66.6% of 2009 is behind us. What is you BEST & WORST so far?

*Best: 2004 Buccella

Worst: 2004 Silver Oak Napa

  • Just to keep this in perspective, why not make this one you expected more from, or at least expected to be drinkable…

Best: 1999 Ogier Cote Rotie La Belle Helene

Worst: 2003 Kaesler Grenache “The Fave”

Best - So many options here…

Lafleur dinner (86,89)
85 Jayer Echezeaux
2004 Robert Weil Riesling Kiedrich Grafenberg TBA

Worst - Multiple vintages of Pride Reserve…yeah, it sucked, but time.

Best: 2007 Maybach Materium from Magnum

Worst: 2004 Pico Madama

Best: 2001 Colgin Cariad
2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow
1999 Guigal Hermitage (just way better than I expected)

Worst: 2001 Williams Selyem Pinot Precious Mtn
2004 Stanton Cabernet

  • 1
    Close 2nd Quivid 07 Spring Mountain.

Best:
1990, 82, 86 Leoville Las Cases
1990 Latour
1990 Yquem
2004 Screaming Eagle
2005 Montelena Cabernet Estate
1996 Krug

Worst: Corked wines

Very interesting, though difficult, question - one that I had to go through my notes to answer.

For the 2/3rds of 2009 gone by:

Best

US:

Cab/Cab Blend - '94 Dominus
Syrah/Syrah Blend - '97 Sean Thackrey Orion Old Vines

France:

Rosé - 2007 Tempier Bandol Rosé
Champagne - '88 Roederer Cristal

Bdx:

Pauillac - '83 Lafite Rothschild
St-Julien - '82 Gruaud Larose/'78 Ducru Beaucaillou
Pomerol - '94 Lafleur, just edging out '98 L’Evangile (still very young)
St-Estèphe - '86 Cos d’Estournel
St-Emilion - '94 Angelus (I obviously don’t drink much St-Emilion)
Pessac-Léognan - '96 Domaine de Chevalier

Burgundy:

Chablis - '00 Domaine Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
Volnay - '90 d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans
Corton - '99 Jadot Corton-Pougets Grand Cru
Grands Échézeaux - '97 DRC
Morey St-Denis - '99 Louis Jadot Clos St-Denis Grand Cru
Gevrey Chambertin - '03 Denis Mortet G-C 1er Cru Les Champeaux

Rhône:

Hermitage - '96 Chave Hermitage
Côte Rôtie - '98 Jamet Côte-Rôtie
Southern Rhône - '98 Beaucastel CdP

Loire:

Sancerre - '01 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos La Néore
Pouilly-Fumé - 2003 Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang

Italy:

Barbaresco - '97 Gaja Barbaresco
Tuscan IGT - '88 Castello dei Rampolla Sammarco
Barolo - '90 Gaja Barolo Sperss

Spain:

Ribera del Duero - '87 Unico
Rioja - '82 Rioja Alta 890 Gran Reserva/'95 Murrieta Dalmau
Bierzo - '03 Descendientes de José Palacios Moncerbal
País Vasco - '08 Txomin Etxaniz Getaria
Rías Baixas - '07 Laxas Albariño

Germany: '07 Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese

Expected to be drinkable but wasn’t:

'92 Margaux, '86 Ducru Beaucaillou, '05 Kapcsándy Family Winery Estate Cuvée State Lane Vineyard

Nice list LMD.

Best: 93 Drouhin Musigny

Worst: Devastatingly DOA 82 Salon

Best: 1983 Dominus, 1998 Coutier Ambonnay (Champs)

Worst: Heart-crushing two consecutive corked Barolos from my cellar - 2000 Prunotto Bussia and 2003 Pio Cesare

Top wines thus far have been a 90 Verset Cornas,86 lalande,87 Monty.

Most disaapointing was a 1985 E. Guigal Hermitage

I can’t even put into words just how vile the couple of bottles of Pride Reserve were . . . and I generally don’t have any problem spinning a yarn. I also had to suffer through some KB damage that was brutal and then there was that truly horrific collection of Clarendon Hills I keep meaning to post about. Right up there though is the '05 Green Lion Cabernet . . . Napa Cab from Chris Ringland!

Best: Mag 1970 Mayacamas and 1963 Taylor

Worst: the 17 bottles Saxon and I had for lunch one day that all sucked

+1.

That 17 bottle lunch was an all time low.

Best: 1990 La Grande Dame
Worst: 1994 Dominus that was among The Most Corked Wines Ever - Did you ever succeed in getting that replacement, Tryba?

Don’t really see how a corked wine can be on somebody’s worst list…It’s not a fair (good or bad) representation of the wine…

Best: 2003 Big Basin Rattlesnake Rock Syrah and 2007 Copain Monument Tree Pinot Noir

Worst: 2006 Saxon Brown ‘Parmelee Hill - Stonewall Block’ Zinfandel

Best: 2004 Cayuse Cailloux, 2005 Roar Garys’ Pinot Noir

Worst: 2001 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino, 1987 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve

Best:

Hard to pick just one. If I really had to, the 02 Monfortino. But really, these are the wines that stand out in my memory:

02 Marc Colin Chassagne Champs-Gain, Caillerets
01 Bea Sagrantino
04 F Rinaldi Barolo Cannubio
02 Monfortino
99 Clos des Ducs
98 Fourrier Chambolle Gruenchers
01 Arnoux Beaux Monts
01 Conti Costanti Brunello

Worst:
05 Argiolas Korem
05 Nit de Nin
01 Le Chiuse Brunello