2001 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This bottle started out very funky, roasted, bloody and down right stinky but a short stint in the decanter worked magic on it and by the time we got around to drinking, there wasn’t a hint of funk or roasted aromas to be found. The nose shows killer levels of ripe raspberry and cassis fruit with candle wax, raw meat and spice aromas showing up with more air time. There’s plenty of intensity and also a nice balance between the fruit and background aromas. The palate is full bodied with seriously impressive fruit, a lush, rich texture, solid underlying structure and plenty of fine grained tannins on the long finish. (95 points)

Driving home from a stellar day climbing in the park and lo and behold, local wino Paul David calls up, mentioning something about a big green egg and dinner and wine… 5 minute shower and an hour later, I’m kicking back on his front porch and loving life!

Whites and champages

I missed writing a note on a kick ass kabinett (that I thought was an auslese :)) and didn’t write down the name of another awesome champagne that Paul opened (that was every bit as good as the Duval-Leroy.)

• 1995 Duval-Leroy Champagne Femme de Champagne - France, Champagne
  Very rich with toasted bread and nut aromas, medium to full body and a structured, young palate. Picks up mineral notes on the finish and this is excellent. (93 pts.)

Reds

The 1998 Fontodi Syrah Case Via Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT was served double blind and I though it was a central coast (saxum to be exact) grenache blend due to the ripeness, stunning spice and lightness on the palate. Absolutely fantastic juice and syrah.. from italy.. ya have got to taste it to believe it! The 2005 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Santenay 1er Cru La Gravières was new world pinot with burgundian sappiness and verve and the 2003 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron was rocking. Structure, heady, rich.. just a beautiful bottle of wine. Sadly, my last. The 1997 Pian Delle Vigne (Antinori) Brunello di Montalcino was tight as nails but oh so good. Oxymoron? Maybe, but I loved the purity, precision and structure of the wine. A softer than normal 2003 Château Pontet-Canet was followed by a herbacous 1998 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford and these were sucked down with seriously smoky prime ribeyes that were cooked to perfection on the new ceramic cooker! The 1998 Jasper Hill Shiraz Georgia’s Paddock was excellent and the N.V. Terre Gaie Fior d’Arancio Veneto IGT paired perfectly with Susan’s lemon cake.

• 2005 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Santenay 1er Cru La Gravières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Santenay 1er Cru
  Very young and jammy, this has big, upfront fruit and a surprising amount of sweetness. On the nose this shows ripe cranberries and freshly crushed berries, exotic spice and charred earth notes. There’s also a resiny sappiness to both the aromas and the texture on the palate. Medium bodied, this has big, jammy fruit, nice tension and balance and a long, enjoyable finish. (90 pts.)
• 1998 Fontodi Syrah Case Via Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
  Wow, utterly fantastic juice with blockbuster aromatics of raspberry, earth, licorice and sweet sweet spice aromas. There’s subtle background oak and vanilla but this is fruit driven with nice complexity. The palate is full bodied, silky, ripe and amazingly light with perfect balance, seamless integration and a long finish. Despite the size of this wine, it just floats over your tongue and doesn’t show a hint of heat. (96 pts.)
• 2003 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  A serious wine, this is just packed with licorice infused raspberry fruit, smoky and charred earth, minerals and tobacco aromas. The palate is full bodied and structured with a solid mid-palate; this has a rich, savory texture and impressive grip and length on the finish. Both bottles I’ve had of this showed a slight secondary fermentation that blew off with air and this is a stunning, traditional, heady and structured Chateauneuf that needs a hour or two in a decanter to show well. (94 pts.)
• 1997 Pian Delle Vigne (Antinori) Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
  Very consistent with the previous bottle except even tighter on the nose, this is as pure an example of sangiovese as I’ve had. The nose is super tight and takes some coaxing but finally gives up rich, decadent black cherry, charred earth, licorice and brick dust aromas. This continues to evolve in the glass and has fantastic purity and depth. The palate is medium to full bodied, impeccably built, super concentrated and amazingly pure, precise and long. There’s no shortage of tannins on the finish and this is still a babe. 95+ (95 pts.)
• 2003 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Not up to the past bottle and this was surprisingly soft and open. The nose is packed with sweet cassis and blackberry fruit, lead pencil and earth aromas and the palate is full bodied, rich, lush and concentrated. The tannins kick in on the finish and are fine grained and very ripe. (93 pts.)
• 1998 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
  While this possesses nice cassis slanted fruit, lead pencil, tobacco and earthy aromas, it has a serious herbal streak that borders on green. Medium bodied, this lacks a little flesh on the mid palate but has a nice, moderately tannic finish. (86 pts.)
• 1998 Jasper Hill Shiraz Georgia’s Paddock - Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Heathcote
  With really high class aromatics of earthy dark fruit, cassis and plum fruit, this is full bodied and shows a little underlying sweetness, fantastic texture, nice acidity and a long finish. Still young. (90 pts.)
• N.V. Terre Gaie Fior d’Arancio Veneto IGT - Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT
  A fantastic summer dessert sparkler, this is loaded with orange peel, citrus and green apple aromas and shows subtle sweetness on the nose that carries over on the palate. Lots of sugar and riveting acidity this is medium bodied, clean and refreshing. Very unique and interesting and thanks for opening this Paul! (88 pts.)

