It was a rather fantastic day at Graileys last night with a full room of wine loving folks having a good time!
I had six standouts that were all diverse selections of amazing flavor and depth. The 2005 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc was as good of a Bordeaux Blanc from SHL as I have ever tasted. Honey, apple tart, light toffee, cream and piecrust. Very complex and full-bodied, with lively acidity and beautiful clove honey, red apple and lemon flavors. Long, balanced and very lively. A massive white. Layered, complex and beautiful. I got blinded by one of our newest members on a bottle of 2005 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard that was a tough peg. I knew it was Pinot Noir but it had such structure and sweet fruit that I was baffled. This new member has impeccable taste and a very similar palate so it was a great eye-opener to keep me on my blinding toes. Dusty cherry, roses, sandstone, sandal wood, raspberry and spice mad this a real treat to drink. Next up the 2001 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Magnum was Classic Rhone funky stank love! New saddle leather, cigar smoke, roasted herbs, black truffles, underbrush, and blackberry as well as cherry fruit. It is a superb, earthy expression of this Mourvedre-dominated cuvee. Bravo! A generous member shared this with the group. The 2004 Guigal Chateau Ampuis Cote Rotie was a very elegant, exotic, aromatic expression of this world-class Cote Rotie-one of my favorites. Classic black fruits, pepper and smoke intermixed with notions of olive tapenade, underbrush and game. Beautifully complex, elegant and seamless. A drinking vintage of Ampuis that rocks. 1989 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was awesome in every way. This vineyard is a true First Growth of Napa and this one was drinking amazingly well. Chocolate covered cherries, mint, eucalyptus, tobacco, sweet currant and spice with evolved, caressing tannins and a lengthy finish. I love this wine! We finished with a perfect wine, the 2010 Le Dome from Jonathan Maltus and St. Emilion. This wine needed about 2 hours to truly open up, but it was worth the wait when it did! Blackberry and blueberry jam, violets, new saddle leather, white chocolate and spice. Extremely full-bodied without aggressiveness, this wine has extraordinary purity and richness as well as a blockbuster finish of close to a minute, yet is so flawless, seamless and compelling. It was an extremely generous member that popped this stunner and then only drank a little bit of it! It was a great time!
Other great wines from the night included:
1988 Camille Giroud Beaune 1er Cru Les Bressandes
1999 Paolo Scavino Rocche dell’Annunziata Riserva Barolo from MAGNUM
1994 Bitouzet Corton Charlemagne – BAD
1999 Remoissenet Richebourg
2009 Gargiulo G Major 7 Cabernet Sauvignon
2013 Drouhin Vaudon Chablis Vaudesir Grand Cru
1998 Troplong Mondot
2001 Girardin Batard Montrachet
2007 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling
1991 Piguet Girardin Santanay 1er Cru Comme
NV Michel Gonet Brut
2008 Louis Latour Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts
2013 Aubert Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard
2007 Pepperbridge Reserve
1993 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon
1997 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon
2012 Futo OVSL
1999 Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon
1990 Druid Wines Meursault Lemozin
1999 Domaine de La Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve
2008 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages
2009 Jack Quinn Cabernet Sauvignon
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