Delish!

The 2004 Almaviva is now showing more evidence of the Carmenere in the blend than it had a month or so ago... a great bottle, but you have to like the Chilean style - green peppercorn, mint, eucalyptus with blackcurrants. The 1994 Opus One is past its prime... notes of anise, cedar, cigar box, tobacco leaves, black currant and cherries. You could tell that this wine was something special at some point, but was now just tired and faded... my last bottle in the cellar. The 2003 Bond "Vecina" is very, very good, it's just not as good as the 2001 or 2002 Bond's I've had in the past, but that should be expected as 2003 was an inconsitant vintage - and lighter than the 2002 and 2001s in almost all cases. Made my Bill Harlan, there are 4 single vineyard wines that are made under the Bond label - Melbury, St. Eden, Vecina, and the newest, Pluribus. A sweet nose of cassis, mint, blackcurrant, black cherries, plums and a bit of graphite. On the palate, the wine is not overly concentrated, with more of an elegant style. The sweet fruit is predominate on the palate, with lots of glycerol burning a little on the way down. Not as nicely balanced as it could, or should, be. In all honesty, I was expecting more...

Hot Set

Scarlet>Fire, Uncle John's Band>China Doll>Friend of the Devil>Playin In The Band>Uncle John's Band... really smoking Scarlet>Fire (35 minutes!), but the China Doll was spine-tingling. Great stuff... love the Anchor Steam! Tried a 1974 BV Georges de Latour last night... over the hill... completely.

On Monday, went to a tasting with some great wines... the 2004 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was the best of any of the 2004's I've tried. Another Baron property, the 2004 Chateau Clerc Milon was green and grassy... not good. A very uneven vintage (tried most of the classified growths a few months ago), but Mouton had the stuff (mocha, charred earth, graphite, cassis... really good). The 2004 Aile d'Argent (Mouton's white wine) was interesting, no where near a Haut-Brion Blanc, but on par with Lynch-Bages Blanc. Toasty cheese with grapefruit, tangerine and cinnamon. The 2004 Gaja Ca'Marcanda Magari rocks... from Gaja's Tuscan property, this wine is mind-blowing. The 4th vintage for this wine, and really the best yet. The 2003 Vineyard 29 was very good as well (see previous notes). The 2004 Aid

Even a Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut Every So Often...

Had a great time earlier this week... I'll write about those wines tomorrow or Monday. Last night saw the first really great bottles go out in a quite a while... The 2003 Joseph Phelps "Backus" Cabernet Sauvignon is mammoth. Black currants, black cherries, and anise with loads of clove, cinnamon and vanilla. It's a big wine with big tannins and big fruit. If you're not into power wines, this isn't for you (though there is a hint of finesse on the finish suggesting this will become something even better in a few years.) The 1986 Chateau Cheval-Blanc is a beauty... clearly into the top 5 wines I've tasted this year. The best example of this bottle I've ever had (around half a dozen times) and the first time I've had it in about a year. Pure cigar box, cedar (classic Cheval characteristics), with lovely black currants and dried leaves. Lots of saddle leather, mushrooms and gravel. A great, earthy wine with a finish that lasts for well over a minute. I could still taste the cedar over 30 minutes later... not as powerful as the 1982 or 1990 or 1998, this is a wine of pure elegance.

Oregon Bliss

Had a great dinner this evening with some great friends... had a Riesling from the Willamette tonight (not sure of the producer) that rocked... petroly with apricots and ripe green apple. A little bit of stony mineral and hints of ginger. Really killer stuff... could drink it every night... the 2005 King Estate Pinot Gris was pretty with notes of banana, ripe white peach, apricots and orange blossom and a hint of white pepper. One of the better King Estate PGs I've had in a while... the 2004 Owen Row Cabernet Franc was pretty and ripe with notes of black peppercorn, black currant, sweet cherries and chocolate. Long and elegant finish... the 200? Willakenzie Estate Pinot Noir was good, but not a personal favorite. Was in screwcap and showed a slight sulphur note for about 15 minutes - then finally blew off. After that - earth and ripe cherry. The 2004 Sokol Blosser Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ... big and powerful with loads of black cherries, strawberries and rhubarb. Really, really good. Nice... but the wine of the night was the 2003 (or was it 04?) Archery Summit Red Hills Estate Pinot Noir and it never disappoints...Probably going on 20_+ times I've had this was classic - ripe, rich fruit with moderate + alcohol and hints of charred earth. Nice stuff with a long, silky finish and lots of spice.

Freaky Friday

the NV Gruet Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Wine, New Mexico is good, dry and has a lovely nose of candied cherries. Not spectacular, but I'm always happy to try something from the great sparkling wine estate. The 2004 Cakebread Merlot was... I know many people love Cakebread... I am usually a fan of their Merlot (in my mind, the best wine they make), and that's about it. I'm not a fan of the 04. It just came off as completely unbalanced with way too much alcohol and little fruit (a mostly stemmy-cocoa powder nose). Not my favorite at all... wouldn't order it, don't recommend it.

Sorry

Can't believe I haven't written in a week... Pretty good stuff this week for tasting... the 2004 Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon is much, much lighter than the previous vintages and as such is not a wine that I'd jump up and down to buy (despite its reputation). Also tasted the 2002 Vineyard 29 "Aida" Red Blend - big and jammy, juicy with sweet fruit and lots of oak. A really good wine... The 2003 Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon rocks... a great wine with loads of black currants, black cherries and plums and a hefty dose of new French Oak. This will be a fabulous addition to the list. The 1999 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Beze is a tightly-wound baby. Though already 8 years old, this wine still needs another 10 years to come out of its shell. Lots of clove still present with dusty dried cranberries, cherries and strawberries. Don't think it will ever be incredible, but a very nice wine (and very classically - Clos de Beze). The 1999 Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque was ok... not my favorite for this vintage. Very light in style (as usual), but compared to Cristal, it's lacking any sort of punch and finesse. The NV Mumm"Cramant" is a 100% Grand Cru bottling from the village of the same name in the Cote des Blancs, and is 100% Chardonnay. Elegant and classy. Very dry. Awesome stuff. Tasted quite a few more Champagnes this week, but none of them noteworthy.

Premier Cru

The 1989 Remoissenet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Cazetieres" is a beauty... still taking a good hour to open up in the bottle (20 minutes in the glass), this wine is pure earth and power... black truffles, cedar, dried leaves, red cherry.

The 1998 Francois Jobard Meursault 1er Cru "En la Barre" is a beauty... nutty and rich with notes of honeysuckle, Granny Smith Apples and tons of wet stones... nicely mature, but still has a few years to go.

The Good, The Not So Good, and the Really Good

Went to a great tasting today... 1999 Cristal from 3L (really good), 1996 Cuvee William Deutz (really good) from 3L, 1999 Cristal Rose (really good), 2000 Cristal (good), 1998 Cuvee William Deutz (good), 1971 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer "Cuvee Anne" (good), 1985 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer "Cuvee Anne" (not so good), 1990 Pio Cesare Barolo (really good), 1991 Meerlust Rubicon (really good), 2003 Dominus (good), 2004 Dominus (good), 2003 Chateau Cos d'Estournel (good), 1970 Ramos Pinto Porto (good), 1983 Ramos Pinto Porto (good), 2001 Pio Cesare Ornato Barolo (really good), 1994 Baron de L Pouilly-Fume (really good), 2000 Baron de L Pouilly-Fume (not so good), and lastly, my wine of the day - the 2001 Pio Cesare "Il Bricco" Barbaresco... really stunning fruit quality here with tremendous length. Awesome stuff... Not the complete list, but most of the highlites.

Tasty...

The 1990 Chateau Gruaud-Larose continues to impress... what a powerful, youthful wine. Tons of cedar, smoke and fennel seed and a long, long finish. This wine still has decades of life. The 2004 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon rocks... really stunning stuff. Glad I've still got some... Awesome! The wine of the night, however, was the 1996 Gaja Sperss. Powerful and closed upon opening, this wine really blossomed over the next 3 hours. Rose petals, dried cranberries, cherries and plums with saddle leather, tar and dried leaves coming out with truffles on the finish... The texture on this wine is amazing - so silky and soft, yet powerful and tannic at the same time. Only Gaja can make Nebbiolo like this (not that there aren't outstanding Barolo & Barbaresco producers that make better wine...). Best Italian wine so far this year...

Good stuff

The 1997 Laurent-Perrier "Cuvee Alexandra" Brut Rose was toasty and yeasty and was suprisingly advanced for a young Champagne... nice, long finish. The 2001 Morey Meursault (it was premier cru, but I can't remember vineyard) was stunning... lots of new oak with fat minerals and a long, long stony finish. Great stuff.. the 2005 Vieux Telegraphe "La Crau" Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is awesome. Perhaps one of the great white CDPs I've had (though the Beaucastel VV Roussanne is by far the best)... baked stony apples. Apples, apples, apples. The 1955 Chateau Lafite Rothschild was bad (really, really bad). The 2001 Archery Summit Arcus Estate Pinot Noir was amazing. Really beautiful wine (my wine of the night) with loads of black and red fruits, a hint of earth, and incredible nose... very complex and silky with just a hint of power. Nice... The 1997 Andrew Will Merlot was really good... shows some great cedar and black fruit notes with cocoa and spice. The 1998 Chateau de Sales (Pomerol) showed the beauty of the vintage. Very earthy (dried leaves and mushrooms), with plenty of fruit. A really great bottle.

Yesterday was the 2003 Dagueneau "Pur Sang" Pouilly-Fume. Rich and creamy (creamy grapefruit as one of my collegues noted). Perfect for seafood. Really glad I had this...

