Yeah, you wouldn’t think anyone could write that on January 31st would you… hell, the game plan for a casual Saturday was to go snowshoeing… but while laying in bed watching the morning news, the weather forecast in the mid 60’s had Traci and I making a quick switch to a hike on the flats with Abby (that would be the spoiled pooch in the photo above) and a good friend and her two dogs.  The only drawback to the moderate temps is the insensate wind and a short hour hike had us feeling like we’d stuck our heads out the window for a long drive.

We made a quick stop at a local dim sum restaurant on the way home and then Traci curled up for a nap and I cracked open a 2004 Bosquet des Papes, Cuvee Chante Le Merle VV to drink over the evening.

Here’s the note:

2004 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Chante Le Merle Vieilles Vignes (Chantemerle) - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Primarily old vine grenache, this has a big, perfumed nose of garrigue and roasted herbs that give way to subtle black cherry, fennel and truffle notes. There’s almost a slight sauvage note and to be honest, this is drinking really well and shows mature nuances along with fresh fruit. The palate fleshed out with an hour in the glass and is medium bodied, rich, texture and beautifully balanced. It has the fresh acidic profile and medium concentration character of the vintage but is smooth, rich and a great example of a quality Chateauneuf! (92 pts.)

Salut, thanks for reading and hope you have a great Saturday!
Jeb

1998 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This bottle was drinking extremely well and showed intense aromatics of spicy Grenache fruit, flowers, licorice and potpourri. It’s fragrant, lifted and complex with nice balance between mature aromas and ripe, sweet fruit. The palate is medium to full bodied with a core of sweet fruit to go along with a rich, slightly rustic texture and a long finish. (91 pts.)

1998 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Now here’s a beautiful, texture book Chateauneuf that’s right in the middle of its drinking window. Aromatically, this is perfumed and shows nice intensity with tons of garrigue and spice laced raspberry notes that are supported by new saddle leather and mineral nuances. The palate has nice acidity, medium body and plenty of length to go along with some fine grained tannins that are still lurking underneath the fruit. Surprisingly fresh, this is drinking beautifully. (90 pts.)

1999 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
An interesting wine and to me, this is pure, old vine Grenache from a mediocre vintage that might just be pushing things a little too much. It’s got the textbook Grenache profile of kirsch, liquefied stems, spice and floral notes but it’s also showing some headiness to the aromas and can come off as harsh at times. This really carries over onto the palate where it has a viscous, thick texture and subtle sweetness (from the alcohol). Certainly there’s nice acidity and the finish is impressive but it’s lacking that solid underpinning of fruit to stand up to its lofty alcohol. The bottle was open for two days and was down right finicky on the first night. Smooth, balanced, sweet and delicious at first; harsh and fume inducing the next. By day two, this calmed down and showed floral and kirsch dominated aromatics with an integrated, enjoyable palate. I’ve got a couple more bottles and am interested to see if this is a representative sample… If so, I’d drink these while the fruit’s still kickin! (89? pts.)

2005 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (1/26/2009)
After drinking through half a case of this over the last 2 years, I question if it will ever close up and the last handful of bottles have all been ready to go and drinking beautifully. This bottle was open for 3 days and it held up admirably with big licorice, raspberry and garrigue aromas on the nose. It’s not showing any maturity but the once primary, jammy notes are being replaced by sweet spice and herb nuances . The palate’s medium to full bodied with superb texture, gobs of sweet fruit and still kicking, fine grained tannins on the finish. While I don’t think this will hit its prime drinking window for another 5′ish years, I won’t feel guilty about cracking additional bottles in the mean time… (91 pts.)

This restaurant and Inn is located roughly 70 miles from downtown DC and is as beautiful and charming as they get here in the US (and Europe?) The town of Washington, VA has notable history and was first surveyed by George Washington in 1749.  Since that time, it’s grown to the unwieldy population of… 183 people. How a destination of this grandeur and success began here is beyond me but no doubt, this rural, remote location is part of its charm.

The restaurant was founded by Patrick O’Connell close to 30 years ago and grew from a small catering company that he and partner Reinhardt Lynch started out of their home. Today, this operation has grown into a restaurant that has been rated one of the Top 10 Best Restaurants in the World by The International Herald Tribune and rated as the number 1 Inn in the US by Zagat. Not too shabby.

