2004 Turley

Drinking at home.

2004 Turley Zinfandel Duarte - started drinking right after decanting. Initially a little sharp and alcoholic on the nose. Notes of cedar, cassis, and a hint of grilled meats. Also some red plums with their juicy acidity, a hint of vanilla, and some Asian spices. Almost 1½ hours later the wine was very fragrant.

Champagne and Cali

Dinner at Noble Imperial.

La Closerie Ampersand - a little yeast on the nose. There's good acidity balance with good depth on the palate.

2008 Sine Qua Non Kolibri - 2/3 roussanne, 1/3 viognier. Started drinking 30 minutes after opening. Initially the wine was too warm, but showed lemon and vanilla on the nose while it was sweet and ripe on the palate. It was also very sweet on the nose thanks to the vanilla, and almost some pineapple. Very buttery. Got so much better after chilling.

Henri Giraud MV Rosé, dégorgée le 15 Juin 2022 - served a little too war, but it's got good depth on the palate with some bitterness starting mid-palate and carried to the finish. Nose of strawberries, as one would expect.

2002 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard - double-decanted and stoppered for 2½ hours before popping the cork again. Minty with a nice whiff of smoke, there's some nice and ripe fruit along with coconut butter. Very smooth on the palate but still got the concentration, very much in its prime.

Full post on dinner is here.

Prüm and Lucia

Dinner at Metropole.

2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, from magnum - this was sweeter than expected on the palate. On the nose there were notes of white flowers and flint, and some polyurethane.

2010 Lucia, from magnum - a little smoke, a decent amount of cassis and black fruits. Smooth on the palate with good concentration.

J'En Veux et Encore

Dinner at Yung Kee.

Charles Dufour Bulles de Comptoir #11 Terrine et Jardin, dégorgée Novembre 2021 - nice acidity on the palate here. Very smooth and elegant.

2011 Anne et Jean-François Ganevat J'En Veux - the color was very, very light... basically a cloudy pink with a touch of ruby, but that would be the result of having white varietals in the blend. The nose was really fragrant and lovely, with floral and sweet fruit notes. So alluring... The palate displayed a higher level of acidity after tasting the preserved pork. The nose also showed some leather. The palate was also showing some light levels of stewed fruits. This bottle was just drinking really well, and I'm still dreaming about the bouquet.

2016 Anne et Jean-François Ganevat J'En Veux Encore - the color was much darker thanks to the dominance of gamay in the blend. The nose was definitely more pungent, with leather and animal notes dominating. Very toasty, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

Three Italians

2015 Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo - the wine was showing a nice and toasty fragrance, which also seemed a little fat. The palate was kinda rounded but still got a nice amount of acidity for balance. Drinking well.

2007 Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste - the nose was really fragrant and lovely, very floral, and nice and sweet like candy, but this was also a little sharp and alcoholic at first. The palate was showing ripe and stewed fruits that would be typical of a wine that is much older, and we've definitely got the acidity on the palate as one would expect. Pretty nice.

2008 Sassicaia - decanted for an hour before putting back in the bottle, then triple-decanted about 1½ hours after first opening. Started drinking nearly 3 hours after opening. This was smoky, minty, meaty, and really fragrant. Classic Sassicaia. Soft enough on the palate but still got the concentration.

Full post on dinner is here.

2013 Faiveley Amoureuses

Dinner at Fiata Pizza.

2013 Joseph Faiveley Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - double-decanted an hour before drinking. Initially the wine showed some notes of leather, then there was a little eucalyptus and dried herbs. There was some ripeness on the palate but the acidity was still high. Almost 3 hours later this opened up a little more, and was now showing some sweet strawberries and vanilla.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Cossard Pinot

Drinking at home.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Pinot Noir - nice notes of violet, leather, and blackberries on the nose, which was kinda nice and fragrant and almost a little soapy. Still very fragrant 2 hours later, with bigger notes of leather.

2004 Turley

Drinking at home.

2004 Turley Zinfandel Old Vines - started drinking 15 minutes after decanting. The fruit felt slightly cooked. This was still sweet on the palate but the acidity was more prominent now. The wine was hot and alcoholic on the palate, and kinda burned on the way down. There was definitely some honeydew melon, and some woodsy notes which came out later, along with a small dose of dessiccated coconut towards the end.

Free corkage for 5

Dinner at Sagrantino. Going for the last time.