The Masters

My favorite week of sports in the entire year... It is without question the greatest sporting location in the world. The carpet-like grass, the cheap food, the smells, the sounds - the roars. Augusta National is a dream... Cheers.

Vina

The 2004 Almaviva rocks... though not as powerful and rich as the 2001, 2003, or 1997, this is a fabulous wine that ranks among the greatest wines from Chile. A colaboration (ala Opus One) between Baron Eric Rothschild (think Mouton) and Concha y Toro, the wine comes from a tiny subregion of the Maipo Valley - Puente Alto. mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a good bit Carmenere (usually the wine has a good % of Cabernet Franc). A few days ago tasted the 1997 Almaviva (had the 01 and 1996 last year), and this wine is amazing... drinks like a Pauillac (suprised???), and has a long, long life ahead of it. Stunning stuff... if you can find some, it's a great value at around $60-70 retail.

Whoops...

had two whoops... first, I broke my bottle of 2004 Chateau "Y" Bordeaux Blanc... pretty upset about it too... just slipped out of my hands... second... can't believe I forgot about the 1970 Chateau Latour during my marathon lunch last week!!! Awesome stuff, but paled in comparison to the 61...

Good Night

first good one in a while... not great wines, but one good one... the 1990 Paitin "Sori Paitin" Barbaresco was beautiful... very earthy with loads of mushrooms, rose petals, cedar and dried cherries. A little acidic, but it really showed how acidic nebbiolo is... nice.

Catch-Up

A little time to breathe now... So much to catch up on, so here's the short and sweet version of the last few weeks (more depth on yesterday, though...) So let's start with yesterday... Opened a 1979 Krug Collection Champagne Magnum for a reception. The dense, toasty, almond and apricot nose gave way to tremendous length on the palate. One of the great wines... Only to be quickly put in its place by the magnificent 1990 Krug "Clos du Mesnil" Champagne - without question, the greatest Champagne I've ever had. It has changed from a piercing, mineraly wine to a wine of incredible finesse and elegance with a long, mineraly finish that just doesn't stop. A real joy. On to the still wines - 1966 Leroy Meursault 1er Cru (forgot the vineyard... I'll find it and update it) tasting like to could have been from 1985 - it took at least an hour to fully open in the glass. Butterscotch, hazelnuts, tons of crushed pebbles. A fabulous wine... On to the reds. The 1959 Trapet Gevry-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Caizerets" (I think that was the vineyard... have to check on that one too) was so earthy - dried leaves, and cloves with a hint of rhubarb. Still showing well... a great wine. The 1996 Clos de Tart came next and this was a better bottle than any of the 5 we had at the dinner a few weeks ago. Still a baby, but showing a hint of black truffles. Awesome. Had one bad bottle of 1961 Chateau Latour, and one that was amazing. This is what wine is all about. Without question one of the 2 or 3 greatest wines I've ever had, this kept opening and opening for hours and hours. It acts like it's only 10 years old... The 1949 Chateau Haut-Brion was dying and lasted all of 5 minutes in the glass. Real bacon-fat with crushed gravel. Classic HB. On to Syrah... The 1990 Penfold's Grange was perfect. Ripe raspberry with pepper, black plums and spice with lots of eucalyptus. Classic. The wine of the night for me was the 1990 Guigal "La Turque" Cote-Rotie. Tons of truffles, mushrooms, dirt and raspberry and still a healthy amount of tannin - this is what all Syrah should hope to become. Spicy and elegant. 1998 Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita, Priorato was a dusty, dirty powerhouse. Loads of black fruit with a spicy finish... long... needed another 5 years. The 2002 Bond "Melbury" was a powerhouse fruit bomb after everything else... Fit nicely though, which says a lot about the quality of these wines. The 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico was finally showing well again, after a period in which I thought the wine was not all it could be. It was finding its way and is now so earthy and pretty... a very elegant wine with a ton of tannin. The 1975 Quinta da Noval "Nacional" was wonderful (coming from a non-port-lover)... loads of caramel and black fruit. The 2003 Inniskillin Sparkling Vidal Icewine was a nice intermezzo... The 1990 Chateau d'Yquem was immense - incredibly massive - but elegant and perfectly balanced. So rich with apricots and botrytis. This will last forever. The 2002 Masetto in Magnum was back to fruit, but with hints of anise and black pepper (?)... good, but lighter than the 2001 or 2000. We needed something to finish with so we went with the 1990 Dom Perignon Rose in Magnum which was divine. A wonderful way to end the greatest wine afternoon of my life. I think that was it(!!?!?!?) Forgot the 1990 Dr. Burklin Wolf Riesling Auslese Trocken. Yummy... so much petrol and minerals...

Friday night was the last bottle (and the best one!) of 1994 Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon - beautiful. This was so much younger than the other 3. Mint and fruit and powerful tannins... instead of dying after 4 hours, this bottle kept getting better and better. The 2001 Vitus Terrarum (La Mancha, Spain) needs time. Going to be great one day, but not today.

The 2001 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon is rich, elegant slightly green... not my favorite, though it never is. The 2000 Sparr Schoenenberg Grand Cru Riesling (killer stuff... bone dry), rocks... plain and simple. I love Riesling... The 1998 Comte George de Vogue Le Musigny was good but not as good as it has been in the past. The 2004 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon (killer stuff, here...) makes my head spin. Glad I've got some in my cellar...

yummy... such gems as 2005 Mommessin Clos de Tart (love the 05), 2001 Clos de Tart (amazing), 1996 Clos de Tart (good), 2005 Mommessin Gevery-Chambertin 1er Cru "Lavaux St. Jacques", a killer 2005 Meursault, about 8 Cru Beaujolais, and a few other gems from last night... 2000 DRC Richebourg (young), 1999 Jacques Prieur Volnay-Santenots Premier Cru (beautiful nose, less appealing palate), 2001 Guigal Cote-Rotie (earthy), 2004 Jadot Puligny-Montrachet (minerally and elegant), 2004 Dagueneau Pur Sang (sharp, not the best bottle), 1995 Araujo Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon (stunning), 1995 Chateau Calon-Segur (really good), 1985 Chateau Haut-Brion (3 different bottles - 1 great, 2 outstanding) 1997 Dunn Howell Mountain (loads of brett here), 2003 Phelps Backus (a monster!), 2003 Peter Michael Les Pavots (rock star), 1994 Bryant Family, and 1996 Dalla Valle "Premiere Napa Valley" Barrel #41 (amazing wine... drunk like a 1999... great stuff.) Cabernet... all huge, with the Dalla Valle being a huge surprise - absolutely gorgeous.... also had the 1999 Tirecoul "Cuvee Madame" Monbazillac...

Another Light Lunch...

just like last year, but bigger and better...

1979 Krug Collection Champagne Magnum, 1990 Krug Clos du Mesnil Champagne, 1966 Leroy Meursault 1er Cru "Pezerolles", 1959 Trapet Gevry-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Caillerets", 1996 Clos de Tart, 1961 Chateau Latour, 1949 Chateau Haut-Brion, 1990 Penfold's Grange, 1990 Guigal "La Turque" Cote-Rotie, 1998 L'Ermita Priorato, 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico, 1975 Quinta da Noval "Nacional", 2003 Inniskillin Sparkling Vidal Icewine, 1990 Chateau d'Yquem, 2002 Masetto, 1990 Dom Perignon Rose Magnum

I think that was it(!!?!?!?)... I'll write about them tomorrow afternoon.

Holy Crap!

Well... I passed my MS... won the Krug Cup... stunned. Completely stunned. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my journey. Feels amazing... I'll write more later about it. Last night was 1994 Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon and 2001 Vitus Terrarum (La Mancha, Spain).

This Week

2001 Far Niente, 2000 Sparr Schoenenberg Grand Cru Riesling (killer stuff... bone dry), 1998 Comte George de Vogue Le Musigny, 2004 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon (killer stuff, here...)

05 Burgundy and Clos de Tart

yummy... such gems as 2005 Mommessin Clos de Tart, 2001 Clos de Tart, 1996 Clos de Tart, 2005 Mommessin Gevery-Chambertin 1er Cru "Lavaux St. Jacques", a killer 2005 Meursault, about 8 Cru Beaujolais, and a few other gems from last night...

Yum

Let's see... 2000 DRC Richebourg, 1999 Jacques Prieur Volnay-Santenots Premier Cru, 2001 Guigal Cote-Rotie, 2004 Jadot Puligny-Montrachet, 2004 Dagueneau Pur Sang, 1995 Araujo Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon, 1995 Chateau Calon-Segur, 1985 Chateau Haut-Brion (3 different bottles - 1 great, 2 outstanding)

Studying

I still have lots to write about, but don't expect many reviews, just a listing of wines over the next few weeks... too much to study...

The Bad Boys of Cali Cabs

hmmm.... big guns tonight... 1997 Dunn Howell Mountain, 2003 Phelps Backus, 2003 Peter Michael Les Pavots, 1994 Bryant Family, and 1996 Dalla Valle "Premiere Napa Valley" Barrel #41 Cabernet... all huge, with the Dalle Valle being a huge suprise - absolutely gorgeous.... also had the 1999 Tirecoul "Cuvee Madame" Monbazillac... awesomely sweet candied nose... I'll eventually go into more depth...