My first visit to the Inn was nearly 4 years ago while I was in DC for business and I made a reservation for myself and another co-worker. The restaurant’s habit of printing each parties menu with a personal touch, in this case the menu read “A Warm Welcome to the Dunnuck Party”, had my colleague looking over his should wondering if there was an ulterior motive. Regardless, the meal was spectacular and the evening was memorable enough for me to book another reservation for my wife and other family members.

Upon arriving this time, the two lovable Dalmatians that had guarded the entry way during my last visit and gave the room such a comfortable feel were missing but the real fire burning in the entry hearth compensated nicely.

Food:

We started out with a small plate of amuse bouche and then were served a decadently rich, apple and rutabaga cream soup. This small serving was so good I could easily have settled for a large bowl for the evening and been happy. After this intro, the first courses started and the Mélange of Spicy Big Eye Tuna literally exploded on the tongue with flavor. While excellent, the Carpaccio of Herb Crusted Baby Lamb and Tabouli and Rosemary Mustard lacked a little excitement but a Poached Pullet Egg in Duck Consommé with Hedgehog Mushrooms and Shaved Black Truffle had me breaking out into a sweat when they started shaving a massive truffle over the top. Perfumed, rich and just brilliant.

The second courses were all excellent with Fricassee of Maine Lobster with Potato Gnocchi, Green Grapes and Curried Walnuts taking the cake. I had ordered the same Foie Gras dish, A marriage of Hot and Cold Foie Gras with Ice Wine Jelly and House Made Quince Preserves, during my last visit and this time it wasn’t as good. The Foie Gras portions were noticeably smaller but none, the less, still delicious. The country classic of Macaroni and Cheese with Virginia Country Ham, Aged Gouda and Shaved Black Truffle certainly satisfied as well.

The Main Courses also lived up to the billing with a perfectly done Pot-Au-Feu: Prime Tenderloin of Beef, Braised Pork Belly and Breast of Chicken simmered in an Aromatic Broth with Winter Vegetables. Having cooked Pork Belly recently, I’d love to know how they deal with all of the fat. I queried the waiter and wasn’t buying his 12 hour, slow cook, fat disappears story. The Pepper Crusted Tuna, Pretending to be a Filet Mignon, Capped with Seared Duck Foie Gras on Charred Onions with a Burgundy Butter Sauce was stunning and even more enjoyable when my cousin pretended that a slice of Foie Gras was Tuna and served it to his beef hating wife. The hopeful, wife realizes she loves Foie Gras, was not the outcome. An additional order of Veal Sweetbreads Braised in Ruby Port on Pappardelle Pasta with Huckleberries and Country Ham was disappointing and undercooked. I had this same dish on the last visit and had billed this as the best Sweetbreads going so this was a disappointment and a let down. The Pan Roasted Maine Lobster with Baby Bok Choy, Grapefruit and Citrus Butter Sauce was “perfectly succulent” per the wife.

By the time dessert rolled around, I think we were all sufficiently sated and a couple tried to bow out and pass completely… no way, no how and a quick switch to the cheese tray ensued. This place has a cheese service that will rival anything Europe can dish out. Perfectly ripe Époisses, pungent Camembert, you name it, they had it. The traditional desserts were also perfectly prepared and the Hot Granny Smith Apple Tart with Buttermilk Ice Cream was as good as that dessert can get. Other notables include A Chocolate Ménage a Trois: Black Forest Mousse Bombe, Chocolate Crème Brulee and Bitter Chocolate Soufflé and a dish that was easier to look at than eat; A Chocolate Mint Fantasy: Our Mint Ice Cream Festooned with Chocolate Streamers.

Wine:

Surprisingly, the wine list was reasonably priced and had numerous selections under $100 (a good number under $50 even.) We were definitely going for value so I grabbed a 2005 Clos du Mont Olivet Côtes du Rhône Vieilles Vignes Montueil la Levade off the list for $35 bucks. We decanted this and it showed beautifully with dark, rich fruit, minerals and graphite aromas, medium to full body and a long finish. While this lacked complexity, it had enough depth and richness on the palate to warrant a year or two in the cellar (90pts.)

