12/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Black color. Completely opaque at the core. Strong scents of blueberry, bramble berry and coffee. Incredibly dense and thick in texture with the most delightful flow across the palate in a smooth and sensuous motion. Excellent structure and definition, and most importantly of all - balance. Packing an impressive 15% vol. this wine is a monster, and I could feel the effect after a mere two gulps. However, the alcohol is wrapped in a soft glove of velvety fruit, layers of complexity and a wonderful interpretation - and sense of - style. With a 45 second aftertaste (without hotness) this wine is brilliant. Seriously brilliant.

12/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1999 Yquem, Sauternes/Barsac, Bordeaux, France
Light yellow color. Closed on the nose with subtle hints of orange peel and honey. Medium body with good fatness and classy botrytis. Fresh and ripe with a nice aftertaste on notes of brown sugar.

12/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1975 Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France
Light red color with clear browning at core and rim. Wonderfully vivacious and sweet on the nose with great scents of cassis and black berry. Medium bodied in the mouth with deliciously sweet and round fruit flavors, good definition and textbook elegance. No hardness, astringency or other such characteristics that might be expected from a 1975 left banker. Balanced and round, sweet and long aftertaste. Veeeery nice.

12/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1999 Domaine de Pegau CdP Cuvée Reservée, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France
Deep, dark red. Completely closed on the nose. No amount of swirling would open up this wine. In the mouth, the wine was quite tight and somewhat synthetic in flavor. Medium bodied with very little sweetness of fruit. Surprisingly little vinousity compared to recent tries with the 1998 and 2001. Slightly disappointing.

12/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1999 Prieuré Roch Vosne Romanée 'Les Clous', Burgundy, France
Dark red color. Classic scents of cherry, dirt, and pencil shavings. Medium bodied with a rustic character to it. Quite delicious and fleshy with an earthy feel and subdued sweetness. A superb food wine with lots of character and style, and a harmonious aftertaste

12/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1997 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frederic Emile, Alsace, France
Medium yellow color. This wine had a bizarre - but not unpleasant - rubber tire fused bouquet. Large bodied and dense, with sweet fruit and good concentration. I was expecting some petroleum scents, but none showed up. Quite a unique wine, this, with good intensity and flavour composition - especially when paired with food.

12/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2003 Domaine de l'Ecu, Muscadet Sur Lie 'Gneiss', Loire, France
Pale straw yellow. Hints of white flowers on the nose. Light to medium bodied with an interesting, but not over powering floral quality to the taste. The texture of this wine was excellent. Fat and oily. However, the wine was a bit tight - even with coaxing of the glass and air. Still a really nice wine.

12/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1979 Veuve Cliqeot Ponsardin La Grande Dame, Champagne, France
Light in color - much less evolved visually than what would be expected. Somewhat closed to begin with but opened up nicely with hints of bread, toast, and beer. In the mouth the wine was medium bodied with a nice texture and good concentration of fruit. Little in the was of bubbles left. Smooth and silky with a citrus lime component and a balanced aftertaste. Nice

12/5/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Oxidized. A flawed bottle.

11/21/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Dark red. Scents of cassis and smoke. Medium bodied with a good texture, ample fruit, and well defined structure. Smooth and juicy, quite forward in nature with excellent balance and style. Harmonious aftertaste.
87 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1998 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal, Hermitage, Rhône, France
Alarmingly dark yellow color. Sure enough, an oxidized bottle.

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1997 Yquem, Sauternes/Barsac, Bordeaux, France
Golden yellow in color. Strong scents of apricot, honey, and roasted sugar. Thick, dense and oily in texture with gobs of ripe fruit. Very intense and vanilla-fused in flavor with wonderful complexity of sweetness, balanced out by fresh, ripe acid. Firmly built with lots of stuffing for long keeping - however, I would not hesitate opening up a bottle, the wine is great right now. Long aftertaste. Great!
96 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2001 Etienne Sauzet Bâtard Montrachet, Burgundy, France
Medium yellow color in the glass. Very restrained on the nose, firmly closed up and only opening up slightly with air. After some time (a couple of hours) notes of apple peel and walnuts. In the mouth the wine was oily in texture with a sweet core of fruit and good concentration. Nicely packed with ripe fruit and fresh acidity, all contained in a good structure with precision and restrain in delivery. The aftertaste was balanced and harmonious. At the end of the night the wine seemed to get slightly alcoholic on the nose. For me a 90 point wine.
90 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1998 Chris Ringland Shiraz, South Australia, Australia
Black. Very oaky with sweet vanilla spice on the nose. Extremely powerful on palate impact with huge intensity and thickness. Oily and chewy in texture with high levels of alcohol. I did not check the bottle but 16.5% is probably not a bad guess. I was not too crazy about this wine, though it was not as overblown as other examples I have tried.

