By: AJ McClellan
Every night has the opportunity to turn into a great night at Graileys! Yesterday seemed like it was going to be a slow one, then out of nowhere we got a great group of our members in! Everyone went back into their cellars and started to pop some outrageously great wines…
2001 Cheval Blanc - The Cheval Blanc was slightly muted on the nose out of the bottle, but after 30 min in the glass you couldpick out fresh red currants and rose petals. Still wound very tight but the tannins were full on the palate and after some searching I could find some blooming flowers, sweet tobacco, notes of old leather, and plush red fruits. A subtle note of sweet red currant linger on the back end of a long finish.
2011 El Molino Pinot Noir - A subtle beginning of red cherries and dark earth lead to powerful red fruit with well intergraded oak. The palate showed velvety tannins with stunning red fruit and an excellent balance.
2012 El Molino Chardonnay - This is a classic, fantastic bottle of Chardonnay. The nose was full of lemon, lime, and a subtle toast moving into crisp green apple and a hint of citrus on the palate. After opening up the wine showed a touch of popcorn on the back reminding me of a great Meursault. There was a surprisingly nice minerality on the finish as well which lead to a really nice complete wine.
1976 Cos d’Estournel - This wine is reaching the end of its life. The nose had a very vinous quality and while there was some dry fruit still hanging around you could tell it would crumble into dust at any moment. The palate was almost all tertiary with leather, smoke, forest floor, and spice.
Other wines of the night
1990 Druid Wines Meursault, 2012 Cast Chardonnay, 1995 Dominus, 2012 Ghost Block Cabernet, 2010 Chapter 24 Pinot noir, 1982 Carous de Lafite, 1998 Clinet, 2005 Terreus, and 2006 Cristal