The Sommelier recommended the 2005 Frederic Mabileau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil Eclipse ($40) and despite my reservations regarding these wines, this was stunning. The bouquet was stacked with smoky, charred lead pencil notes, tobacco, ripe herbs and concentrated cherry and dark fruit notes. Very tannic on the palate, this fleshed out in the decanter and was just beautiful by the end of the evening (92pts.)

After ponying up our life’s saving to cover the tab, we were treated to a tour of the kitchen. Immaculate, precise and streamlined, just seeing this orchestrated performance in action was fantastic and capped a lovely evening with my wife Traci and family. This restaurant is so good, it’s worth the flight to DC alone.

Salut and thanks for reading!

- Jeb Dunnuck

Just now getting back from an action packed 5 days in the Washington, DC area for the inauguration and had a couple outstanding meals.

First up was Mark’s Duck House.

I had called a couple days in advance to pre-order a handful of the Lobster, Crab and Scallop dumplings off their special Dim Sum menu and then planned to do random selections from their daily menu. The reservation was for 12:30 PM and when we arrived, the place was bustling with customers and we could barely squeeze in the door… A good sign in my opinion and I was feeling pretty damn proud of our reservation.

We were seated at a large table in the back and 5 seconds after sitting down, it was a steady stream of dumpling tray after dumpling tray. The table had a Lazy Susan and it wasn’t long before we were spinning that baby around like a top trying to get the next item. Service was good, chop sticks abounded and English wasn’t the primary language…

Notable dishes include:

• Shrimp Dumplings
• Scallop Dumpling
• Crab Dumplings
• Lobster Dumplings
• Fried Calamarie
• Shrimp Noodle Crepe
• Fried Sesame Buns
• Pork Buns

Honerable mention for something to not order again:

• Boiled Beef Ball… eer, not recommended.

To go with the mounds of food (literally), we sucked down a refreshing, semi-sweet 2006 St. Urbans-Hof Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Spätlese (90 pts) and a gorgeous bottle of 2003 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Charvin is a big, mouth full of a wine that gives up rich raspberry and plum notes mixed with hoisin sauce, roasted herbs and licorice aromas. On the palate, it’s full bodied, concentrated and possesses a very un-charvin like, substantial, full texture that leads into a long finish. A gorgeous wine and it went surprisingly well with the assorted dumplings (95pts).

All in all, an outstanding restaurant that I’d happily visit again… in fact, sitting here typing this in Newark’s airport, right now would work just dandy…

Salut and thanks for reading.

Coming up next… Inn at Little Washington…

- Jeb Dunnuck

2006 in Chateauneuf… Let’s see, since 1998, this region has been on fire with vintages going from strength to strength. Yes, the deluge of 2002 is well noted, but aside from that, each year has brought a unique style that’s been exploited beautifully by the producers. The sheer ripeness and size in the 1998s is in complete contrast to the bright, mineral driven 2004s and yet, each vintage produced beautiful wines in a unique style. Pair this ability with a region that has a massive diversity in wine producing styles and blends and you have a region that can consistently produce wines that can appeal to anyone. Diversity paired with consistent quality.

So where does 2006 fit in? That’s what I’ve been trying to find out. While I was able to travel to the region and taste through the majority of 2003, 2004 and 2005s, I wasn’t as lucky with the 06s and have been reduced (yes, your hearts are bleeding for me, I know) to ponying up the money (and these aren’t cheap) and buying as many of these at retail as I can afford. At this point, I’ve been able to taste through enough of these to have an opinion… and that opinion is that I really like the wines.

Coming after the hyped 2005 wines and prior to the mega hyped 2007s, this vintage seems to be largely overlooked. Comparisons to 2004 abound and phrases like early drinking, soft and approachable, unfortunately, don’t do much to garner demand. Add the crazy prices due to the euro and it’s hard to be a buyer.

Vintage comparisons aside, these wines show a consistent level of ripe fruit paired with notable density, full texture and ripe tannin. They don’t have the cool aromas or tannic precision of the 2005s nor the bright minerality and acid profile of the 2004s. The majority of my notes on these wines are from a recent blind tasting where I was able to taste through the wines blind, retaste, and then taste through them blind again the next day. Almost across the board, the wines showed better on the second day.

While I like the wines and think the vintage is right behind 2005 in terms of quality (well ahead of 2004), given the crazy prices these are currently going for and the rapidly approaching 07s (which are close to the same price), this seems to be an easy pass for a consumer. However, given the market correction that’s currently going on, if these are discounted enough, they are outstanding wines.

