By: Ryan Tedder
Hello my wine loving Graileys friends! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday experience with family and friends. We here at Graileys had more members than ever this last month and I had some computer picture loading situation that I just got rectified. We drank too much amazing wine over the last month not to report to your discriminating palates what the stunners and the stinkers were. Thankfully there were a lot more of the former bottles than the later! I wanted to start at the beginning and the above picture dates back to earlier this month. It started the month off with a bang and a lot of these wines were outstanding!
1999 Drouhin Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru – bottle taken with. Powerful, rich and nicely fruited with loads of time left to age. Lots of meaty red fruit, sois bois, moreal mushroom and raspberry tart. Lots of dry roses and oak spice on the nose as well.
1994 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux Grand Cru – One of the finest 1994s I have ever tasted. Drank with elegance, depth and sensuality.
2001 Bouchard Chambertin Clos-de-Beze Grand Cru – I wine that was drinking superbly from the bottle with 15 minutes of air. More a bruiser than poet.
NV Krug Grand Cuvee – Always rocking!
NV Francois Diligent Champagne Richardot, 2010 Robert Foley Merlot
2011 Lillian Gold Series #1 Syrah – This has been my favorite Syrah over the last month. It tastes like SQN with more balance and an intoxicating nose of varietal purity and precision. This woman really crafts wines of class!
2012 Antica Terra Ceras Pinot Noir Willamette Valley – Another Maggie Harrison wine like Lillian, this specific bottling needs a few more years in the cellar to show up to its potential. Showed with loads of spice, mineral, earth, dried flowers and herbs with pomegranate. I can’t wait to follow this wine.
2007 Domaine de Montille Pommard les Rugiens 1er Cru – This legendary grand cru of Pommard needed 45 minutes in a decanter, but once it opened the wine was riveting and complex.
2012 Bevan Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard - This equal part Cab Franc and Merlot blockbuster needs another 4 years in the cellar but if you are into infanticide, give this 100 pointer 3 hours to open up.
2012 Jones Family The Sisters Cabernet, 2009 Alter Ego from Margaux, 2007 Beringer Private Reserve Cab, 1994 Beringer Private Reserve Cab, 1994 Conseillante Pomerol
The next day we had these rockers!
Sometimes it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality! We had a handful of superlative wines :
2002 Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Elizabeth Salmon Rose – Probably my favorite vintage Rose going right now
1998 Dom Perignon P2 Oenotheque – Tight as nails, luxurious as a diamond tiara. Still badass to drink!
2007 Guigal La Moulin Cote Rotie – Surprisingly forward, complex, and multi-faceted with a kaleidoscope of flavors. Find more of this wine ASAP! We drank another one the next day.
1990 Pichon Baron – This bottle has consistently rocked the house and this one was no slouch. Cassis, pipe tobacco, leather, gravel, dried violets, cedar and red plums. Loads of power and complexity!
1991 Lafite Rothschild – Not a renowned vintage from this awesome first growth. It took about 30 minutes to open up but it was haunting in its filthy aromatics. It reminded me of an old aristocrat drinking his fine Bordeaux in his study contemplating the finer points of Bordeaux vintages and the nuance of such a fine wine. It also got a horrible score and some people would hate it-oh well – That’s wine!
The next day, we slurped down these rocking Bordeaux:
1995 Cos d’Estournel – A fantastic bottle of wine that could use another 5 more years in bottle for my palate. The power was obvious and the all the parts are there but this 1995 needs a serious decant or some more bottle time.
1996 Carruades de Lafite – this second label of Lafite was every bit the quality of a first growth on this day. It might have lacked some of the aromatic complexity and perhaps some power, but this Carruades was absolutely rocking! Cedar, cassis, cigar box, graphite, beef, dried herbs, finely detailed tannins and a supremely complex, mouthfilling stunner. This is a wine to find!
1970 Lynch Bages – This wine was as superb as it was divisive. If you were a fan of vinous Bordeaux with soft tannins, funky barnyard aromas with a certain savory secondary character that you either loved or hated. I loved it, others hated it 
The wine was a delight to drink.
2000 Bahans Haut Brion – a very good wine indeed that could benefit from more bottle aging on this day. It is a great wine but not showing at its best this day. Full of great fruit, oak, and power but lacking a bit of complexity that would surely come with more air or time.
The next day was full of some spectacular wines too. Such as:
2002 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne, 2010 Radio Coteau Savoy Vineyard Chardonnay, 1997 Antinori Tignanello, 1998 Chateau Peby Fargeres, 1985 Chateau Montelena Cab, 1998 Chapoutier Cote Rotie La Morderee, 2008 Gemstone Estate Red Mags – THESE ROCK AND WE HAVE MORE!!