2003 Pazo de Señorâns Selección de Añada - surprisingly nice acidity after all these years. The nose was nice showing how it developed with age, without showing oxidation or caramelization. There was a nice fragrance with toasty oak and notes of honey along with some ripeness. The acidity on the palate, though, was still there with some tartness on the finish. After about 2 hours the wine showed some metallic notes on the nose.

2022 Les Fauvettes De l'Aube à l'Aube - this was definitely bongwater. Nose of ripe and sweet strawberries, a little farmy and bretty but on the sweet side, not really savory. Later on we also had blueberries on the nose.

1970 Penfolds Dalwood Hermitage - started drinking around 1 hour after opening. Nose was very savory as expected, a little bretty, animal, with plenty of soy sauce. About 3 hours in this was so, so bretty.

Laherte Les Longue Voyes, dégorgée en Decembre 2021 - nice and caramelized on the nose.

2019 Chanterêves Bourgogne Aligoté Les Chagniots - toasty nose with some ripeness. There was some acidity on the palate along with buttery notes.

Laherte Rosé

Drinking at home.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée en mars 2023 - lots of minerals on top of the fragrant red fruits.

2010 Lucia

Dinner at Noble Imperial.

2010 Lucia, en magnum - popped and poured. Silky smooth tannins, with delicious ripe black fruits along with oak and woodsy notes on the nose. A little sweet on the palate, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

Hodgepodge Wednesday

Dinner at Parade.

Pierre Deville Primitif, dégorgée en Octobre 2022 - lovely nose with yeast, minerals, nice and caramelized.

2004 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine - started drinking some 1 hour and 15 minutes after double-decanting. Initially the nose was not showing much, and the palate was thinner than expected. Half an hour later this opened up really nicely and showed lots of sweet fruit. Very elegant, not quite floral, but lovely nonetheless.

2002 Kongsgaard Syrah - started drinking almost 2 hours after double-decanting. Lots of eucalyptus, some smoke. The palate wasn't great on the first pour, but over time this opened up more and the sweetness came, with a little more leather. Very smooth and elegant, but not as glorious as other recent bottles.

1959 Coron Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches - nose with leather and meaty notes, a little bretty, which was not surprising given the wine's age.

2019 Piero Busso Barbaresco Albesani Vigna Borgese - tasted more than 2½ hours after opening. Nose was very minty, with lots of herbs and similar to potpourri, and reminiscent of amaro.

1980 and 2020

Dinner at Plaisance.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - the nose started off being a little metallic, and kinda sweet on the nose like apricot. But DAMN! The acidity on the palate was so high but at the same time the wine was so rounded and fat. There was a lot of ripeness on the nose, but none of that buttery profile that many love about white Burgs. An interesting beast.

1980 Vega Sicilia Unico - decanted about an hour after opening and started drinking 15 minutes after decanting. Initially the nose showed a lot of exotic spices, vanilla, and coconut butter that I have come to love from Unico. What a lovely nose! There was a good amount of sweet fruit, almost like strawberries. So smooth and drinking so very well now.

Full post on dinner is here.

61 Ducru and 71 TBA

Dinner at a friend's home.

1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou, en demi-bouteille - level was low shoulder. Popped and poured. Nose was very fragrant, like sweet grass, with a little leather. Reasonably bretty and savory, with some animal notes. Drinking reasonably well.

1971 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese - started drinking more than 2 hours after opening. Nose was really fragrant, really rich and unctuous on the palate, with a beautiful fragrance in the mouth and good sweetness, of course. Was there also a little eucalyptus on the nose? Second pour was more than 2½ hours after opening, and the wine was now really open with notes of polyurethane, orange marmalade, and saffron. Lovely level of acidity to balance out the sweetness and richness. Around 4 hours after opening, the palate had become very soft.

1997 Pégau Cuvée Justine - started drinking 20 minutes after opening without decanting. This was pretty good already but even better another 20 minutes later with nice notes of leather and a bit of smoke. Pretty rich on the palate with lots of depth, but this turned more alcoholic about 2 hours after opening.

2021 Scheuermann Chardonnay Deidesheim - the nose was definitely toasty and a little reductive. There was some ripeness here but the wine still had good overall acidity. Not bad at all.

2021 Scheuermann Pinot Noir Gelber Sandstein - this needed more than 30 minutes to open up, and the nose was still very oaky, and a little bongwater.