So with much ado… onto the wines

Blancs

• 2006 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This bottle saw a long, multi hour decant and I’m not sure if this helped the aromatics or not since this was tight and slightly muted for the first night. While not much intensity, there was beautiful richness and depth with honeysuckle, almond butter and toasted bread notes and this did open up on the second day. The palate was medium to full bodied with a stunning, rich texture, nice balance and a long, mouth coating finish. A concentrated, serious blanc. (92 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.)
• 2006 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Consistent with the previous bottle, this is a clean, straightforward and well balanced Rhone white. The nose shows honeyed fruit, melon and citrus aromas and the palate is well balanced with crisp acids and impressive balance. It’s lacking in depth and complexity but it’s delicious and very easy drinking. (89 pts.)
• 2006 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Very bright, fresh and expressive, this has a floral and honeyed fruit driven nose that is backed up by minerals and a rich nuttiness that is striking. Medium to full bodied, this is well balanced, textured and clean. This improved with air and has a clean, medium to long finish. (90 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This shows ripe fruit, lively acidity and a plump, medium bodied, nicely textured palate. (86 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Very floral and honeyed with clean tropical fruit notes on the nose. The palate is medium bodied, slightly weak in the middle but balanced with some nice freshness. (87 pts.)

Rouge

• 2006 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This is young and packed with jammy Grenache fruit notes of blackberry, cherry, garrigue and licorice notes on the nose. By the second day, it lost some complexity but gained richness and weight. Medium to full bodied on the palate and with low acidity, this is rich, meaty and alarmingly tannic. While the tannins were less noticeable on the second night, there’s enough of them to give me pause.(89+? pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Lucien Barrot et Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  My second bottle of this (first from mag… can’t beat the price from this estate) and it’s shown consistent both times. Traditional, spicy and with subtle leather, garrigue and sweet, licorice infused cassis and blackberry fruit, this comes across as a text book Chateauneuf du Pape that’s medium bodied, beautifully balanced, rich and long. I don’t know why this sells for a song (low 20s) over here in the states but I’m not complaining. (90 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Lafond Châteauneuf-du-Pape Roc-Epine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Big, soft and straightforward, this is right up there with fruit bomb status and shows beautiful fruit, purity and length. Low in acidity, medium to full bodied and with a smooth, supple texture, this is for drinking in the short term. (89 pts.)
• 2006 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  I decanted this for 3 hours and when I first opened the bottle, its barrique upbringing was more than apparent. 3 hours later however, the fruit had completely absorbed the oak and in a blind lineup of experienced tasters, not a sole commented about oak. The nose is slightly brooding and takes some coaxing but finally offers up dark cassis and blackberry fruit, raw meat and subtle wax aromas. Almost Bordeaux’ish given the dark fruit and dense structure, this has a blockbuster palate that’s rich, balanced and possesses a weighty, almost thick texture that leads into a long finish. Very pure, clean and beautifully built, this could be even better if it fleshes out with more bottle time. (91+ pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This is a stunning bottle of wine that possesses amazingly pure levels of fruit, impeccable balance and a seamless, integrated character. On the nose this gives up copious amounts of blackberry and raspberry fruit mixed with graphite, spice box and cedar. Full bodied on the palate and just massively fruited, this has a stunning texture and a long finish where sweet, fine grained tannin comes out. While this has the structure to age, the sheer level of ripe fruit has this drinking well now. (95 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Moulin-Tacussel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Henry Tacussel - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  A real wow wine, this seems to be a traditionally made wine on steroids and possesses stunning aromatics of black cherry, spice box, roasted herbs and hoisin sauce. On the first night, this had a resiny, sappy texture but on the second night, this fleshed out and was full bodied, soft and almost decadent. Give this some time in the cellar or if drinking now, lots of air. (94 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Reticent at first (pop and pour), this really opened up with air (and darkened in color) but didn’t start to really sing until the next day. Just filled with sweet, jammy Grenache aromas of licorice infused blackberry, raspberry, minerals and garrigue notes; this is intense, perfumed and possesses serious richness and depth. Balanced and just rocking on the palate, it’s full bodied, sweet, suave and shows fine grained tannins on the long finish. Barring this shutting down, this is very approachable now given a long decant. (97 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Just gorgeous right out of the gate, this leads off with a big blast of spicy raspberry fruit, leather, minerals and garrigue notes that lead into a medium to full bodied palate. Balanced and with a traditional feel, this has a beautiful, tannic finish. (93 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Along with a dark, almost opaque color, this possesses a big nose of dark fruit, licorice and sublte spice notes. Rich and dense but slightly straightforward. This improves with air and is full bodied on the palate with ripe, lush fruit, a big mouth filling texture and gobs of sweet fruit on the tannic finish. (92 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault is aged in tank and foudres and possesses a high toned, bright nose of wild raspberries, hot stones, licorice, roasted herbs and garrigue notes. Seemingly disjointed at first, this comes together nicely with air and is medium to full bodied with a rich, savory texture, impressive balance and long finish. (93 pts.)
  