The View From The Top Of The Cliff

Well... here I go... about to take the leap off the of tasting cliff... the process of not just learning, but mastering the art of blind tasting is a matter of several things... you must first have a very strong base in theory (for instance, knowing that the Southern Rhone generally uses larger oak barrells that impart a more neutral oak flavor into the wine, or that Rioja uses American Oak, what cool climate wines look like in a glass, etc. - and learning to identify all of the characteristics.) That part is finite - you can learn all you can learn, and then you are where you need to be. You also need to have a very strong- and accurate - perception of the different components of wine - acidity, alcohol, tannin, fruit characteristics, length, oak, body - moderate plus and high alcohols are two very different things - and can mean two very different things when trying to analyze a wine. All of these are things that can be learned - they are the parts of the blind tasting process that you have to master. The last part - the most important part - is not something that can be learned - it is more of an instinct - you have to learn to trust that you are correct in your descriptions - and that you can use all of you descriptions to help you get where you are going. That takes experience - and a faith in your abilities - analytical, theory, and the "x" factor. I'm about to try to take the leap of faith that I do in fact know what I'm talking about and that I do know what's going on... this is the single most critical point in my tasting career thus far... wish me luck.

More...

Another taste of the 1982 Chateau Latour... some 2004 Henri Boillot Montrachet (!)... some 1988 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux... and finally... 1995 Domaine Leroy Richebourg... not a bad 24 hours, huh? I'll comment later... but that Leroy Richebourg is something else...

Grand Vin

quite a few wines from Clos de Tart including the 2002 La Forge 1er Cru Morey-St.-Denis, 2003 Beaune "Greves" 1er Cru and 2003 Clos de Tart... Also tried one bottle of 1982 Chateau Latour... stunning. I'll write more when I have time...

Oh no... more Abacus, Hillside, and Musigny

Ho hum... The 2001 Opus One from Magnum was ok... very Bordeaux-like (at this very young age, even...) Classic, and a very good- Opus. The 1996 Edizione Pennino Zinfandel from Niebaum-Coppola was hot, spicy and powerful... a great Zinfandel that has aged as gracefully as Zin can... The ZD Abacus VII is as it was last week - exceptional. The 2002 Shafer Hillside Select, our last bottle - was as it was last week - slightly closed. The 1900 Irmes & Borges Colheita (1947 bottling date) was amazing... nutty and powerful. Still has a long, long way to go. The star of the night, and an amazing wine, was the 1998 Comte George de Vogue Musigny Vieilles Vignes. A classic example of the great Le Musigny vineyard, this mind-blowing wine had notes of clove, strawberries and rhubarb - and an unmistakable nose... the wine is silky-smoth, and is like satin on the tongue... a phenomenol baby. One of the great Burgundies of my life... of course I have often said I'd rather have a great Le Musigny than Romanee-Conti...

'Tis The Season

The 2004 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Spatlese, Rheingau is awesome. Displaying the vintage's super-high acidity with awesome minerality. Just starting to show petrol. The 2003 Ramey Chardonnay "Hyde Vineyard" is always one of my favorites - and in my mind, one of the best Chardonnay's in California. This vintage is showing almost a little too much oak... there is a tiny bit of wood tannin on the finish on this wine, and it's not flattering. The lush fruit is there, but the minerality is overpowered by oak. The 2001 Jadoot Pommard rocks... what a great, moderately priced Burgundy this is... showing pretty earth and a structured backbone. The 2001 Opus One does not rock... we tasted it after the 2003 Joseph Phelps Backus Cabernet Sauvignon (which does rock), so that might have had something to do with it.. but it came off thin. The Backus is intense and very, very powerful. Lots of fruit and spice. I don't think this will last all that long, but it sure is fun now. The 1995 Chateau Pichon-Baron was tightly wound and seems like it's ready to explode. The 1995s have had a very, very long sleep and are just starting to awaken. The length is impressive, and the pure fruit has been replaced by blackberries with cigar box, tobacco, and loads of graphite. Lots of tannin on this one, though. The 1990 Chateau Certan de May, Pomerol was not showing well in two bottles tonight. Lots of stewed fruit and earth with little of the great elegance the other bottles have shown. The star of the night, and a fabulous wine, was the 1986 Chateau Haut-Brion. Very, very cedary with tons of mushrooms and classic Haut-Brion bacon fat. A powerful wine, it's also very dirty - in a good way. All of that gravel comes through on the long finish. While not close to the great Haut-Brions I've had, this one is pretty good.

Power Trip

Two great nights... very different, but both very good. Lots of powerful wines here...

Wednesday night saw the last of the 1997 Gaja Costa Russi go out, and boy was it beautiful. Simply stunning stuff with layers of earth, clove, rose petals, blackcurrants and cherries. Very powerful and needs some time. The 1997 Heitz Martha's Vineyard was the best 1997 Cali Cab I've had in a long time. Most are fading, but this one is built for the long haul. Still showing considerable fruit (one of the few that actually) to go along with those massive tannins. I still think the tannins will win out in the end (they almost always do), but this wine has at least another 10 years left in it for improvement. Classic mint and eucalyptus nose... The 1990 Chateau Certan de May, Pomerol rocks... a bucket of cedar chips and tobacco leaves, this is classic gravelly Pomerol. Full of life. The 1995 Chateau Beychevelle was a bit underwhelming. A little fat and ripe. Certainly silky and smooth, but where's the acid? I know I'm forgetting a lot... hopefully I'll remember.

Last night was fabulous... The 2000 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune Riesling is simply stunning. One of the great whites I've ever tried... as was a few weeks ago. The 2003 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon showed big tonight. The tannins are powerful, but the layers of ripe, layered fruit make the wine very well balanced. Not incredible, but very good. The 2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon was the weakest bottle of this I've had. Could be starting to shut. Lots of tannin, not a lot of the silky fruit that I'm used to with this wine. Could be the bottle, could be the wine. The ZD Abacus VII is a great wine. Tasted two separate bottles - both showing subtle dfferences. Bottle 1 was more cedary and evolved, bottle 2 was more fruit driven. Both are awesome. So powerful and beautiful. Tasted the ZD Abacus VIII the other day and while it was good, it's not great, and certainly not the VII. Had the 2001 Jarvis Cabernet Sauvignon, 1996 Jarvis Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2001 Jarvis Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The 01's are stunning example... powerful with a long, tannic finish of black fruits. Great stuff - typical of the 2001 vintage. The 1996 showed green tannins and cedar and was not perfect. Very good - yes, but not stunning.

One of the great wine's I've ever tried, and certainly the best from this vineyard, the 1988 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg was simply without words. The nose was vibrant clove, truffles, black earth, cedar, sweet cherry, strawberry and rhubarb - a simply perfect Richebourg nose. At 19 years of age, this wine is till a youngster. On the palate, the flavors simply explode on the palate in a powerful wave. The clove and truffles come forward followed by cherries, rhubard and a hint more clove. A mind-blowing wine with amazing vibrancy and balance. Simply perfect in my mind.

A New One

Had a tasting with Jean Trimbach yesterday and tasted through some great wines... the 2003 Cuvee Frederick Emile was fat, plump, and full of citrus and seering minerality. Picked at 12.5% natural alcohol, this wine still has acidic freshness that most of the 03's lack. The 2000 Reserve Personell Pinot Gris is fat, ripe, fruit driven, and has a steely, mineraly backbone. Really good... the 2000 Gewurztraminer Vendages Tardive is round and opulent with beautiful acidity (picked at 180 g/l - the result after fementation is 55g/l rs - though it is so balanced you hardly taste the sweetness). Bravo!

Had the 1997 Comtes Georges de Vogue "Musigny" go out last night... while I wasn't blown away, this is an outstanding Burgundy. I think it needs time, as there was a strong mocha-toast element on the nose that should continue to integrate into the wine. A long, long, finish - but not as elegant as other Musigny I've had in the past. It just wasn't all that silky.

Ho Hum

It's so difficult... Had the 2002 Shafer Hillside Select, 1996 Beaucastel C-d-P and the 2001 Louis Jadot Pommard (which was really, really good - very typical Pommard - but I continue to be impressed by this vintage!) Saturday night...

The Top

Of The Heap... There was only one wine of note tonight, but I'm finding it very difficult to be anything but overjoyed at the 1994 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. While this is the the 2nd time in the last month I've had the extreme joy of tasting this magnificent wine, I can not be anything but amazed. This is it. This is The One. When expectations are this high, it's tough to be anything but disappointed. Not in this case... this bottle was better. As I've written about in the past, the best wines have a certain texture and simply overwhelm the palate. This wine is more 1989 Romanee-Conti than 1982 Chateau Latour - it's soft and supple, though there is still a very impressive, and powerful, tannic structure. The nose is pure mint, eucalyptus, cedar, black fruit and earth. The palate is simply stunning... the wine hits your mouth and it's like "OK, this is good, but it's not... HOLY CRAP!!!"... and it just explodes - making all of your tastebuds scream at once (in a good way)... It's a silky, powerful wine with immense fruit (still, at 13 years of age!), and at the same time is so light and sexy... this is stunning stuff and while I'm not ready to proclaim this the best wine I've ever had, this now is in the Top 10... which I haven't recapped in a while... so, lets... 10. 1999 DRC Le Montrachet 9. 1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne 8. 1955 Chateau Haut Brion 7. 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 6. 1990 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune Riesling 5. 1994 Bryant Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 4. 1961 Chateau Latour 2. 1982 Chateau Latour & 2001 Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1. 1990 Jacques Frederick Mugnier "Le Musigny" Vieilles Vignes - I'm not really sure what, if anything, can ever beat this wine for me... There are so many wines that come close - 1990 Margaux, 1982 Cheval Blanc, all of the DRCs that I get to try, Shafer Hillside Select (1994, 2001, 2002), old Spottswoode (1987, 1991, 1994, 1997 - all from Magnum), old Dominus (1987 from Magnum - I am a self-proclaimed Dominus hater, but this wine is incredible), 1990 d'Yquem, 1998 von Buhl Forster Ungeheuer TBA, 1964 Eitelsbacher BA, 1982 Pichon Baron, 1989 Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage, 1990 Guigal La Mouline Cote Rotie, 1975 Petrus... I could go on and on. All of these wines are legendary - but they're not the Le Musigny. By the way, the Anchor Porter I'm drinking right now rocks... awesome chocolaty-flavor!

