Our little wine club got together to taste some gems from our cellars . One member is Scottisch and she brought the white Rayas 
. Others searched a little deeper…
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The delicious nose made me think Chevalier Montrachet , very aromatic , some honey and spices , fresh and mineral . Not very long but really nice wine . To my big surprise , it turned out to be a white Rayas 1995 .Really good
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The second wine was deep golden . The nose was a little volatile . I knew what it was ( I brought it ) and was hugely disappointed . The 2007 Marcassin from Marcassin vineyard was border line undrinkable . Very fat , too ripe , lacking freshness . I cannot understand how it has such a reputation . We decided to throw it in the sink and look for a spare bottle .
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Well… the first bottle was corked ( and this is def. NOT the first time ) but the second one was good . The 2002 Chevalier Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive . I have had this wine numerous times . Half of them are oxidized or corked , some of them still young ( like this one ) , others perfectly ready and gorgeous . How bizarre
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The sommelier decided to start with delicate and then move to more power . The 1959 Musigny from Domaine Faiveley was delicious . Delicate wine but still with a good spine , a bit like me ( I’m also from 1959 ) . I don’t think this wine came from the Faiveley holding ( as they have less than 1 barrel of Musigny ) and Faiveley is a negotiant anyway . But who cares , we had a lovely experience .
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The second bottle was a 1959 Grand Echezeaux from DRC . Last year , I had a stunningly good bottle of this … but this one was not . Like they say , there are no great old wines , just great old bottles . A bit tired .
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I felt like Francois Audouze when we opened the next bottle . The La Tache 1971 was fabulous and one of the best wines of the year for me ( I brought the wine
) . Still fresh and very aromatic , very complex . -
The 1990 La Tache was WAY too young . It still possessed it’s primary fruit and had not yet any secundary aromas , so it tasted a bit unidimensional . This 23 year old bottle will be great 15 to 20 years from now , I think .
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Time to move to another region . The 1995 Rayas was powerful , young and delicious . While I think it will continue to be great for at least another 10 years , it is now a perfect glass of wine . After the 1990 , best Rayas I ever had ( and I’ve had many ) .
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We finished with an Yquem from 1939 . Dark/amber in color , this was excellent and a surprise to me . I don’t think I ever had a wine from 1939… and I don’t know about it’s reputation , but it is all you can hope for . Very long and complex . Life is good .