Merci beaucoup cher monsieur Paul pour un autre soir fantastique!!!

I’m always on the lookout for interesting reds from the south of France and discovered these at a local shop. The family owned estate is located in the Pyrenees foothills near the Spanish border and they have roughly 110 Hectare under vine with a mix of Grenache, carignane, mourvedre, syrah, and muscatel. While the bottles state that they produce 10 different cuvees, I was only able to find a 100% Syrah cuvee that clocks in at around 16 bucks and their old vine cuvee “George” which was is slightly less at 13. Both are excellent but very different with the similarities ending at concentrated, well made wines. Both held up amazingly well over the three days it took me to get through the bottles.

• 2005 Domaine Puig Parahy Côtes du Roussillon Georges - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon
  Per the bottle, this is from 60 to 80 year old vines (the blend isn’t stated but I’d guess a fair bit of Grenache and Carignane), is hand harvested and is the winemaker’s favorite blend, hence the name. A really pretty wine that is packed with earthy black cherry fruit, minerals, iron and licorice aromas and with air time, more roasted herb and spice aromas show up. The palate is medium bodied with sweet fruit and an almost burgundian sappiness to the texture. Bright, clean, well balanced and with ample length on the finish, this is excellent and worth checking out. (88 pts.)
• 2005 Domaine Puig Parahy Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Syrah - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes
  Displaying a big, meaty, plum and cassis scented bouquet; this has gobs of ripe fruit sitting on top of roasted herbs, spice and tobacco aromas. The palate is medium bodied with a rich, chewy texture and a slightly tight, backwards personality. There’s plenty of concentrated fruit and this picks up some chocolate flavors and plenty of dusty tannins on the finish. Per the bottle, this is made from choice lots of older syrah. (88+ pts.)

1999 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
My third bottle this year and I think I should have saved one just to see what happens in 5+ years with the wine. Oh well, I’d rather drink them on the way up than the way down. This is a big, powerful and fairly structured wine (more so than the previous bottles) and shows plum and fig fruit, barbecue, raw meat and roasted spice and incense. Medium to full bodied, there still some power to this wine and it’s actually kind of dense and tight. This firms up with ample tannins on the finish but is far from unapproachable and has solid fruit. (89+ pts.)

Starters

This got sucked down while we devoured a massive anti-pasta tray. I always think these Kosta Brown Rosé are good but not great and would probably rather drink them when it’s cold outside. The lush texture and the sweetness on the finish (despite nice acidity) are a slight turn off when it’s pushing 90 degrees.

• 2007 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Rosé - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  This has lots of ripe strawberry and jammy aromas on the nose, medium body, nice acidity and a lush texture. It hides its alcohol well but does picks up a hint of sweetness on the finish. (88 pts.)

Reds

There was some nice conversation regarding the 1999 Dehlinger Syrah Estate. Is it over the hill, simply mature or starting to crack up? While I didn’t think the wine was in the same league as the others, I lean more towards it being an excellent, mature california syrah and would happily drink it anytime. The 2005 Lucia Syrah Susan’s Hill was really something and in hindsight, I think I might have preferred it to the saxum. Maybe it’s from a cooler climate (probably) but the purity and precision really made the wine stand out. The 2004 The Colonial Estate Emigré was excellent and showed killer spice infused fruit to go along with a superb palate and the 2004 Mitolo Shiraz Reiver was firing on all cylinders. Nothing syrupy about the wine and it’s truly a fantastic bottle. Thanks to Bob for opening the 2004 Saxum Syrah Broken Stones. While I wasn’t sure about this wine at first, I really enjoyed it later in the evening after it saw more air and also cooled down slightly. While you can feel the weight of the alcohol on the palate, I didn’t get any heat and this is a lush, sexy wine.