Cool...

The 2002 Nicolas Joly "Les Clos Sacres" Savenierres rocks... a gold-colored wool-bomb... incredible minerals, very tightly wound with just a hint of RS. Amazing... could have saved it for a decade. The 2001 Las Rocas Garnacha Vieilles Vignes was finally ready to drink... Grenache changes so much as it ages... a rhubarb-fest when young, it turns into cherries and spice. A great wine - and the right price too!

Last night was the 1992 Opus One which isn't really bad, it's just bad... if you have it, I strongly encourage you to drink up while you still can. Green with no fruit. The 1989 Remoissenet Gevry-Chambertin "Les Caizerets" Premier Cru was fabulous... the 89s are still babies - if you get the right producer and the right wine. It took a good 4 hours to open up (!). Started out with clove and a wet leaf and heavy earth note and more of a black-berry fruit profile. Turned into tobacco leaves, cedar, earth, earth, and earth. Still fairly powerful, as a good Gevry should be. Beautiful!!! The 2002 Shafer Hillside continues to amaze... The 1996 Chateau Beaucastel is an awesome wine. I didn't think too much of it over a year ago, but it finally came around! (or I finally came around...). Showed the same as Saturday night, so I won't repeat.

Fun

What a fun two nights... Friday night was the 2004 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon which has started to open... but remains a big, brooding wine. The 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan was beautiful... so cedary with lots of dusty clay. A very nice, long finish. Certainly time to drink, but a wonderful experience.

Saturday was more of a candy store... The 1994 Opus One continues to impress - the classic herbal note with black plums, cedar, and tobacco. More Bordeaux-like than California Cab. The 2001 Guigal Cote-Rotie (half-bottle) was pretty - very soft and minty. The 2000 Guigal Hermitage was a slightly-off bottle, but still wonderful - lots of earth and dirt. A great cheese wine. The 1996 Chateau Beaucastel is showing so pretty - notes of raspberry and spicy dirt. It's so barnyardy... great length. The 1999 Domaine Guyon Echezeaux was a great Echezeaux - very silky and actually somewhat reserved. A little a-typical for this vineyard in that it was missing (and this is a good thing) it's rusticity. The 1996 Edizione Pennino (Niebaum-Coppola's Rubicon Estate) Zinfandel was beautiful. It's not Ridge, and didn't age like a great Ridge, but it was darn good. Out of magnum, this was showing lots of bramble without the super-alcohol that most of today's zins have. I could actually drink a nice glass of this. The 1995 Mastrojianni Brunello di Montalcino was soft and approachable with incredibly dry fruit and tannin. The 1997 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon rocks... a powerhouse with a chocolately dustiness that only Dunn Howell has. Lots of tannin with great balance though. This is still a baby and could easily go another 10 or 20 years, like all of the great Dunns from the past. Perhaps one of the few 1997s that is still young. Finally, 2 bottles of the 2002 Shafer Hillside Select. This is a monster and is starting to shut... bottle one was tasted after 5 hours and was beautiful. Lots of fruit and just perfect nose - powerful, extracted, but layers and layers of fruit and earth. Amazing... bottle 2 was closed and tight with forbodding tannins. If you are one of the fortunate few to have this in your cellar, don't open it for another 5 years at least... it needs the time.

Some Great Wines

But all in all, it's been a slow week... started out Monday with Doug Shafer going through the current releases. The 2005 Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay is a departure in style from their previous efforts... There is no malo and it appears they reduced the % of new oak on the wine, leaving a clean, crisp - yet powerful - Chardonnay. Really good... The 2004 Shafer Merlot rocks... this is one of the great Merlot's year in and year out. Spicy, chocolately and full of tannic power, this drinks more like a restrained Cab than a Merlot. Really nice. The 2004 Shafer One-Five Cabernet Sauvignon is a new label for them (they are no longer making the regular Cabernet Sauvignon) and I was frankly not terribly impressed. It seemed much lighter than the blockbuster Merlot and was not terribly appealing. The 2003 Shafer Relentless (80% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah) is mammoth... one of the best they've ever made of this wine. Always a favorite, this is powerful and spicy, but elegant. More like a powerful Hermitage than a finesse-driven Cote Rotie. The 1994 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon was showing like it has been... very cedary and powerful. A great wine. The 2002 was showing superbly on Monday... It showed a silky side that I hadn't experienced before. Goosebumps...

Tuesday was awful, Wednesday was spent studying, and today was ok. The 2004 Lewis Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon continues to get better and better... The cocoa powder was showing tonight!!! Thick and rich... I'd wait on my bottles. The 1993 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg was good - if not a tad on the light side. It was quite powerful for the first 5 minutes, then opened a little, then slowly died an awful death... Cedar, underbrush, truffles, clove and cherries - the classic Richebourg nose. Finesse with power. Beauty with hints of braun. And then, it was gone...

An Fabulous Quintet

First, from Friday... The 1995 Chateau Pape-Clement is just a classic earth-and-gravel Bordeaux from Pessac-Leognan. So rustic and pretty, this is still a baby. The 1996 Chateau Pichon-Lalande makes me wish I had one in my cellar... loads of mocha, coffee, tobacco, leather and black fruits. A long, elegant finish. The 1996 & 1997 Cain 5 tasted side by side... the 1996 is the superior wine. The 1997 has lost it's fruit and is all tannin... the 1996, while having hints of mint and a little green pepper, still has tons of fruit and is a wonderful wine...

Now, on to last night... started with the 2000 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune Riesling (from the Grand Cru Rosacker in Hunawihr, Alsace)... wow. A stunner. Simply unbelieveable. So much petrol, but amazing depth of flavors - rose petals, crushed stones, pears, apricots - layer upon layer... it is a very difficult wine to really understand and express, because the wine is so subtle. One of the greats... The 2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon continues to blow me away... nothing more needs to be said. The 1998 Penfold's Grange was showing a touch better last night than it did a week ago... this bottle was less developed and hadn't closed up yet. Raspberries!!! The 1900 Borges & Irmao Colheita Port (bottled 1947) was a mind-blowing experience. This wine went through so many phases in the 2 hours it was opened... The color was a very light brownish/ruby that was perfectly clear... the first taste was incredible - very powerful with caramel and citrus notes on a long, long finish of hazelnuts. As it opened up, the intense caramel flavors softened revealing an unappealing citrusy- overly acidic port... we had given up. After another hour, the wine had evolved... the citrus was there, but then the nutty finish came through offering balance to the acid... I love wine... Also had the 1998 Dom Perignon last night, which is nothing special.

Hmmmm

1995 Chateau Pape-Clement, 1996 Pichon-Lalande, 1996 Cain 5, 1997 Cain 5, 2000 Mommessin Pommard

Big Post - Saturday & 2004 Bordeaux

Ok, first Saturday night... The 1994 Opus One could be the finest example of this wine I've ever had (that's Opus One in general)... could this be the last of the quality, agable wines from this estate? Full of cedary spice with black plums and a freshness I've never experienced from Opus ever before. It has the classic anise quality to it as well. I wouldn't sit on this much more, but it's a great wine. Tasted side by side was the 2002 Opus One. This is a blockbuster, young, full-throttle 2002. I don't think it has a future after the next few years, but it's a good wine that was made to drink young. All black fruit and anise. Good, but not amazing. The 2000 Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva was good, but not special. I tasted this just to refresh my palate to Chianti Classico Riserva quality wines. Dry, dry, dried fruit... cranberries and cherries with dusty earthiness. A good example, but not a great wine. The 2000 Roumier Morey St.-Denis 1er Cru (the vineyard escapes me) is a wine that is ready to drink... black earth, mushrooms and rhubarb. Very good, but not the best. A nice food wine. On to the greats... The 1998 Penfold's Grange is amazing... the best Grange I've ever had, and it makes me glad I have it in my personal cellar. At 9 years old, this wine is just starting to unravel. After going through a bit of a dumb period, this wine has emerged with glorious cedar and raspberry notes with an earthiness not found in any other South Australian wine... this has always been a unique wine. I won't open mine for at least another 10-20 years when it really starts to show its stuff. After 4 hours of decanting, the wine shut completely again. I will bet that in another 3-4 years the 1998 Grange will go into another slumber - a very long slumber - and will come out of it with mind-blowing length, depth, and bredth. A stunner. Equally as stunning, and finally showing true character was the 1998 von Buhl Forster Ungeheuer Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, Pfalz, Germany. It finally turned a dark-goldish brown color and has the intensity like no other sweet wine I've ever had. The finish of sweet apricots and honey lasts for minutes - I didn't eat or drink anything for 20 minutes after my last sip and I could still taste it. One of the great sweet wines I've ever tasted. Amazing... Also tasted the 2002 Veraison Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - a great wine for the money and the mountain characteristics of this vineyard really came through with it's inky color and sweet-extracted fruit.

