By: AJ McClellan
While the real party was last night we couldn’t let Dave get on the plane without a little something to drink, flying is such thirsty business you know…
NV Krug Grand Cuvee – Krug, the Champagne of Champagnes. Soft effervescence with a tingle of apricot and white peach scraped off of a limestone wall.
1992 Marcassin Lorenzo Chardonnay – Phil opened this bad boy for us and boy was it excellent! Back when we did the Marcassin tasting this wine showed up as wine of the night, if anything we underrated it. Stunning popcorn with rocking minerality and perfectly ripe stone fruit. The palate showed zingy acidity and complex floral notes ending with a lovely finish. Every ten minutes the wine morphed into something new showing pear wax then huge mango and papaya, and finally ending up with peach and a mouthful of schist. What a stunning wine!
2000 Domaine Ramonet Batard Montrachet GC – If anything could give the Marcassin a run for its money it would be this bottle. The nose showed crisp key lime pie with a sweet slice of peach accenting the sour lime. The palate spoke of blooming summer flowers and an abundance of white rock. This is a masterful bottle of wine.
1993 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Les Folatieres – Just when you think things couldn’t get any better Domaine flavor flave comes out form the cellar. With a rich boisterous nose of honeysuckle and daisies followed by a palate of peaches and quince this bottle was drinking like a champ.
1991 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard – We blinded the group on this wine. Simon was the first to speak up announcing with certainty that it was an early 90’s Heritz. The wine is unmistakable with huge spearmint laced with eucalyptus and dark fruit. A fantastic example of California Cabernet and yet another example of a Cali Cab that can stand up against the big boys of Bordeaux.
1991 Camille Giroud Bonnes Mares GC – So, as embarrassing as it is to announce this, I called this Barbaresco in a blind tasting. I know, I know. But in my defense the wine showed a slight orange rim and smelt of dusty cherry, leather, and huge red flowers. The palate was massive with a light body and tannins that were gripping for a wine with 20 years of age on it. After an hour in the glass the wine mellowed out and started acting more appropriately for a Pinot Noir.
1988 La Mission Haut Brion – This is the fourth time I have had this bottle and it seems to taste very different every time. Normally the wine starts out watery with a distinct cardboard note then flourishes to show great fruit and a full body after being opened for an hour or two. This bottle was drinking great out of the gate with classic Bordeaux earth and a great plum extract on the finish.
2007 Carter Coliseum Cabernet Sauvignon – After a day of dinking older wines this bottle was much like desert. Dark and heavy with chewy chocolate and sweet black fruits. The wine was complex and full of energetic fruits and colossal spices, but boy was it sweet after the lineup we had…