• 1999 Dehlinger Syrah Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  This shows a fair amount of maturity with earthy dark fruit, spice, dirt and smoke notes. The palate is medium to full bodied and has plenty of sweet fruit, a nice texture and a medium finish. (88 pts.)
• 2005 Lucia Syrah Susan’s Hill - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  An absolutely beautiful syrah that possesses stunning aromatics of dark fruit, black pepper, charcoal and subtle fresh cut herbs and spice. The palate is medium to full bodied and really shows some class with pure, clean fruit and awesome precision and edge. Nothing blowzy or overdone and the purity of fruit is really something. There’s a fair amount of structure and tannins on the long finish but it’s a joy to drink. (94 pts.)
• 2004 The Colonial Estate Emigré - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Big and spicy, this has interesting notes of hot asphalt, spiced cassis and blackberry fruit, molasses and subtle vanilla. Very spicy and perfumed with nice complexity. Full bodied on the palate with a lush yet light texture, great balance and a long finish. An excellent wine that shows ripe fruit, nice complexity and a beautifully balanced palate that keeps you coming back for another sip. (93 pts.)
• 2004 Mitolo Shiraz Reiver - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  The nose has massive levels of dark earthy fruit, blackberries, graphite and subtle dark chocolate aromas and there’s not a hint of heat. The palate is full bodied and shows fantastic richness, purity and precision and while it’s ripe and lush, nothing is out of balance and there’s nice length to the finish. Absolutely fantastic. (95 pts.)
• 2004 Saxum Broken Stones - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  This wine needs some air time to show well and even showed a slight spritz at first. There’s tons of ripe, high toned and candied red fruit aromas on the nose but with air, it picked up more dark fruit, exotic spice and subtle herb notes. A couple hours into the evening and this had really smoothed out and improved. The palate is impressive with fantastic fruit, a mouthfilling, lush texture and a clean, long finish. Soft, lush and ripe, this is drinking great. (94 pts.)

2004 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very pretty with lots of grenache fruit, minerals, licorice and earth notes. Reminiscent of a Charvin given its cherry liquour and mineral driven aromas and elegant demeanor; this is medium bodied with nice texture, beautiful balance and nice length on the finish. (91 pts.)
2001 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Garde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Big and burly, this has gobs of earthy red and black fruit mixed with saddle leather, mushroom and spice meat notes. Medium to full bodied on the palate, this has a rich, savory texture and long finish where there’s plenty of tannic grip. (92 pts.)

Another outstanding Sunday with the Denver crowd and I was the lucky host for this event.. Benefits include not spitting and getting to sample the left over wine over the following days. We started off with a small flight of impressive whites and then dove head first into some serious reds.

Whites

While the 2006 Domaine Yves Cuilleron St. Péray Les Potiers was excellent, both the 2006 Les Cailloux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc and 2001 Louis Bernard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc were a noticeable step up in both complexity and richness. The Bernard was fantastic and showed some killer aromatics.

• 2006 Domaine Yves Cuilleron St. Péray Les Potiers - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray
  100% marsanne that sees 9 months in barrique with 6000 bottle produced. More on the subtle and understated side, this shows nice waxy and honeyed fruit with earth and nut notes coming through with air. Medium bodied and well balanced, it has a soft, lush texture and a medium length finish. (88 pts.)
• 2006 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  A great rhone blanc, this has ripe, waxy fruit, honey, flowers and smoke notes to go along with a medium to full bodied palate. Well balanced, this has nice acidity and a full, viscous texture. Excellent. (91 pts.)
• 2001 Louis Bernard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This bottle showed fantastic aromatics with rich, ripe fruit, toasted almonds, creme brulee and wax notes. The palate is medium to full bodied, lush, full and well balanced. (92 pts.)