Had a whirlwind day yesterday. Went to the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove yesterday for a tasting of the release of the 2004 Bordeaux. While there were unfortunately no first-growths represented, there were some amazing wines and I came away with a good impression of the quality across all of the areas of Bordeaux in 2004. I won't go through them all (I tasted 70+ wines in 1 1/2 hours), but rather hit the highlites (and lowlites). The Graves whites were on the whole very good. It seemed like most producers toned the oak down a little bit on the whites and therefore the grassy-grapefruit of the Sauvignon was more clearly deliniated. The 2004 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafite was the highlite with a complex, slightly cheesy nose. The reds were not my favorite. Though nice enough, there was not wow factor. I tasted quite a few wines from St.-Emilion, and in general, the quality was mediocre. The 2004 Ausone hadn't come together yet, but I can already tell this is not a great wine - a green note predominated the nose and palate. Pomerol fared better... the 2004 Chateau Clinet was pretty - had great color, a beautiful chocolatey-nose and a long, lingering finish. A winner. I also enjoyed the 2004 La Conseillante - this is a powerful Pomerol! On to Margaux, which I thought did very well in 2004. The 2004 Chateau Dufort-Vivens was marvelous... so sweet, silky and floral. Great wine. The 2004 Chateau Kirwan rocked... one of the best wines of the day, this has everything Margaux is supposed to offer. I thought the 2004 Chateau Lascombes was good - if you're not a fan of Bordeaux - more like California Cab than Bordeaux - you can have it. I was very interested to taste this wine as this has become a "Parker darling" since Michel Rolland took on a consulting role here... you can tell it's one of his wines. I didn't taste enough St.-Estephe to form a full opinion, but on the whole, they were ok, not great though. The 2004 St.-Juliens were very good... my favorite was the 2004 Chateau Gruaud-Larose. A powerful, tannin, classic example from this estate with one of the longer finishes... The 2004 Chateau Talbot was notable because it was a very poor example... green and lacking any real fruit and any real depth. The 2004 Pauillacs were a mixed bag- many were very good (Chateau Pichon-Baron - thick and powerful) and many were very bad (d'Armaillac & Clerc-Milon - neither had any depth and zero mid-palate.) The Sauternes, I thought, were generally good. The 2004 Chateau Coutet was outstanding. Some suffered from being unbalanced, others thin, but most were rich and wonderful.

So, I liked Margaux, Pauillac, and Sauternes - all in patches. It's a "be careful what you buy" vintage and don't buy anything you haven't tasted first...

Last night was the 1999 Antoine Rodet/ Jacques Prieur Volnay-Santenots Premier Cru. The nose on this wine is gorgeous... earth, rhubarb, strawberries - it's a silky, sexy wine that needs food and screams escargot. I wish I had some at home...

Ok... so... what?

The 1998 Frigalli Brunello di Montalcino is good, but this bottle had a bit of a volatile acidity problem last night. Dried fruits and power... ok for a 1998. The 2004 Lewis Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon is a big burly wine (as R said "I don't know how you can DRINK this stuff"... well, I can't... I have a lot of California Cabs in my cellar - which might suprise many of you - but they are there for a reason. My guys like them when we go on our wine trips...) Give it another 3 or 4 years and let it soften. The 1995 Chateau Leoville Las Cases was not a great example of this bottle. It was a bit rustic, and though the 1995s still need a lot more time, this didn't show any sense of Las Cases silkiness.

Went to a Spanish tasting yesterday morning and all I can say is WTF? I am all for modern winemaking techniques and all, but when you start aging the floral, clean, and crisp Albarino in barriques for 8 months and batonnage all the time, you end up with an oaky piece of shit. An expensive oaky piece of shit. Of the 35 wines I tasted, maybe three showed where they were from (one Albarino, one Verdejo from Rueda, and a vintage Cava). Everything else had Chardonnay or Sauvignon blended into it. It's a shame that the grapes of the region can not be respected for what they are. This tasting made me angry, especially after the Consejo Regulador for Rioja announced that Chardonnay and Sauvignon are now permitted varietals for white Rioja. That's one of the stupiest decisions I've ever heard of... but wait a few years and Cabernet Sauvginon and Syrah will be given the OK for red Rioja too. Rioja should taste like Rioja... not an extracted mass of crap. That's what the Vino de la Tierra system was created for... it's like a Super-Tuscan for Rioja. I'm ok with that. Just keep the integrity of the DOCa in tact, please?

Weekend Wines

A nice set of some really nice stuff... The 1997 Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvingon from 3-Liter was very good. As a good number of the 97s are continuing to dye off, this wine is till drinking so well. Cedary black currants... The ZD Abacus is a great wine... a blend of every vintage made of ZD Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Its not a blockbuster wine, but rather a soft and silky Cabernet that shows grace and beauty. Expensive? Sure... but it's really good. The 1952 Chateau Margaux goes to show you what fill level really means to great wine... The fill was the lowest of 10 bottles we've opened and this was certainly the 2nd or 3rd best bottle of this. Amazing how that works... All cedary flowers... it's like walking into a great cigar store. The 2004 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Berg, Wachau, Austria is so pretty... a petroly, apple and pear driven youngster. Already showing that beautiful oiliness that defines riesling, this wine has a long way to develop, but was a joy to drink on its own. My favorite wine of the weekend though was the 2004 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Botella Vineyard, Santa Barbara... wow. This is about as great as SB Pinot gets... smokey rhubarb and strawberries with a sweet, earthy finish. Powerful but elegant... a beauty!

Yum

Some great wines yesterday... First, the 2004 Joseph Drouhin Chablis "Les Clos" Grand Cru is awesome... they stopped using new oak on any of their Chablis starting with the 2004 vintage and the result is a full, round, fabulous chardonnay with piercing acidity and laser-like minerality. A stunning example of this, the greatest of all Chablis Grand Crus. This will start to open and round in a few years and will eventually be a mature, beautiful Chablis (give it maybe 10 years or so). Far superior to the 2003 Les Clos... The 2003 Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches Blanc is fat and round with loads of hazelnut, popcorn and oaky richness. The 2003 Joseph Drouhin Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is good, but I've never been blown away by this wine. I don't love Clos de Vougeot... never have, probably never will. The 2004 Joseph Drouhin Musigny Grand Cru however, is divine... if I could old have one wine in my cellar for the rest of my life, it would be without question Musigny. The most seductive, silkiest, and sexiest of all Grand Crus (even more so than La Tache and Romanee-Conti), the texture never fails to amaze. It's like drinking satin. Clove, cinnamon, strawberries, smoke and rhubarb are the dominant flavors, but this is a texture wine. I can't do it justice...

The 1996 Quintessa was good and certainly much better than I remember it to be... Just a hint of green steminess that I associate with older vintages of this wine. Will last a good while longer... The 1985 Domaine Leroy Volnay 1er Cru is so pretty... a very, very light wine that is still a decade away from maturity. Very soft earth notes with sweet cherry and strawberry fruit. Volnay tends to be powerful in its youth, then shed the power quickly... Pommard tends to keep its power.

Joseph Phelps

Had a nice dinner last night featuring the wines of Joseph Phelps - one of the most consistant, if not overly glamourous, wineries that have ever existed in California. The 2005 Sauvignon Blanc is nice and crisp with perhaps a little bit of maloactic fermentation and a little of of lees stirring (both promote a creaminess and a richer texture in wines). Nice fruitiness with a grapefruit punch. Really nice, not an in your face style. The 2004 Le Mistral was my least favorite wine of the night. To me, this syrah based wine, was a bit too "Pinotage" for me... tasted like there was a little too much sulphur and had a rubber-boot character to it. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley was a nice effort. Classic black currant and cinnamon with notes of anise and plums. This wine needs a little time to settle down, but the soft tannins and ripe finish make this a very nice wine. The 2003 Insignia was showing very well last night. I had tasted it before, but had never been overly impressed by it. It is quite a bit lighter than the 2001 and 2002, but it has an elegant streak that those wines don't show right now. Has a long, cedary finish with plums and violets. The 1996 Insignia (magnum) was pretty. The last 2 of the 3 magnums showed more fruit than the first. Plums, cherry candy, cedar with an elegant finish. The wine is very, very good, but I wouldn't be holding these wines any longer.

At This Rate...

It's going to be one heck of a year... worked 3 nights, had quite a few memorable wines already!!! Can't forget about the 2004 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Pouilly de Fume "Silex" is amazing... simply the best Sauvignon I've ever tasted (and I've tasted it a few times now...) Last night was the last bottle of 1994 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon - this has developed into a Bordeaux-like behemoth. This wine is still massive, but has so much cedar and earth... wonderful. Last night saw the first bottle of 1994 Bryant Family Vineyards "Pritchard Hill" Cabernet Sauvignon go out and though I've had this in the past, I don't remember it being quite like this. I used to always like Bryant better than Harlan (but let's first talk about how crazy that statement is...) and I think I still do... this wine is phenomenal. Could be the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon I've ever had (perhaps even eclipsing the monumental 2001 Harlan Estate)... So much mint with sweet cherries, cedar, black currant and a finish that keeps on going and going... Eucalyptus and such a silky, sexy wine. This is so soft and velvety... The way I described it was like a great Chateau Margaux (California-ized, for the record). Which made me think - all of the great cult wines of California behave differently - so, how to they compare the the great Bordeaux Chateau?

Bryant Family Vineyards = Chateau Margaux
Harlan Estate = Chateau Latour
Shafer Hillside Select = Chateau Haut-Brion
Screaming Eagle = Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
Colgin = Chateau Lafite-Rothschild

Just my opinion though...

It Only Takes One...

(or in this case, two - bottles, that is)... tried two different bottles of the absolutely stunning 1995 Chatau Latour... though the lowest rated of the first growths in 1995, I think that this one is a monster waiting to be unleashed. The bottles were quite different, despite coming from the same case (I have always experienced a tremendous amount of bottle variation amongst the first growths, despite the vintage). The first time I tried this wine was last February and I noted at the time (on two separate occasions) that this wine was closed and note very giving. Well, the sleeping giant has started to awaken... giving beautiful notes of cedar and mocha with sweet currants, plums, black olives and amazing concentration. I still don't think this is the 82 or the 90, this is certainly along the lines of the 85 or 86, and quite a bit better than the 83. One bottle was more developed than the other. Such pretty, pretty wines... Chateau Latour is my favorite Bordeaux Estate by far...