• 2006 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  I’m not sure what Paul Avril did to get this amount of density in this wine but it’s head and shoulders above any other 2006 I’ve had in terms of sheer extract and structure. The nose gives up rich raspberry and black cherry aromas mixed with spice, graphite, minerals and licorice. The palate is full bodied, massively structured and concentrated with amazing depth, perfect balance and a tannic, blockbuster finish. This needs time. (97 pts.)
  
• 2006 Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Not quite up to their 2005, this bottle comes across as very traditional with black pepper, new leather, hoisin, gravel and stone aromas supporting pure, black cherry fruit. The palate is solid and well built with medium to full body, concentrated, rich fruit and a long finish. This is a workhorse Chateauneuf that should drink well for the next 10+ years. (90 pts.)
• 2006 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  I hate to admit it but I drank though a whole bottle of this during the gators game… Beautiful stuff and a small pour of dregs the next day was even better. On the nose this has copious amounts of licorice infused black cherry fruit. Dark, dense and rich, this fills out with roasted herb and garrigue notes. On the palate this is medium to full bodied with some serious palate weight and a full texture that gives off ripe, soft tannins on the finish. Great wine. (91 pts.)
• 2006 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Tintot - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This borders on fruit bomb status and shows massive blackberry and cassis aromas mixed with spice, graphite and earthy notes and while not terribly complex, this makes up for it with its depth and richness. The palate is full bodied, structured and powerful with a rich, creamy texture, beautiful balance and a seriously tannic, long finish. This has a richness and palate presence that isn’t found in many southern rhones and with its clean, pure fruit, it’s almost new world’ish. Gorgeous and drink this baby over the next 20 years. Be warned, tannic as hell on the second day.  (93+ pts.)
• 2006 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Right out of the bottle, this wasn’t giving up anything on the nose and the palate was locked tight and tannic as all hell… A couple hours in the decanted did wonders for it though and this was still going strong (better?) on the second day with ripe, peppery and earthy dark fruit, leather, violets and lots of garrigue notes. Very young and concentrated but also very traditional. The palate is medium to full bodied and structured with plenty of concentration, impeccable balance and nice length. This is a young, dense wine and while there’s enough up front fruit to make this really enjoyable now, it really needs to be packed away for 5+ years. This is better than the 2004 and worth checking out! (93 pts.)