1998 Chateauneufs

A brilliant line of 98s and the more of these I drink, the more similarity I see between them. Lots of ripe fruit but also considerable structure and tannins on the backend. Of the trio, the 1998 Domaine Lucien Barrot et Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape seemed the youngest and had the most fruit while the 1998 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Garde was still structured and tannic. The 1998 Caves des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Closiers is excellent but I’m not convinced it has the fruit on the midpalate to handle its tannic backbone.

• 1998 Domaine Lucien Barrot et Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This bottle was singing and has some seriously good fruit. The nose is packed with earthy cherry fruit, herbs de Provence, pipe tobacco and smoke aromas and the palate is medium bodied, beautifully balanced with ripe fruit, a savory, mouth filling texture with gobs of tannins and structure kicking in on the finish. Big, ripe and slightly rustic, this is drinking great now but still needs more time for the tannins to integrate and should last for quite some time after that. (92 pts.)
• 1998 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Garde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Even better than the last bottles of this, this is a big, structured wine with licorice, earth and dried spice aromas, medium to full body, serious structure and a long finish. Well balanced and has a great meaty, savory texture on the palate. (92 pts.)
• 1998 Caves des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Closiers - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Much better than a previous bottle, this has awesome aromatics of licorice infused plums and cherries, spice, tobacco, hoisin sauce and some serious dirt. The palate is medium bodied, streamlined and almost elegant with some substantial tannins kicking in on the finish.. and I’m not sure that they won’t outlive the fruit in this wine. This does flesh out with air and has some impressive length on the finish… tannins though.. lots of em.. drink up! (90 pts.)

Flight 2

Hard to beat the 2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée and I’ve gone through close to 10 bottles of the stuff… and still can’t get enough of it. The 1999 Domaine Monpertuis (Paul Jeune) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition was structured and slightly hard and the 2004 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Croix de Bois was stunning. Given its fruit and profile, not a chance I’d have guessed it was from 2004.

• 1999 Domaine Monpertuis (Paul Jeune) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Big and spicy, this shows boatloads of red earth, pepper, cherry and licorice aromas and there’s nice complexity and depth. Medium bodied with killer fruit, this is balanced and just packed with backend structure. Tannic and concentrated, this has lots of upside but comes across as slightly hard and angular at the moment. (92 pts.)
• 2000 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Yeah… corked. NR (flawed)
• 2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Just an utterly profound wine and it never fails to disappoint… decant, don’t decant, one day, two day.. doesn’t matter and it seems to always show well. Just a massive wine, this has unreal levels of dark meaty fruit, spice, leather and game aromas, full body, perfect balance, awesome texture and a monster finish. (99 pts.)
• 2004 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Croix de Bois - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  First time trying this wine and it gets a serious Wow! Showing a modern slant, this baby has awesome levels of pure, clean fruit to go along with graphite, licorice, smoke and earthy notes. I’d be surprised if this hadn’t seen any barrique and there’s subtle vanilla and wood notes as well. Full bodied and just a hedonistic dream on the palate, this is lush, balanced, pure, and long. (93 pts.)

Beaucastel and Reine des Bois

A pristine bottle, the 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape was incredible and everything you could want in a mature Chateauneuf. Easily the best bottle I’ve had. The 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape didn’t necessarily seemed closed but certainly wasn’t firing on all cylinders either. This bottle of 2005 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois was a revelation to me. While this has always been fantastic, it’s never shown the depth, richness or texture as it did this night. I’m thrilled to have a couple more of these.

• 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  The best bottle of this I’ve had, this was picture perfect with layers of red fruits, dried spice, leather and earthy notes, medium body, perfect, seamless texture and a long finish. Just an absolute joy to drink and thank you Steve! (97 pts.)
• 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Not quite as open as a previous bottle, this possesses beautiful notes of ripe red fruits, saddle leather, spice and earth on the nose. The palate is medium bodied and beautifully balanced. Just seamless and with nothing out of place, this shows fine grained tannins hiding under the fruit on the long finish. (92 pts.)
• 2005 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Wow, easily the best bottle of this I’ve had and I’d almost guess I was drinking the 2001 instead of the 2005. This has a drop dead gorgeous inky purple color that just clings to the glass. The nose is packed with cassis and blackberry fruit, graphite, earth, licorice and smoky notes that lead into a full bodied, seriously concentrated palate. This bottle really showed the back end level of structure and concentration that some of the previous bottle had been missing and backed it up with a mouthfilling, lush texture. Structured and built from the back to the front, this is long, clean and freaking great! (97 pts.)

