2014 Ganevat

Lunch at Sushi Saito. 

2014 Ganevat Les Gryphées Vieilles Vignes - lots of flint and lemon notes, and almost a little honey.  Lean on the palate with good acidity with some roundness.

Full post on lunch here.

2006 Kistler Sonoma Coast

Drinking at home.

2006 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - pretty alcoholic when poured into the Zalto Burgundy glass, and served too warm.  Very sweet on the palate, with toast, leather, eucalyptus notes.  Still really sweet after two hours, like bubblegum.

10 Sine Qua Non

Dinner at Nikushou.  All Sine Qua Non lineup.

Flight one:  opened just prior to serving.

2000 Sine Qua Non The Boot - 52% chardonnay, 24% roussanne, and 24% viognier. 14.9% alcohol.  The nose was the ripest of the three whites, with caramelized sweetness like sugar cane.  This improved a lot later, but still rather short on the palate.

2001 Sine Qua Non Rien Ne Va Plus - 100% roussanne.  15.5% alcohol.  Nice toasty nose and really ripe.  Mature on the palate now.

2002 Sine Qua Non Whisperin' E - 50% roussanne, 31% viognier, and 19% chardonnay. 14.9% alcohol.  Really explosive nose with huge amount of toast, really beautiful with a little flint.  Really ripe on the palate, soft and kinda short on the finish.  Still going strong some 4 hours later.

Flight two:

1999 Sine Qua Non The Ox - 100% pinot noir. 14% alcohol. Really fragrant nose.  Served an hour after decanting.  A little meaty with leather notes.

2005 Sine Qua Non The Naked Truth - 90% grenache and 10% syrah. 15.8% alcohol.  Wow!  Really fragrant.  Definitely notes of black pepper, lot of dried herbs, a little green pepper.  Fucking good!

Flight three:

1996 Sine Qua Non Against the Wall - 92% syrah and 8% grenache.  14.5% alcohol.  Served 6½ hours after opening.  Smoky, sweet fruit, with coffee notes.  Very smooth.  So nice.  

2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante - 88% syrah, 10% grenach, 2% viognier.  14.9% alcohol.  Served 3 hours after opening.  Unfortunately corked, but showing some toasty notes.

2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil - 96% syrah, 2.5% grenache, and 1.5% viognier. 14.9% alcohol.  A little ripe fruit and a little smoke on the nose.  Pretty nice.

2005 Sine Qua Non The 17th Nail in My Cranium - 97% syrah and 3% viognier.  15.8% alcohol.  Served 4½ hours after opening.   Really ripe and jammy, with metallic notes.  A really big wine.

2006 Sine Qua Non The Raven N° 5 - 93% syrah, 5% grenache, and 2% viognier. 15.5% alcohol.  Served 3½ hours after opening. Very minty, metallic, with ripe fruit.  Drinking really well now.

Full post on dinner is here.

2006 Kistler Sonoma Coast

Drinking at home.

2006 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - initially a little woodsy, pungent.  After 2 hours still pretty jammy, fragrant with wood notes, black cherries, and eucalyptus.  Opened up really well, with pine needle, forest, and exotic spices.

2000 and sake

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2000 Egly-Ouriet, dégorgée en mai 2008 - nice and ripe on the palate, slightly bitter.  Lemon citrus, a little marmalade, and nice toasty notes.

Hanagaki Kyukyoku no Hanagaki Daiginjo (花垣  究極の花垣  大吟醸), 2019 - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.  Really sweet on the nose with tons of banana and fermented rice notes.  Nice and complex, rich on the palate.  Initially sweet on the palate but became more dry with aeration.

2000 Antinori Solaia - decanted 1½ hours prior to serving.  Very smooth and drinking very well.  Minty, not too sweet.  

Full post on dinner is here.

Bubbles and shiraz

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2015 Roses de Jeanne Les Ursules, dégorgée en avril 2019, en magnum - this was from the day before, so while it was nice and ripe, it just didn't seem as lively.

Frederic Savart L'Ouverture, dégorgée en mai 2019 - riper on the palate than I expected, and pretty rounded with a good balance.

Ruinart Rosé - a little toasty with more red fruits.

2003 Torbreck Descendant, from magnum - decanted for 1½ hours prior to serving.  Still very ripe and jammy, but it's softened with age and some aeration.  Drinking beautifully right now.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sine Qua Non and Cristal

Dinner at Otto e Mezzo Bombana.

2008 Louis Roederer Cristal - very fragrant and floral, with a little toast.  Acidity was pretty high despite the palate being kinda round.

2006 Sine Qua Non The Hoodoo Man - 39% Roussanne, 31% Viognier, 30% Chardonnay.  Served 45 minutes after opening.  Really sweet nose of bubblegum, cotton candy, and vanilla, with some acetone.  Also sweet and butter notes.  After 2 hours a little metallic.  Still some acidity on the palate and even a little grippy, and later slightly bitter.  So exotic and interesting!

2003 Sine Qua Non Papa - 97% Syrah, 2% Mourvedre, 1% Grenache.  Served after 1½ hours in decanter.  Still very ripe and jammy, a little metallic on the nose, with fragrant leather notes.  Very sweet on the palate with nice spices.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne, Blanc de Lynch Bages, Mordorée

Dinner at West Villa.

2016 Blanc de Lynch-Bages - pipi de chat, much riper on the palate than expected.  Pretty nice.

2016 Coessens Blanc de Noirs - nice and yeasty, reasonably ripe on the palate.

2012 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Reine des Bois - riper than expected, with forest and dried herb notes.  Drinking nicely.

2006 Krug - still a little on the young side, but can there ever be a bad bottle of Krug?

Full post on dinner is here.