Some brief impressions on some of the wines on the table last night.
02 Bollinger Grande Annee: I have had less than stellar bottles of this before but this was showing young and vibrant. A larger scaled champagne but still plenty nimble. Excellent.
10 Mt. Eden estate Chardonnay: A treat. Balanced, nothing over done, dare I say elegant? Great now and over next several years.
03 Forman Chard: Best years well behind it.
16 Karamolegos 34 Santorini Ancestral vines: 34 is to signify 34 centuries of vine growing on the island. Very interesting; mineral, smoke, and flint. Very much in the line of a good pouilly fume. Very good wine. Will likely improve over next few years.
11 Girardin Puligny Montrachet: This was better than expected. A bit heavy in the glass but plenty going on in the mineral and stony side of things. No rush to drink here.
12 Gramenon Cotes du Rhone Sierra du Sud. First time trying this wine. Cornas Jr. Punched well above its weight class. Bloody, irony, really good stuff.
98 Voge VV: Exactly as you would expect, toned down a bit from last showing. Plenty of life ahead but no need to delay gratification further.
01 Altare Burnate: This was a WOW wine. Great spot, ever-changing in the glass, so much going on, nothing too modern about this at all. Great stuff that seems like it is only going to get better.
07 Beaucastel CDP: Liked did not love. The vintage signature is front and center and in its company this wine suffered.
06 Ridge Monte Bello: Baby of course. Outstanding materials, can certainly be enjoyed with pleasure now with air, and is showing decent aromatics now; but its best years are a decade away.
01 Prum UW Auslese: So delicious and perfectly balanced. This will drink well for decades. Love Prum in 01.