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1990 Yquem, Sauternes/Barsac, Bordeaux, France
Always a classic. My favorite of the famous trilogy. But tonight's bottle was slightly off in my opinion. Yes, it was a very, very good to great Sauternes, but it was not the ethereal 1990 Yquem that I have tasted on other occasions. It seemed to lack the freshness of acid and density of botrytis infected fruit that the prime examples possess. That aside, it was a very good Sauternes. Dang, I feel spoiled!

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1998 Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz, Barossa, Australia
This cuvée was magic in the hands of Chris Ringland. With Ringland no longer the wine maker, this wine has lost some of it's magic - at least judging by tonight's showing from the 1998. This wine is simply too much. There is simply too much of everything here, except style and grace, and most importantly - drinking pleasure. I jokingly exclaimed that this was like being knock-outed by Mike Tyson and others around the table agreed. No one seemed to enjoy it that much.

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1996 Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz, Barossa, Australia
Dark red. Scents of licorice, ink and tar coming out of the glass. I have raved about this wine before and it was every bit as good as on my two previous tries with it. Incredibly dense and with gobs and gobs of sweet ripe fruit with a fresh and complex delivery. This is simply a stunning wine with tremendous purity and punch yet not like being knocked out by Mike Tyson. Loved this wine!!

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1999 Greenock Creek Creek Block Shiraz, Barossa, Australia
Black. Scents of mushed red berries, coupled with vanilla. Extremely concentrated and almost like porridge in texture. Very chemical and technical in taste. Like drinking melted computer chips with sugar. Not nice.

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1998 Greenock Creek Apricot Block Shiraz, Barossa, Australia
Dark red. Scents of Latex paint and glue. Very alcoholic with power beyond comprehension (and reason) with a fat - and I mean fat texture. The flavors ranged from rhubarb to detergent and I will refrain from giving a score.

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2001 Domaine de Pegau CdP Cuvée Reservée, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Dark red. Closed on the nose. Air worked wonders on this. After some minutes scents of iodine, mint, wet iron, and minerals appeared. Big, chewy and peppery flavor impression with wonderfully defined and precise structure and a balanced interplay between the components. Sweet and round tannins with a bit of bite, but no hot aftertaste. It was all smooth, delicious, and I need cases of this wine. It outperformed it's bigger siblings.
96 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2000 Domaine de Pegau CdP Cuvée Da Capo, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Dark red. Very toasty on the nose. Quite flamboyant. In the mouth the wine was utterly delicious with great balance and weight, a sweet and seductive flavor profile and a creamy texture. Lots of sweet, ripe fruit with a hint of vanilla on the long aftertaste. Great wine, although not as good as one year ago.
94 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1998 Domaine de Pegau CdP Cuvée Da Capo, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Dark red. Scents of minerals and dark berries. There were also some notes of ink underneath. Quite strong in the mouth with great intensity and purity of fruit with plenty of stuffing and fatness to back up the power. Good elegance and complexity. Without question this is a great wine, however, it is not showing half of what it did two years ago, so I suggest stashing this away for a good long while. At the back-end it should come out a perfect wine.
95 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2001 Domaine de la Mordorée CdP Cuvée de la Reine de Bois, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Very dark red color. Scents of vitamin pills and cranberry juice cocktail. Strong and tannic in the mouth delivering a huge punch to the palate with a curious bitterness to the taste. This seemed to disappear after a little while and more fruit and sweetness appeared with delightful width and density. This is a wine that benefitted tremendously from a 30 minute breather. After the initial shock the wine was delicious.
93 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2000 Domaine de la Mordorée CdP Cuvée de la Reine de Bois, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Dark red color. Scents of rubber. Large bodied with a good attack and intensity. Very strong and alcoholic - some would say too alcoholic. There is a very nice core of ripe fruit and a good measure of sweetness with a long aftertaste. For my own personal preference this wine was too alcoholic, but I am thinking this wine could be shut down and based on the weight and intensity of fruit, this wine could come out of it's somewhat rejective shell at some point. Seems like a great wine is hiding behind the gates.
93 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2001 Clos du Caillou CdP Cuvée Reservée, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Black. Intense scents of tar and dark berries with added notes of asphalt. Hugely concentrated with a dense, thick, and sweet core of fruit. Superb complexity coupled with an intense and "big" delivery, this is a prime example of a homogenous co-existence of high alcohol, large concentration and weight, and a high degree of drinking pleasure. Very long aftertaste with notes of cardamom and pepper. Loved it.
96 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2000 Roger Sabon CdP Le Secret de Sabon, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Dark red. Strong and very interesting scents of butter and popcorn, and with a faint whiff of Dijon mustard. Sweet, seductive, and deliciously light on its feet with great intensity and huge glycerin levels, this wine is chewy, dense and concentrated, yet stylish and elegant. Brilliantly structured and superb for drinking now. Harmonious, elegant, big and chewy, and all that in the same package! A great wine.
96 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1998 Clos du Caillou CdP Cuvée Reservée, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Dark red with no hint of lightening at the rim. Initially this wine was closed, but after a little minute notes of English licorice appeared. Large bodied and brimming with ripe fruit, this wine possesses large levels of glycerin and fatness coupled with great purity of fruit and definition. Very concentrated and intens with a good harmonic interplay between the components. Long, complex aftertaste on notes of cranberry, and Christmas spices.
94 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2000 Les Cailloux André Brunel CdP Cuvée Centenaire, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône, France
Deep, dark red. Very oaky on the nose with added nuances of pepper and alcohol. Medium bodied and with delightful sweetness and awesome power. A very strong wine that seemed to lack some fat fruit and complexity. I am almost inclined to declare the wine un-balanced, yet that would probably be too harsh, as this is probably at a very closed and awkward stage. I loved the sweet nature and simple delivery, though, and the aftertaste was very long. Let it sleep for many years...!
89 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1988 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Blancs de Noir Francaise, Champagne, France
Dusty dark yellow appearance. Smoky scents emerging from the glass with undertones of wheat toast. Medium bodied, and simple in nature with an acidic, apple-like flavor profile. This wine possessed great length but only medium weight and concentration. Furthermore, I found it to lack a touch of fatness. However, the wine was quite forward and pleasurable to drink.
87 points