Sauternes & dessert

There’s a lots of notes about the 1983 Château Raymond-Lafon being over the hill but I don’t see it. While the sugar and sweetness isn’t fruit and center, this is complex, balanced and rich and there’s plenty of stuffing on the palate. We had another killer bottle of 1989 Sauternes but some rat bastard took that bottle home for themselves.

• 1983 Château Raymond-Lafon - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  A great bottle, this showed rich apricot, honey, creme brulee and earthy aromas, medium to full body, beautiful texture and a long finish. This really opened up with air and while it’s not incredibly sweet, there’s lot of complexity and more than enough fruit. (93 pts.)

As always with this group, just a stunning time with an honerable mention out to Susan and Terri for some rock star support in the kitchen!
Salut!
Jeb

Rob Gardner was in town recently, giving us the perfect excuse to made a quick impromptu stop at a favorite local spot for some fantastic courses and two rock star bottles. Both of these were stunning with the 2006 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Shea Vineyard being one of the better pinots I’ve had in a while. While it had upfront, easy drinking fruit, it also had the backend edge and solid structure that is missing from some riper styled pinots and was drinking extremely well. The 2003 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine was even better than I remembered with beautiful fruit, serious structure and killer length. There was a little of this left over so I stuck it in the fridge overnight and while it had tighten up noticeably, it was still delicious on the second day.

• 2006 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Shea Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
  With a big, upfront and sweet nose, this is drinking beautifully and blends a little bit of old world with new world ripeness. The nose has copious amount of black cherry, earth and spice aromas with nice underlying minerality. The palate is rich, lush and perfectly balanced with some real depth, structure and edge; this is a joy to drink now and shows nice weight and texture with a long finish. (92 pts.)
• 2003 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Wow, just utterly fantastic and this bottle is even better than the last one. The nose shows beautiful dark, smoky fruit, cassis and earth notes with wax, minerals and spiced meat notes showing up in the background. There’s some integrated wood notes but they’re much less prevalent than the previous bottle and they add rather than detract. The palate is fruit driven and is full bodied with awesome concentration, perfect balance, serious structure and plenty of fine grained tannins on the long finish. (97 pts.)

This tasting was put on by Brad at PrimoVino.net and local distributors. I was able to taste through these at a nice pace and then come back to them a couple hours later.