- Jeb Dunnuck

• 1983 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5° - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
  This opened up beautifully over the couple of hours the bottle was open and showed fantastic aromatics. Exotic spice, caramel, Turkish coffee and bittersweet chocolate notes literally come jumping out of the glass and there’s plenty of mature fruit to keep this honest and interesting. Even with some extended airing in the glass, this continued to show depth and richness. The palate was where I thought this showed its age and while there was nice fruit, the acidity seemed to be winning the battle. Still, lots going on and this has stunning aromatics paired with a nice palate… drink up while the fruit holds. (91 pts.)
• 1988 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  I liked this bottle more and more as the evening wore. Down right muted right after opening but with air (and some serious coaxing), this gives up spicy cassis laced fruit, oak and earth notes but this wine really seems like it a 5 year old Bordeaux that’s simply shut down. On the palate, this shows beautifully pure fruit, solid structure, balance, concentrated fruit and a long finish where fine grained tannins kick in. If this bottle is representative, this isn’t even in its drinking window and needs 10 more years. (91+ pts.)
• 1992 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Tasted next to the 1988 Montelena Estate, this couldn’t have been more different. Where the 1988 was backwards and Bordeaux like, this 1992 was down right exuberant with bright, perfumed aromatics of creme de cassis, lead pencil, spicy oak and subtle herb notes on the nose. Ripe but still complex and interesting, this is medium to full bodied on the palate with stunning richness, texture and length. This is a classic cali cab and seems to be in its early maturity window. (95 pts.)
• 1979 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
  A classic, mature Bordeaux, this shows a youthful red color as well as complex, nuanced and perfumed aromatics of cedar, lead pencil, subtle spice and mature fruit notes. Medium bodied on the palate, this fleshed out with air and showed a completely integrated character along with sweet fruit, decent concentration and a medium length finish. (91 pts.)
• 1999 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  This is stunning… not a chance I’d guess this as a 1999 and this bottle is even better than a bottle I had less than a month ago. Rich, young and still a pup, this boast serious fruit, licorice, roasted herb and graphite notes that have me looking around for another bottle of the same so I can pour another glass… The palate is medium to full bodied, beautifully balanced, rich and concentrated with a long finish. This isn’t a freak, overly extracted nor over the top but is simply a quintessential Chateauneuf that has a long live ahead of it. (95 pts.)

• 2005 Château de la Négly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape La Falaise - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape (1/11/2009)
  Why hello beautiful… this bottle was served double blind and I thought is was a 2005 Janasse VV at first due to its amazing richness, southern Rhone typicity and barrigue aromas. The blend is 50% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 15% Mourvedre and the wine sees half in new barriques. On the nose this shows serious, massive cassis and blackberry fruit, melted licorice, raw meat and graphite notes that just keep coming and there’s real ripeness and fruit intensity here.. This leads into a full bodied palate that’s balanced, concentrated and possesses a creamy, silky texture that carries into a medium to long finish. A wow wine and now I just need to find out where I can get some of this. (94 pts.)

I have to admit that I haven’t made it to midnight on December 31st in quite some time. I’m always doing something that day and am exhausted by the time the evening comes around and it’s normally couch time followed by falling asleep, waking up at 10 (good old mountain time) to watch the ball drop and then off to bed… We had a plan this night though… Dinner at Rick Thompson’s (that would be Rico for any regular readers) didn’t start until close to 9 PM and we were armed with enough serious juice to keep even my 4:30AM rising wife awake.

Just to ensure we were in the proper mood, the night got started off with a fantastic domestic sparkler. The 2000 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut is easily one of the best sparklers out there and at the price point, I don’t know of Champagne that comes close. This was followed up with a stunning 2002 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese that was as seamless as they come. Simply packed with lycee, white flowers minerals and sugary citrus notes, this is pure silk on the palate. I haven’t had a mature example of these to know where the aromatics go but I’d hang onto any additional bottle to see if this gains more complexity.

The reds started off with a pretty 1998 Domaine Robert Arnoux Vosne-Romanée Les Hautes-Maizières. This opened up in the glass and was filled with spicy black cherry fruit. A 1998 Château de la Gardine Châteauneuf-du-Pape was still young and fairly unevolved with an earthy, licorice and smoky bouquet. Medium bodied and rich on the palate, this has nice underlying structure and plenty of length.

Two barolo’s followed and Clerico’s single vineyard, flagship bottling, 1989 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra was stunning. Despite it modern, barrique elevage, this was classic nebbilo with gorgeous, perfumed aromatic of flowers, toasted spice, potpourri and sweet nebbilo fruit. Approachable on the palate, this is in a good spot with sweet fruit and ripe tannins on the backend. The 1989 Gaja Barolo Sperss couldn’t have been more different and was stacked with dark fruit, tar and earth notes. Concentrated and rich, this is still a pup and on the palate, is a lesson in austerity. Beautifully pure and precise, the packs a serious wallop of tannin on the finish. Bury this in the cellar.

To cap the evening, we jumped back to sweet fruit with a staggering 2005 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina. This showcases amazingly pure fruit, massive concentration and a perfect palate. Not quite as exotic or heavy as the 2003, this is as polished and smooth as Chateauneuf can be.

The ball dropped and a quick gulp of the 1983 Graham Porto Vintage ended the evening.