11/16/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1995 Pierre Monquit Cuvée Nicole Moncuit à Le Mesnil, Champagne, France
Medium to dark yellow color. Scents of dark bread and wheat toast. Medium bodied with a sweet core of fruit, a light and forward nature, juicy and chewy and deliciously linear and symmetrical. Pure and refined with a somewhat short finish. A forward and easy drinking Champagne with small bubbles.
88 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Amber coloured in the glass. Scents of rhubarb and tropical fruits. Thick and oily with a searing sweetness. This is almost like liquid sugar. I would recommend to drink this either with very strong blue cheese, or with a very acidic dessert like rhubarb. Quite powerful and intense, and I do acknowledge the impressive texture of the wine, and the power it possesses.
90 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Light red colour with clear browning at the rim. Scents of camphor and dried leaves. Wonderfully soft and round in the mouth with an orange truffle -> orange peel like flavour impression. Perfectly mature for drinking now, and not showing any signs of going downhill. There was an interesting and very attractive inky character to the taste - sounds weird but it was very nice. There seemed to be plenty of structure for further aging. Great balance and style.
91 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Dark red with some browning at the rim and a brown hue. The bouquet revealed notes of ink and dairy products. Medium bodied with a good attack, precise structure and good definition. The flavour impression was quite minerally with a vitamin pill like quality to it. But underneath, above, and surrounding the minerality was a very nice tea and herbal like character, coupled with some notes of bitter dark chocolate. Balanced aftertaste.
90 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Medium red with only the slightest of browning at the rim. Scents of vanilla and toasty oak. In the mouth the wine had an exquisite oily texture with a sweet flavour impression. Very nice concentration and focus with many dimensions of complexity. The aftertaste was balanced and fruity and lasting 25 seconds. I had a bottle of this about 2 years ago and that bottle was slightly better, however this bottle was no slouch.
92 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Dark red. Scents of pudding. Delicious sweet attack on the palate with a nice, round core of fruit. Medium concentration and power with good balance and focus. Fleshy, chunky, and managing to combine the chunkiness with elegance and style. Quite minerally on the aftertaste.
90 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Dark red colour. Scents of tobacco and herbs. Medium bodied with delicious, sweet fruit on the palate. Good intensity and concentration with a precise and balanced delivery. This wine is evolving quite well, and it seems to be the structure and backbone for keeping. Good, balanced aftertaste.
90 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Dark red colour. Scents of flowers and cigar box. Dry and slightly watery in the mouth. The was a really nice underlying element of tobacco to the flavour that I really liked, but overall the wine was a bit dry. I wonder if this wine needs more time.
85 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Dark red in the glass with little browning. Scents of vanilla and coffee. I could swear that I could also pick out a vinegar note which led me to believe that the wine would be shot. Not so at all. The wine was medium bodied with a high presence of dry tannin. Slightly simple aftertaste.
84 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Red with a brown hue and light rim. Scents of rust and wet iron. In the mouth the wine was quite minerally with a flavour-impression of iron and vitamins. Medium bodied with clear definition, but lacking concentration.
84 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Medium red with some browning at the rim. Distinct scents of lead pencil, leaves, and cassis, coupled with notes of orange peel and mustard. Very classic Bordeaux in the mouth. The lead pencil and cassis notes had me believing that this was a left banker. Good structure with medium body and nice precision. Balanced and harmonious, however lacking some measure of concentration.
86 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Deep, dark red. Awesome bouquet on notes of forest wood, leaves, and wax. Powerful and intense in mouth with high levels of glycerin. Deliciously smooth and sweet with marvellous integration of all elements and a high measure of balance. Powerful, yet elegant. There's so much fat and ripe fruit here and a long, complex aftertaste.
96 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Dark red/black colour. Scents of ink and shoe polish. After a while a strong scent of blueberries developed. To begin with this wine seemed a touch "hot" on the aftertaste, however after 30 minutes in the glass things sort of fell into place. Very powerful palate impression with great intensity. Brimming with ripe fruit and a lovely vanilla-spiced aftertaste. Good complexity and balance - especially after 30 minutes of air.
94 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Deep, dark red. Very nice bouquet on notes of vanilla, meat, and smoke. Sweet and tasty with a nice, round and buttery core of fruit. Good initial attack on the palate with plenty of power and width. A real crowd pleaser of a wine - not unlike Pahlmeyer Meritage Red - with a slightly diffuse personality, but lots of charm and seductiveness. In that sense, the wine was excellent.
91 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1995 Jean Nöel Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet Clos de la Maltroye, Burgundy, France
Medium yellow. Smoky scents emerged from the glass with notes of roasted almonds. Buttery and oily in texture with a good, solid core of fruit. Medium sized with ample precision and definition. Good overall complexity and style with a 10 second aftertaste. A very nice wine - perfect for drinking now.
88 points