• N.V. Jacques Copinet Champagne Rosé - France, Champagne, Côte des Blancs, Champagne
  A fantastic rose champagne that has cherry and strawberry aromatics jumping out of the glass as well as nice underlying minerality that adds complexity and interest. The palate is medium bodied, perfectly balanced and with a creamy texture that comes out on the finish and adds length. (93 pts.)
• 2005 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Wow, some serious juice that shows stunning lychee, peach and floral aromatics to go along with a full bodied, killer palate. While this shows lots of sweetness, there’s riveting acidity, awesome texture and impressive length. (95 pts.)
• 2000 Castello di Bossi Girolamo Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
  A big, dark and lush wine that shows lots of concentrated, chocolaty fruit with a full bodied, lush, sexy palate. Not very complex but there is nice structure underneath all the fruit that keeps this interesting. (92 pts.)
• 2004 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Felix - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This comes across as a very traditional and slightly rustic rhone with beautiful notes of raspberry and fig fruit, spice, licorice and tapanade on the nose. The palate is medium bodied, structured and balanced. Very traditional and while it’s drinking well, there’s gobs of underlying structure and length. (93 pts.)
• 1996 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Probably the best bottle of this I’ve had and this was screaming good on the nose. Text book bordeaux notes of cassis, lead pencil, graphite and tobacco notes are followed by a medium bodied, tight, compact palate that has some fruit starting to show up and make this more approachable. Loved it but there’s ton’s of structure and enough concentrated fruit to make burying this thing in the cellar the right thing to do. (93 pts.)
• 2004 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga (Reserva) - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
  Inky dark with piercing, intense aromatic of black cherry, resin, cedar, chocolate and spice aromas. The palate has some seriously stunning fruit and is oh so pure and precise. Very structured with a long, long finish. Fantastic! (96 pts.)
• 2004 Bodega Catena Zapata Nicolás Catena Zapata - Argentina, Mendoza
  Ripe, lush, and forward with blueberry and cassis fruit mixed with integrated toasty oak, paine grille and graphite aromas. The palate is hard to fault with full body, fantastic purity and precision, a lush, rich texture and gobs of underlying structure that gives this edge and verve. Due to all of the lush fruit, this is great now but it’s got power and structure to burn so it should have a long live ahead of it. (97 pts.)
• 2005 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
  This started out slightly subdued and compact on the palate but it really improved after being open for a couple hours. The aromatics are big, ripe and slightly jammy with cassis, blueberry and spice notes. Despite the ripe aromatics, this shows considerable structure and is balanced and backwards on the palate with gobs of fine grained tannins on the finish. (95 pts.)
• 2004 Torbreck Run Rig - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  My first run rig and I have to admit to being slightly disappointed due to a slight volatile note showing up on the nose. The aromatics are bright and high toned with tons of dark fruit, raw meat and ripe exotic herbs and while this calmed down slightly with air, it never lost that slightly troubling, volatile note. While I was scratching my head on the aromatics, there’s certainly nothing wrong with the palate and it’s utterly fantastic. Full bodied, stunningly concentrated, pure, precise and long. There’s nothing weak about this wine in the mouth and there’s some real edge. Very young and built for the long haul. (94 pts.)
• N.V. Chambers Muscadelle (Tokay) Rare Rosewood Vineyards - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
  Wham, bam, thank you mam.. could this get any better? I don’t think so and this is some mind blowing stuff. The nose has pipe tobacco, leather, caramel, chocolate, fig and god knows what else leaping so far out of the glass that you can smell it a couple feet from the glass. After drinking a glass, you have to not only rinse the glass, but wipe it out with a rag to get the aromas out of it. Despite the intensity of the aromatics, this has stunning acidity, texture and lift that makes gulpin.. er.. drinking easy. Massively textured, perfectly balanced and amazingly long. (100 pts.)

To celebrate a birthday, we meet some good friends at a favorite local restaurant and were treated to some rock star course and some great bottles.

Champagne and starters

Is there a better N.V. Champagne out there? I loved the N.V. Henriot Champagne Blanc Souverain Brut Pur Chardonnay and it’s worth setting a couple aside to see what happens. Very fine, creamy, balanced and classy.

• N.V. Henriot Champagne Blanc Souverain Brut Pur Chardonnay - France, Champagne
  One of the best NV I’ve had, this is outstanding with rich, ripe fruit, paine grille, yeast and mineral aromas, a beautifully textured, medium to full bodied palate and a long finish. This really shows some class on the finish. (92 pts.)
• 2005 Georges Roblin et Fils Sancerre Château de Maimbray - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
  While this shows impressive fruit, there’s awesome minerality, flint and stone notes backed up by lip smacking grassy and citrus notes. Medium bodied and while the palate started off with a slight hole in the middle, it filled in with air. (90 pts.)

Main courses..

The 1994 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve was the first bottle I put in my cellar. Close to 10 years in a passive cellar and just showing beautifully. The 2005 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a rock star bottle. I tasted this at the domain next to the 2005 Reserve and thought it held its own. Big, powerful and tannic, this has stunning fruit and while I keep saying I won’t drink another bottle for 10 years, I doubt my ability to actually follow through with it.

• 1994 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Showing ripe cassis, tobacco, and earth aromas, this is just starting to show some nice complexity and maturity. The palate is still rocking with beautiful richness, impressive balance and a long finish and I wouldn’t hesitate to hold this 10+ more years. (92 pts.)
• 2005 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  One of my favorite wines from the vintage, this is a big, concentrated and burly wine with gobs of crushed berries, raspberry and cassis fruit that’s mixed with plenty of earth, graphite and minerals. The palate is full bore, structured, concentrated, tannic and amazingly long. Just a rock star bottle of wine and I only wish I had more. 95+ (95 pts.)

Sauternes

• 2003 Château Lamothe Guignard - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  Ripe, lush and soft, this shows honeyed tropical fruit and crème brulee notes on the nose. Full bodied on the palate, it has a full, rich texture, nice balance and plenty of sweetness that carries out to the finish. (92 pts.)