A Great Start

to '07... The 2002 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is a fabulous wine. It opened up a little bit and is now displaying gorgeous fruit and a nice mocha nose... awesome. The 1995 Chateau Angelus is always a winner, though it appeared, as most of the 1995s do right now, to be a bit tight and closed. Nice cedar coming through. The 2000 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux is drinking so pretty right now. If you have the 00, 01 and 02, drink the 00 while the other two develop. Cherry, cinnamon, and clove... beautiful. The 1989 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux is mind blowing and goes to the top of the 2007 list. An immense, powerful wine, this is all earth, cedar and black cherries. It took about an hour or so to open up, and then blossomed. It has a lot of earth, but is so pure with its fruit. This is what makes GE so much better than the E... One of the great Burgundies I've had...

Darn it...

I FORGOT THE 2002 HARLAN!!! ARGH!!! If it was really that great though, shouldn't I have remembered to put it in there? Well, it is, and I did, so it goes it at... 8 1/2... It's my list and I can do what I want...

Top 31 of 2006

1 -2001 Harlan Estate
1 -1982 Chateau Latour (bottle #5)
3- 1999 DRC Montrachet
3- 2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignin
5-1955 Chateau Haut-Brion
6-1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
7-1990 Krug (magnum)
8-1975 Petrus
9-1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne
10-1989 DRC Romanee-Conti
11-1999 Guigal Cote Rotie "La Mouline"
12-1990 Guigal Cote-Rotie "La Mouline"
13-1989 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle
14-1994 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon
15-1994 Vega Sicilia Unico
16-1985 DRC Echezeaux
17-2000 Bouchard La Romanee
18-1988 Krug (Magnum)
19-1953 Chateau d’Yquem
20-1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc
21-1998 Penfold’s Grange
22-1996 Gaja Sperss
23-1976 Leroy Romanee-St.-Vivant
24-1989 DRC Romanee-Saint-Vivant Morey Monge
25-1995 Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
26-1990 Herm Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshole Riesling Auslese
27-1976 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese
28-2004 Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly "Silex"
29-1985 Louis Roederer Cristal (Magnum)
30-1985 Domaine Leroy Volnay 1er Cru
32-1999 Louis Roederer Cristal
33-1990 Dom Perignon Rose (Magnum)

Happy New Year!

Wow... a great night last night to close out 2006... Quite a lot of great wine... Where to begin... the 1995 Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino was good, not great, but lots of dried cranberries and a sweet, oaky finish. The 1995 Mastrobernardini Radici Taurasi is so earthy and dried (as Aglianico is) but with a good bit of power. Pretty. The 1995 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill is as it was the night before. The 1999 Louis Roederer Cristal is finally showing some age... this wine has started to soften and the tightly-wound character and harder-edges is gone. Brioche and spiced pears... amazing length. The 1998 Ornellaia was good, but I'm not upset this was the last bottle... The 1996 Opus One is fading... still a pretty wine with plenty of anise and blackberries, but the cedar and brown-earth notes are starting to become more prevalant. If you have some, I would drink up. We had two bottles (again!) of the 1995 Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, giving us four bottles in the last two days. I thought it the night before, but last night confirmed it. This wine is amazing... still massive at 11 years old, this is just starting to show signs of opening. Simply gorgeous with a long life ahead... both bottles were similar, and this now makes it onto the list... Finally, we did a mini-vertical of Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon - 1994 and 2002. While I thought this was the weakest of the 1994s we've had so far, it was still gorgeous, but the 2002 simply overpowered, out-finessed and completely blew away the 1994. The 2002 deserves its spot, while the 1994 makes the list as well. Cheers, and thank you for reading.

A Good Night...

The 2001 Stags Leap Wine Cellars "Fay" Cabernet Sauvignon in 3L was finally showing well... the 4th 3L that we've sold, this wine is showing cedar notes and a kind of minty-softness on the nose that follows to the palate. A nice wine. The 1995 Pol Roger "Sir Winston Churchill" Brut rocks... nuts and toast, nuts and toast... a long, long finish. The 1995 Araujo "Eisele Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon was showing as well as it ever has... after 3 hours, it had finally opened enough to really show... Black plums and cedar with eucalyptus and currants. A very, very long concentrated finish. Showing beautifully at 11 years of age. The 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico is simply one of the great wines on our wine list right now. It's like eating a piece of fennel - licorice with a certain "woodiness"... or Black Truffle wrapped in fennel... anyway, you get the idea. It tastes like Tempranillo that's spent a long time in oak (which it has...) A great, great wine, but I don't think it deserves to move up in the list right now.

Well, it's time...

It's been long enough... seen a few changes in the list since I started writing about it - a few additions, moving wines around, but all in all, it's been pretty clean... So, without further delay,
My #1 and #1 Wines of the Year... but wait, you're saying, you can't have co-#1s can you? Sure, it's my blog and I can do whatever I want (it's good to be the king)...

#1 - 2001 Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
#1 - 1982 Chateau Latour, Pauillac (bottle #5)

Why are they both #1? Well, I could not decide which was better - they are both completely perfect wines and they are at complete opposite ends of their development. The Harlan is there because of it's raw power and intensity - combined with unreal balance, incredible texture and amazing length. It is a complete wine and there is nothing I could either add or subtract to this (except maybe add a few bottles to my cellar...) to improve it. It is a benchmark wine and one that I'll remember the smell and taste of forever. The Latour is there because it too is perfect - perfectly balanced, has incredible texture and amazing length. Instead of just raw power and intensity (though it certainly has some of both), this wine has finesse and has a nose with aromatics I have never come across... The pure cedary/plummy/cigar-boxy quality to this wine is just the tip of the layer upon layer of developed fruit and earth... It just screams from the glass and leaves me at a loss for words. My guess is that if Mr. Levy & Mr. Harlan ran Latour and Mr. Engerer ran Harlan, their wines would not be much different - less the terroir. So take your pick - the Harlan is either a young Latour or the Latour is an older Harlan - either way, it was a joy to taste both this year.

More DRC

The last bottle of 1996 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache was, unfortunately, completely underwhelming. The nose was extraordinary with notes of cranberries, rhubarb, raspberries with clove and earth... left me nearly speechless... unfortunately, the palate left me equally speechless for all the wrong reasons... the wine had notes of volatile acidity, had no mid-palate and was all clove and very dried fruit... not spectacular. All in all, 7/10...

Echezeauxxxxxx

Must have been something in the air... the 1994 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux is bar far the best of the 94s that I've had... A wonderful deep earthy nose with strawberry and classic rhubarb and clove nose that DRCs always have... I'm glad there is another bottle in the cellar... Also was the 2001 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux... this has an amazing nose and continues to confirm my belief that the 2001 Red Burgundies are vastly under-rated and are showing so much terroir-driven attributes, that I think these wines might outlast the highly-acclaimed 2002s, which I was never in complete love with anyway. The nose was rose petals, clove, cinnamon, rhubarb and a deep, dark earthiness that defines Echezeaux. A great wine!

Had an amazing dining experience last night... started out with the 1996 Veuve A. Deveaux Millesime Brut, which at last check is still not imported into the United States... this is one of the great Champagnes I've ever had... I have my original tasting notes around here somewhere (from when I visited the winery in January 2004)... the yeastiness combined with the length and depth of fruit on this wine made my head spin. I had been saving it for the night since I got back and it was well worth the journey...

Merry Christmas II

! I'll post when I have time... (I have time now...) The 1996 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne was a bit closed and didn't give up a lot... very nutty with honeysuckle and lemon on the moderate finish... very good, not great... The 1998 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet "Les Pucelles" on the other had was spectacular! Piercing acidity with layers and layers of minerals, pear, and Granny Smith Apple... Awesome!!! The 2002 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine I didn't want to like... I tried so hard to hate it... and in the end, though it's not my style of wine, I have to admit - this wine is great. Very thick and concentrated with wonderful length, this is a classic of the 2002 vintage. The wine of the night was the 1999 Guigal Cote-Rotie "La Mouline"... I thought it was better than the 1990, and so I will bump the 1990 down one slot to #12 and put the 1999 in at #11 for the year... The wine just bursts from the glass with raspberry, tar, black plums, asian spices, and mocha... once you were done smelling it, the real fun begins... on the palate the wine has just the most velvety texture - it just sings in your mouth... The attack is so powerful, then gives way to pretty floral notes and finally the amazing, incredible finish. It just screams of earth and plums... the wine wants to not jump out of the glass - it wants to rocket out... One of the great wines of my life... I wouldn't be suprised if this ended up much higher on the list this year than #11 when I actually have some time to think about it... Oh yeah, the 2002 Screaming Eagle finally started to open up (!) 24 hours later and was a much more complete wine...

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas! Not a great wine night, but decent. The 2003 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay is great, not as good as the 2002, but nicely buttered and just a touch of oak. The 2004 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay is a bit more mineraly, but in the same vain as the Newton... perhaps not quite as good, but very good. The 1999 Prunotto Barolo was good, but not great. The 1995 Chateau Pichon-Baron was very good... a nice cedary Bordeaux with plums... a long life ahead. The 2004 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon was tasted again after 6 hours... fabulous, but in-your-face style. The 2002 Screaming Eagle was, well, as I always fin it, completely underwhelming. Plummy and concentrated... this wine has nothing on the 2002 Harlan or the 2002 Shafer Hillside. I would gladly drink it as it is a very good wine, but I wouldn't seek it out.