1996 Pichon Lalande – this wine was showing perfectly Pichon-y with its signature green, cassis, cedar, pencil, cigar wonderfulness. The wine is drinking and aging like a champ!
1998 Barde Haut, 1996 Carruades de Lafite, 1996 Chateau Magdelaine, 2009 Leoville Poyferre – this 100 Pointer is unreal good at such an early age. A wine to stockpile!
2011 Continuum, 2010 Le Pergole Torte from Montevertrino, and a killer bottle of 2002 Dom Ruinart from Magnum!
This bottle really stood out to our surprise. The 1994 Tua Rita Giusto di Notri is a Cabernet Blend that was showing like fine Bordeaux. The wine tasted more and more like excellent Saint Emilion with dried red plums, tobacco, dried herbs, cigar, cassis, and bloody notes.
The next week we started with some crazy ass Bordeaux-again. This was the week of our Christmas party and our valued members were pulling out great bottle after great bottle!
1975 Pichon Lalande – This bottle was a little passed its prime in my opinion as the fruit had dried out and the wine was taking on a certain rancio element that was somewhat off-putting.
1983 Pichon Lalande – I have drank 10 great bottles of this classic shadow vintage Pichon over the last 2 years and this one was also a little lacking. Lacking the WOW factor of the other 83s.
1989 Pichon Baron – a truly great Bordeaux that was showing with great class and structure with a noble robe, refined tannins and an endless finish.
1989 Leoville Barton – Another rocking 1989 that was more elegant, perfumed and suave than the Pichon Baron. Delightful to drink.
1994 Mouton – this 1994 is drinking impressively well from the bottle with a medium bodied, silky texture and excellent Pauillac flavors. Lip smaking good and well priced.
Then we did a Champagne Campaign on Wednesday that included:
NV H. Billiot Cuvee Julie, 2009 Jean Milan Terres de Noel Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, 2002 Piper Heidseick Cuvee Rare, 2005 Louis Roederer Cristal, 2008 Chartogne-Taillet Orizeaux, 1998 Dom Perignon P2 Oenotheque, 2000 Krug and NV Krug Grand Cuvee – It was a great cross section of smoking Champagnes!
Some other highlights from the night included:
2006 Caymus Special Selection Cab, 2010 Camarcanda Camarcanda, 2006 Favia Cerro Sur, 2009 Arkenstone, 2003 Cliff Lede Poetry Cab, 2000 Pichon Lalande, 2009 Favia Cerro Sur, 2002 Staglin Cab, 2009 Raphet Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, 2006 Paradigm Cab, 2002 Palmaz Cab, 1996 Pian delle Vigne Brunello from Antinori, 1996 Montrose – ROCKING!!! – WOTN, 2007 Kosta Browne Russian River Pinot Noir, 2007 Beringer Private Reserve Cab. We were just warming up for the CHRISTMAS PARTY! My colleagues did the blog on that amazing night and it was truly epic. This is a fun pic from the last bottle of the night that I can recall-A SABERED 6 LITER OF TAITTINGER!
After we all rested our livers over the weekend, we were back on it the week before Xmas. Check out these stunners:
This was one of the best lineups of vintage Cali Cab that we have had in some time. Dr. Ellis started it out and the night took off!
1978 Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon – This was the inaugural for Duckhorn and the wine was riveting! Another stellar 1978 Napa Cab. I tweeted about it and Duckhorn asked how it was. A fantastic bottle of wine indeed.
1986 Shafer Hillside Select Cab – the best one of these I have tried. Still going strong with sweet fruit and a mature Napa complexity.
1990 Dominus – a wine that tasted like great Margaux with 20 years of age on it. Cassis, cedar, tobacco, dirt, mint and pipe smoke. Super complex and refined.
1994 Dominus – this Mag needed more time in the cellar. It was all fruit, oak and extract and the wine needed some time to settle down. It was a great bottle of wine no doubt, it just lacked complexity and the finish was clipped.
Then a quartet of stunning French bottles punctuated the night. All of them rocked in every way:
1990 Trapet Chambertin Grand Cru, 1996 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, 2008 Gros Freres Richebourg Grand Cru and 1989 Chateau Latour. It was truly a great night of drinking!
Here were some other great wines from the night:
Highlights included:
2000 Zind Humbrecht Clos Windsbuhl Gewurztraminer, 2009 Jean Milan Terres de Noel, 2006 Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque, 2010 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 1er Cru, 2006 Pichon Baron, 2000 Pichon Lalande, 2009 Lafleur Petrus, 2001 Revana Cab
Sorry for the delay in getting all of these great wines out there. Needless to say we have been keeping busy this holiday season drinking the world’s finest wines with the world’s greatest clients. Have a great holiday season and a very happy New Year!