as good as the 1999. Very gangly and disjointed to me. Time may yet pull it together.
Red
2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
92 points
Was getting a little tired by this time. This was excellent but did not do enough to really separate itself as something exceptional. Something missing, not sure what.
Red
2002 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
95 points
Gold medal winner of the night with broad consensus. I was a shade disappointed, but that's more my expectations talking and not the wine. The wine was outstanding from start to finish.
Red - Fortified
1925 Domaine de la Coume du Roy Maury
95 points
Wow! This is the way to finish a wine dinner. So so good, is this really 84 years old? Rich, fruity, balanced, balanced, balanced, great finish. Just so good. More please?