#3s

So there are 2 #3s this year... They are equally great and I could not put one in front of the other without going back and changing it... so (in no particular order)...

#3 - 2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley - see my notes from the other day... hard to believe it gets any better than this... but this year it did... twice. Tasted twice now with very consistant notes.

#3 - 1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Burgundy - yup, their entire holding is in Chassagne-Montrachet... simply one of the greatest white wines I've ever tasted (not sure if I like it more than the 1990 Latour Corton - I don't think so, but this year it seemed to be more "magical" than the LLCC). Such power with intense minerals, crushed pebbles and ripe pear. The mid-palate and the finish on this wine are incredible... goes on and on and on... worth the money.

Pre-Christmas Blahs...

pretty boring as of late, but the 1997 Tassinaia (Super-Tuscan) rocks... found two more bottles after we took it off the list. Sold one and the wine is killer... we had two corked bottles in a row but then found a good one about a month ago... great stuff... shows how overall great the 1997 Vintage in Central Italy was...

A Very Good Night

sort of... had the 2002 Casa Lapostelle Clos Apalta, Puente Alto, Chile again last night and I just can't get excited about this wine... it has all of the marks of extraction, but none of the finesse... it's a very good, but one-dimensional wine. The 2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon is amazing... one of my all-time favorite wines and certainly one of the best California Cabernets I've ever tasted, young or old. Immense anise, black currants, gravel and plums. This is a rockstar wine with silky, smooth tannins... the concentration is amazing, but at no time is it overpowering or a burden to the wine... Elias Fernandez is a genius. Anyone who can make a wine that is this pure, this balanced, and sings like this, well... he'll always get my business...

#7, #6, and #5... plus wines from last night

The 1996 Joseph Phelps Backus Cabernet Sauvignon was completely underwhelming... It was our last bottle and it's nice to have it gone. It's got a cedary-black currant-blackberry nose that is much lighter than one would think, especially from the outstanding 1996 vintage... anyway, the 2002 Ramey Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay is amazing... still one of the best California Chardonnay's I've ever had, this wine is minerals, spicy oak, apples, pears, and there is an amazing purity about the wine. I wish I had bought the magnums when I had the chance...

Anyway, back to the countdown. It will be at least Friday, if not Wednesday before I get back to writing again (busy, busy few days ahead)... So we'll scratch the next three off the list.

#7 - 1990 Krug Brut, en Magnum - without question the single greatest Champagne I've ever had (better than the 85...) This is the complete opposite to the 1988 which is silky and soft. This is raw power with layers and layers of oxidized pears, brioche, autolisys, and an immense finish... It just doesn't get any better than this. So much better than the 1990 Krug Clos du Mesnil...

This is where all of the Cabernet Sauvignon based wines come out... Despite my heart being in Alsace, Germany, and Burgundy - the best wines being made are still from this grape. There is only one non-Cab based wine from here on out...

#6 - 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Premier Cru, Pauillac - one of the legends of wine, this is the single best bottle of Mouton I've ever had (still waiting for the invite on the '45 or '47...) After being decanted for 3 hours, it was just staring to show the depth and power of this wine. So silky and simply still a baby... I wouldn't open this until 2020 if I had some and they have been stored correctly... Black plums and graphite with amazing power. A stunner - was tasted next to 1982 La Mission Haut Brion and 1990 Montrose...

#5 - 1955 Chateau Haut-Brion, Premier Cru, Pessac - the only first growth not in the Haut-Medoc, this wine is bound to be different than the other 4... And while the other 4 are very different from each other (Mouton with it's silkiness, Lafite with its cedary elegance, Latour with its power, and Margaux with the sexy nose and amazing texture), it's Haut-Brion with its bacon-fat and gravel nose that makes it the most seductive. It will never be the most elegant, but wow, when its good, its really good. And when its great, almost nothing can come close. This was the first of 5 bottles I've tasted and it was the best... Tasting like a 1975, this wine was young and didn't open for about an hour and 1/2... Beautiful texture and completely envelops all of your senses... Great wine...

Ok... all that's left is the top 3 (two are tied at #3)...

Holiday

mmm great wines last night. Started with the Piper-Heidseick Brut, which is good, but unspectacular. The Pol Roger Brut NV rocks... though not the depth of the Sir Winnie, it's a great, classic champagne halfway between Louis Roederer Brut and Bollinger. Lovely... Then we opened up a bottle of 1981 Chateau St. Jean Johannisberg Riesling Belle Terre Vineyards... 11.9% ABV, 1.9% Residual Sugar harvested at 21.9 Brix... Amazing that this wine was still alive. lasted all of 10 minutes, then turned completely. Complete oil with hazelnuts and just a tiny bit of honey and apricots. A very educational wine and it just goes to show you the aging qualities of riesling... The 2005 Dr. Thannisch Bernkastler Doctor Riesling Spatlese rocks... no oil or petrol yet, just all slate and peaches, pears and apricots. Moved onto red... the 2003 Simonnet Febvre Irancy (an area just outside of Chablis in Burgundy... this is made from 100% Pinot Noir but can use Gamay and Cesar as well.) A beautiful rose-petal nose and cranberries and rhubarb... A very, very nice Pinot Noir that is not imported into the US... yet. Only in France and Canada... The 1993 Banfi Poggio all Oro Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, en Magnum - is in full maturity and is drinking so nicely. Lovely cedar and dried cherries, cranberries and plums with soft, round tannins. Shows what happens when really good Brunello is aged to maturity... The 1986 Chateau Lynch-Bages was a superstar... Though I find it really hard to get that excited about Bordeaux any more, this could be one of the best that I've had from 1986. Certainly the best 86 Lynch Bages I've had, this bottles was flawless and was stored very kindly for the last 20 years. Black plums, cedar, cassis and with still the classic Lynch-Bages power. A really amazing wine. For dessert, the 2002 Inniskillen Vidal Ice Wine is nectar... honey, apricots, pears and a pretty sweetness. Really nice dessert wine. Followed that up with some Sandeman's Amontillado Sherry which was fabulous. A lovely end to a great meal.

Well, Change Happens...

I knew this would happen - or was it hoped this would happen?

Anyway, I moved #29 and #28 back a spot to #29 and #30, respectively. In is...

#28 - 1985 Domaine Leroy Volnay 1er Cru, Cote du Beaune, Burgundy - DRC who? Not really, but sort of. I have never tasted any Pinot Noir from any producer (yup, not even DRC) that ages like Leroy. This wine is a baby - still very tight with tremendous earth and ripe blackberries. This is not even close to the maturity mark... I need to get some of her wines... even the basic village-level wines are amazing and develop incredible depth over many years. First time having this wine...

Also tasted was the 2000 Guidalberto from Magnum, Tuscany - dried black fruits and a delicious cedar note... The first vintage of this wine was a star - an excellent bottle.

And we're off

First, the 2003 Louis Jadot/Clos des Ducs Magenta Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot (got all that?) is one of the best, well balanced white White Burgundies from the 2003 vintage. A little flashy, but pretty.

Only 15 days left in the year (or is it 16... I don't know dates)... and I'm only at number 9? Well, let's do it..

#9 - 1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne, Burgundy - Well, it had to go somewhere. Does it deserve higher? Probably, but because of what's left, this was the only spot. Amazing wine. Simply incredible concentration and depth for a 16 year old Chardonnay without the word "Montrachet" on the label... Pure liquid honey and almonds with mind-blowing structure and completely balanced acidity and alcohol. I could drink this wine forever and I will always remember the taste. Yes, this wine has history for me, but in this year, that doesn't matter that much.

Since it might be a while, let's do #8 as well...

#8 - 1975 Chateau Petrus, Pomerol - What can one say about this wine? It is amazing Merlot. This is Petrus at its silkiest, at its most sublime. A tremendous amout of cedar with a powerful attack of blackcurrants, cocoa and black earth is amazing with a never-ending finish. This wine is mythical and lives up to the hype.

Well, only 7 to go... any guesses?

The Top 10

#10 - 1989 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti, Vosne-Romanee, Burgundy - How can Romanee-Conti only be #10?!?? As great as this wine was, and as much of a "wow" factor it had, there were 9 other wines that just left me speechless... this one left me with a ton of words (which is also a good thing!)... perhaps it was too young, but this was pure finesse mixed with power. Beautiful clove, strawberry and cherries with turned black earth, dried leaves and just an amazing finish. One of the great Burgundies I've ever had, but not the greatest.

Ok... Wine #11

Since I won't have time in the next few weeks to log on everyday or even every other day, I'm starting now...

#11 - 1990 Guigal Cote-Rotie "La Mouline", Northern Rhone Valley - tasted from 2 different bottles, one a week after the other. This wine is pure earth - this is what La Mouline is. 89% Syrah, 11% Viognier (that's the planting breakdown from the avg. 60 year old vines in the 1 hectare vineyard.) Lots of raspberries and a wonderful softness to this wine that the other La La's don't have. Very worthy of being in this spot.

Nice, not great, but nice

Treasure bath!!! The 1998 Sassicaia is so silky and pretty... what a soft, cedary, beautiful wine. One of the better Sassicaia's I've had. Lots of dried plums, black currant and clove. The 1993 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg was, well, pretty crappy. The nose was there, but perhaps a little barnyardy. The palate? Nothing... perhaps it needs time, perhaps it already had it's time. I tend to go with the first... hopefully.

Let the Countdown begin!