10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Medium to mature yellow. Semi-oxidized on the nose with notes of beer, and rubber underneath. In the mouth the wine had ample fatness but little grip. LAcked freshness and vibrancy. As for structure the wine seemed slightly undefined. The general flavour impression was quite nice, and the aftertaste did have some length, however in the grand scope of wine analysis this bottle seemed slightly oxidized. Personally, I could enjoy the wine for what it was, but I guess some people would give this wine a no rating. Certainly adds fuel to the debate on oxidized 1996 White Burgundy wine. Overall, this was a wine I enjoyed quite a bit, but like I said, in a wine analysis sense...
85 points

10/12/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1998 Guigal Côte Rôtie La Turque, Côte Rôtie, Rhône, France
Deep, dark red colour in the glass almost no clearing at the rim. Intense bouquet on notes of smoke, peppar, and tree bark. There was also a defining element of English licorice. In the mouth the wine is velvet-like with plenty of fruit stuffing, marvellous balance and structure, and an exuisite core of flavour on notes of bitter dark chocolate, mushrooms, and meat. This wine has lost some of its baby fat (or is that baby phat..? I guess that depends on who you ask..). The finish is long and intense with a myriad of complex dimensions, textbook elegance, and perfect balance. Not ready for drinking but a wonderful wine nonetheless...Over the course of the night the wine opened up somewhat.
96 points

9/5/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

Medium dark red colour. Scents of grape-stems, chery-stones, and dirt. Medium bodied with a distinctly sour flavour profile. Not as oaky as other NZ Pinot Noir wines - in actual fact the wine was slightly Burgundian. Good definition with a somewhat simple level of complexity. Much better with food than without.
85 points

9/2/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2002 Domaine Millot Vosne Romanée Les Suchots, Burgundy, France
Dark red. At first this wine was closed, but it opened up on notes of charred oak and cherries. Medium bodied in the mouth. Quick oaky and sweet. Good, round flavour with medium intensity, but a delicious finish. Very nice
89 points

9/2/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

1997 Marcel Deiss Riesling Altenberg de Bergheim Grand Cru, Alsace, France
Medium yellow in colour. Nicely complex on the nose with hints of abricot, dried fruits and hay. Medium bodied with excellent structure and definition, and sharp but ripe acid. Great long finish. Loved it.
92 points

9/2/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote:

2000 Maison Leroy Meursault, Burgundy, France
Light straw colour. Closed on the nose. Light bodied in the mouth with little in the way of complexity. Not as nutty and buttery as I have come to expect from a Meursault wine. It was a very nice food wine, and we really enjoyed it. It was quite steely and minerally. Short finish.
85 points