By: AJ McClellan
Wow, what a night! We had Mark McWilliams, owner and winemaker for Arista wines, as well as Tom Hinde from Martinelli stop in for a glass of wine, and in true Graileys style we pushed the boat out for them! Some great bottles were opened and I must say that I am proud of the Giacosa Barbaresco for hanging in there with the monster 94 Abreu and the lovely 95 Guigal…
1997 Dugat Py Charmes Chambertin – A big boisterous style of Burgundy. If the wine had any less earth I would call it a Cali Pinot all day… Big black fruits with ridged tannins and massive in the mouth.
1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Les Combettes – Classic Leflaive. Honey comb on the palate with quince, apricot, hay, and big limestone.
2010 AJ Adam Riesling – This was a fun bottle of Riesling. Dry on the palate with notes of white peach, shale, petrol, and white flowers.
1995 Guigal La Landonne – A monster wine with huge tannins. We decanted the bottle for almost two hours before getting into it. Meat, bacon, smoke, tar, leather, and animal fur. Classic Guigal.
1994 Abreu – This was a cool bottle of wine. We left it out overnight and it was just as good if not better the second day. Bright red cherries with black currants and sweet plums on the nose. The palate was not as soft as I would have liked but it was very complex with notes of clove, cinnamon, and allspice.
1997 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Les Folatieres – Oxidized.
1988 Bruno Giacosa Santo Stefano di Neive Barbaresco Red Label – Giacosa is a fun bottle to drink. Upon opening we almost wrote the bottle off as cooked, but after having this wine several times I suggested that we give it some time in the glass. After almost an hour we were all ready to throw the bottle away as it still was showing cooked fruits and funky wet fur notes. After another half an hour the wine turned a complete 360! Wonderful earth notes with cooked red fruits and huge forest floor. A lovely bottle of wine!
2007 Yao Ming Cabernet Sauvignon – This was the first bottle of Yao Ming’s personal wine label that has been opened on US soils, or so I was told. The wine was big and bold much like Yao Ming himself. Huge black fruits and spice with none-too-subtle oak notes and a pleasant finish.
1989 Leoville Barton – Classic Bordeaux. We have had this wine several times recently and it always drinks very well. Pretty in the glass with earth and black fruits.
2007 Martinelli Chardonnay – Oak, butter, more oak.
2009 Domaine Colin Deleger Chevalier Montrachet – This was a lovely bottle of wine. The acidity was searing with a lovely backing of tropical fruits and wonderful minerality. This wine is drinking well now but with some more time in the bottle I foresee it turning into a truly amazing bottle.