The Specialist birthday

Dinner at 8½ Otto e Mezzo.

Jacques Selosse V.O. (disgorged May 3, 2010) - sweet, caramelized and oxidized, yeasty with minerals.  Later on savory like salty plum (話梅).  I love Anselme Selosse's wines, and this blanc de blancs blend of three vintages is another interesting example.

2003 Vogüé Bourgogne Blanc - nose of straw and sweet like marshmallow.  Very interesting.

1990 Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill - slightly oxidized nose with minerals.  Crisp and acidic on the palate.

1983 Haut-Brion Blanc - strange nose of plastic, burnt rubber... a little funky and stinky, with minerals and pipi de chat.  Pretty disappointing.

1985 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine-Collignon par Bouchard - about an hour after opening (but not decanted at the Specialist's orders): nose of leather, floral, black olives, a little mint.  Smooth and very feminine.  After 2 hours the wine became more full-bodied.

2003 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin - very pronounced animal notes, with cherry, forest, dried herbs and strawberries.  Very fragrant.

1985 Léoville-Las Cases - grass, smoke, lead pencil, mint and a little soy sauce.  Very classic claret that is drinking beautifully.

2002 Cheval Blanc - sweet and minty, but in generally the nose was pretty closed despite having been decanted.  A little smoke and some ripe fruits.  Still kinda tannic on the palate.

2004 Le Gay - smoke, ripe fruit, coffee, dried herbs and alcoholic.  The nose was open and nice, but the wine was still very tannic.

1900 D'Oliveiras Moscatel, leftovers - I had half a bottle leftover from a dinner last month, so I decided to bring it out to give others a taste.  Prominent nose of salty plum (話梅) that has been soaked in Chinese Huadiao (花雕) wine, with nutty and grapey notes.  Definitely a little more oxidized compared to last time...

Full post on dinner is here.