Ok, we'll go through my favorite wines #11-29 first. Why 29? Why not! Seriously, these are the wines that stood out from the rest. Narrowing these down wasn't that difficult. It was figuring out the top 10. They are all so close, except I think the top 10 did stand out a little bit more than some of the others. Then I'll begin the slow countdown from 10 to 1, with the top 3 all posted on the same day. Since the year isn't over yet, it is highly probable that the list will change depending on what else I get to try from here on out, and I still have the sommelier's Christmas party to go through...

#29 - 1990 Dom Perignon Rose Champagne, en Magnum - I had to add this one at the last minute. A pretty and powerful wine. Deserved the last minute add on...
#28 - 1999 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Champagne - clearly one of the great Champagne's I've ever tried. Say what you will about this much-hyped, over publicized Champagne, but the 1999 is the real deal. So much so that I'd love a bottle for my cellar to lay down for a few years. The length on this is simply amazing.
#27 - 1985 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Champagne, en Magnum - I expect that in 15 years the 1999 will be better than the 1985, but this year, the 1985 was gorgeous from Magnum. Beautiful brioche and toastiness and a great freshness about this wine.
#26 - 2004 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly "Silex", Loire Valley - Sauvignon on steroids... the greatest Sauvignon behind Haut-Brion Blanc made today. So flinty with piercing adicity. Amazing wine...
#25 - 1976 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese, Rheingau, Germany - WOW! While not the greatest Riesling I've ever had, it certainly is up there... always a treat to have such great examples of wine at this age. Incredible oilyness with such stony minerality and fresh fruit, I couldn't believe it was 30 years old. I only hope the 2005s age this well...
#24 - 1990 Herm Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshole Riesling Auslese, Pfalz, Germany - From 1991 until 2004, he made good, but not great Riesling. He's back now and the 2005 will be amazing. The 1990 is just starting to mature, but was so delicious, I couldn't pass this up on the list. An amazing baby...
#23 - 1989 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-St.-Vivant Morey Monge Grand Cru, Vosne-Romanee, Burgundy - This could have easily made it into the top 10 in just about any other year for me, but not this year. Mature? Doubtful, but it was absolutely perfect the night we tried this one. Clove and subtle, soft black cherries and strawberries. The best DRC RSV I've ever had.
#22 - 1976 Domaine Leroy Romanee-St.-Vivant Grand Cru, Vosne-Romanee, Burgundy - This is the best RSV I've ever had, period. Amazing how that works... This wine was so young and fresh, it's unfortunate that we only had one good bottle of this. The other 2 were so bad, it wasn't even funny. Such wonderful earth and spice, with loads of black cherries. A bit more body than the 89 DRC RSV, and it made the difference for me.
#21 - 1996 Gaja Sperss, Langhe, Piedmont, Italy - The first bottle was by far the best. Simply stunning Nebbiolo - truffles, rose petals, dried cherries and incredible depth and length. This is serious stuff.
#20 - 1998 Penfold's Grange, South Australia - This wine has closed down a touch, which is why it isn't in the top 10. It's just beginning to show the marked raspberry note that defines Grange as it matures, coupled with an old-world style earthiness. The length is amazing, and I dont' care what RP says, this is better than the 2001.
#19 - 1982 Chateau Cheval-Blanc, Premier Grand Cru Classe "A", St.-Emilion, France - I always say this is one of the best of the 1982 Bordeaux and I still say that. Fortunately (or unfortunately for this wine) I've gotten to try what I would consider the best of the 1982's this year (less one... but I have a feeling I'll open it soon, perhaps before the end of the year) so this wine got pushed around a little bit. The classic super-cedary quality and the silky, soft texture make this an amazing wine. Not bad for Cabernet Franc and Merlot...
#18 - 1953 Chateau d'Yquem, Premier Grand Cru, Sauternes - Tasted 3 times this year, with all three of the bottles in perfect condition. Pure joy in a glass. Simply stunning that a wine this old can be this fresh and yet so developed. While not a baby anymore, this still has years to go, too bad I sold all three...
#17 - 1988 Krug Champagne, en Magnum - Thank you, Remi Krug, for making Champagne like this. This is a major celebration in a bottle here. And in magnum, well, words don't do it justice.
#16 - 2000 Bouchard La Romanee Grand Cru, Vosne-Romanee, Burgundy - When we tasted it, we described it as "Romanee-Conti, sort of." A bit more elegance than Romanee-Conti (though I'm not exactly how I can say that... ah, I know) because it has slightly less weight (there we go). Cedar and clove, I'd love to try this again in a few years...

Ok, here's where the real dividing line occurs. Each of the wines below nearly brought me to tears and their ranking is pure emotional, as they are all perfect wines in my book. Some may have tiny faults, but the entire package was more than the parts.

#15 - 1985 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru, Flagely-Echezeaux, Burgundy - A perfectly mature, amazing Echezeaux. Certainly the best I've ever had. So much for lowely Echezeaux, the red-headed stepchild of Grand Cru Burgundy. Such terroir.
#14 - 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico, Ribera del Duero, Spain - The best Spanish wine I've ever had, and with that, the best Vega Sicilia I've ever had. Immense and powerful, the current release (yup... just came out this year) is the stuff of legend. I think this wine still has tremendous potential and will only get better with time. Actually has the guts to be one of the top 3 this year, just not enough of "it".
#13 - 1994 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap Disctrict, Napa Valley - What a treat and suprise this was. Only have 2 left, but we're saving those for a while. One of the most perfectly aged California Cabs I've ever had. It's good to know that some of the more modern-styled wines are aging so well (though I've been less than impressed with several more recent vintages that aren't aging as well - ah hem... 1997). Didn't think I'd ever get to try this one again.
#12 - 1989 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage "La Chapelle", Northern Rhone Valley - This is getting serious. While I've never had the 1990 or the 1978, I can't imagine that they might be better than the 1989, though everything I've read tells me they are. A spicy wine with dried leaves, meat, graphite, black wet earth and intense black plums. Made my palate dance! (FWIW, I had #'s 24 & 25 the same night as this!)

Ok, so I changed my mind. I'm going to do my favorite 11 wines of the year, why 11? Well, as the great Nigel Tufnel says "This is a top to a, you know, what we use on stage. But it's very very special because, if you can see... the numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, 11, 11, 11, 11." Marty: "Most amps go up to ten." Nigel: "Exactly." Marty: "Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?" Nigel: "Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most, most blokes gonna be playing at ten. You're on ten, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up." Marty: "Yeah." Nigel: "You're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?" Marty: "I don't know." Nigel: "Nowhere, exactly. What we do is if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?" Marty: "Put it up to eleven." Nigel: "Eleven. Exactly. One louder." Marty: "Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a litte louder?" Nigel: "These go to eleven." So my list goes to 11.

Amazing

First, the wines, which while not "amazing", were pretty darn good. The 2003 Flor de Pingus, Ribera del Duero is pure mocha... great wine, too bad it was the last one. The 1997 Silverado Limited Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was on its way out... not a great wine, but nice to try again. 1997 = mixed quality = many dying wines = not the great vintage that it seemed to be. The 1999 Veuve Clicquot Brut was pretty with lots of brioche and nuts. A nice champagne, just not great. The 1999 Veuve Clicquot Brut Rose had a lot more substance. A stong berry note came through the slight yeastiness of the wine. Nice. The 1985 Veuve Clicquot Brut Rose showed extreme bottle variation (I tasted each of them out of three different bottles). The first was completely oxidized. Just no fun at all. The other two were similar to each other, but showed none of the freshness of the wine I had last spring... Not recommended. The 1988 Veuve Clicquot Brut on the other had was sensational. Absolutely a great Champagne... loads of toast and rich yeastiness with baked pear and apples. Would love to have one in my cellar.

The really amazing part was the set Crazy Fingers played after work last night... wow. Mr. Charlie, Cassidy, Uncle John's Band>Jam>Eyes of the World>Foolish Heart> Cumberland Blues, U.S. Blues. At almost and hour and a half, this was one hell of a show. So spacy and completely out there. They had no idea where they were going after Uncle Johns and just played to an amazing crescendo and then went full-tilt into the most mind-blowing Eyes of the World I've ever heard... great stuff!

Just a few

The 1997 Chateau Leoville-Las Cases is a beauty... without question the best of the 1997 vintage in Bordeaux. Lots of mocha, plums, black fruit and graphite. Very soft and round... gorgeous! The 1997 Tassinaia, Tuscany is awesome!!! After several corked bottles, this one finally made it worthwhile - and it's a good thing, it was the last one!!! Lots of cedar, dried plums, cranberries and cherries. Awesome stuff!

The Finalists

Ok... Here we go... I divided it into their separate categories - Bordeaux, Burgundy, California, Champagne, Other, Sweet and White. I took the best of those groups and here you have the top wines in each category. They are not in any particular order... From here I'll start breaking them down by category. Just not today... I'm not quite ready yet.

Bordeaux
1955 Chateau Haut Brion
1975 Chateau Petrus
1982 Chateau Latour (Bottle #5)
1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc

Burgundy
1976 Leroy Romanee-St.-Vivant
1985 DRC Echezeaux
1989 DRC Romanee-Conti
1989 DRC Romanee-Saint-Vivant Morey Monge
2000 Bouchard La Romanee

California
1994 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon
2001 Harlan Estate
2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Champagne
1985 Louis Roederer Cristal (Magnum)
1988 Krug (Magnum)
1990 Krug (Magnum)
1999 Louis Roederer Cristal

Other
1989 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle
1990 Guigal “La Mouline” Cote Rotie
1994 Vega Sicilia Unico
1996 Gaja Sperss
1998 Penfold’s Grange

Sweet
1953 Chateau d’Yquem

White
1999 DRC Montrachet
1990 Herm Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshole Riesling Auslese
1976 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese
1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne
2004 Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly "Silex"