EVENING 1:
2006 Comtes - jazz apple lemon curd jasmine almond hint of white bread. Nice, but slightly light through the midpalate. Very good but not a great Comtes.
1989 Forman Napa Valley 12.9% - cherry fruit, hint of shoe polish, faded cedar, spice and cherry nose. Pretty darn nice. Finishes with hint of eucalyptus as it opens.
1991 Seavey - nose slightly decayed, minor fecal, hint of prune suggesting tiny touch of Brett. Forest floor, black cherry, nice acid and structure. Just a hair iffy on nose.
1992 Spottswoode - light color, would guess Pinot blind. Strawberry and cherry with bright acid. Confusing as this is hardly cab but bright and lithe. Nose is sort of iffy, fecal. Weird wine for a Napa cab. Mixed bag.
1994 Dominus - wild exotic notes with allspice, mint, cherry, potpourri. Palate not quite as spot on. Structured still, and noticeably ripe fruited relative to the others. 14.1% listed. Nose extraordinary. Palate not as complete. Still excellent, but can’t decide between secondary and tertiary.
1995 Dom Perignon Oenotheque - excellent. Truly. Very different from 1996. This is nutty, rich, but also has crisp acid. Oh man the rich biscuit and yeasty crème brûlée. Almost a toasted marshmallow on the initial nose
1900 Henriques y Henriques Solera - deep caramel and rum a raisin, great acid, light cinnamon with lemon. Eternal? But alas folks love it.
DAY 2:
2013 Raveneau Chablis 1er Butteaux - lemon curd and pineapple, wet slate, grated ginger. Absolutely delicious with perfect balance and nice cut.
2002 Bollinger RD - lovely color out of the gate promises freshness. Good bright citrus, hint of orange blossom, biscuit, hint of nuttiness, only the faintest oxidative notes. Very good RD. Drinking very young. An Avery 94.
EVENING 2:
1980 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Grands Exhezeaux - soaring nose of rose cherry and strawberries. Vibrant acidity, with sweet fruit. Potpourri and dried orange peel. Divine. Truly. As Carnes said, it’s why we get into wine…the chase for just this type of wine experience.
1993 Vogue Chambolle Musigny - bright cherry and spice, slight ferrous tang, faint hint of wood, nice acid (almost hint of blood orange cut) and structure. Lovely, with light hints of sous bois on finish. Very good
1989 d’Angerville Volnay Caillerets - meaty gamey nose, perhaps a touch of brett. Iron and huge spice notes, jalapeño, big structure and tannins.
2002 Henri Gouges NSG Les Saint Georges - black cherry, violets, hint of oak, nice spice, soft licorice note. This is dense and a bit more brooding, with nice structure. Lovely, stout wine.
2007 Trapet Chambertin - light color with sweet strawberry and basil, violets and raspberry and blood orange. Lift and class, so clean and lifted. Stunningly gorgeous, clean, bright, and “lifted.” I love the style.
2009 Drouhin Musigny - huge nose of cherry and baking spice, allspice and anise, deep and classy, hint of rose. But it’s the cherry and spice show and boy is it a show. Deep and complex, age worthy, but divine right now. Seriously complex and connected. Glorious.
2009 Dugat-Py Mazis Chambertin - nose shows blackberry and raspberry with violets and, oddly, serrano pepper. Big structure and complex, with a spicy long and structured finish. Needs a lot of time.
2003 Chateau d’Yquem - honey and candied citrus peel. Sweet. Nice acid. Whatever who cares.
DAY 3:
Ulysse Collin Les Roises 3/19 Disgorge - gorgeous juicy fruit nose with hint of florals. Long and layered, orchard fruit, sugar cookie, bright citrus, touch of orange. Truly top notch. Great wine.
Michel Fallon Ozanne Blanc de Blancs - deeper color showing a more aged profile, gorgeous apple and graham cracker, citrus, hint of oxidative notes, almond. Deep and complex and yes, reminds of Selosse.
2008 Doyard Les Lumieres - rich in color and giving on the nose with layered orchard fruit and a hint of funk/lactic. Rich with nice spice, baked fruit, citrus cut, and leesy with nice yeast notes. Complex, but not my fave of the group.
2008 Bollinger R.D. - nose is bright with orange blossom and citrus fruit. Palate is gorgeous. So dense and bright, with green apple, lemon, orange, spice, hint of leesiness. A neutron star wine, supremely complex. My all time fave RD for long term drinking.
1985 Cos d’Estournel - pure nose of black cherry, licorice, and sweet pipe tobacco. Purest 85 Cos I’ve had. Palate is sweet aged black and red cherry, musk, hint of tobacco and soft spice notes. Faint cedar on finish. Gorgeous wine, and exceptional condition. Truly lovely.
2014 La Pialade Côtes du Rhône - strawberry, rhubarb, orange, iron, tangy acid. Aromatically expressive, hint of rosemary, chamomile and honey, with the light bright fruit. Nearly an orange wine color, but delightful. So giving on the nose.
EVENING 3:
Pierre Peters Heritage Champagne - 19 vintages 2010 through 1921. Apple, apricot, nectarine, soft citrus, oxidative notes, fairly rich fruit with some toast, soft mousse, white flowers, hint of wet stone. Color still good light golden. Interesting and delicious, with nice vibrancy considering the solera style.
2004 Dom Perignon P2 - white cherry and pear, hint of sweet pink grapefruit, vanilla cream pat, honeysuckle, almond, mint. Exceptional vivacity. Gorgeous stuff.
1978 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - One sniff and it’s clear this is in perfect condition. Sweet black cherry, pipe tobacco, brown sugar, potpourri, touch of eucalyptus. Palate mirrors nose and thank goodness. Lovely acid, beautiful fresh fruit. What a gem, wow.
1961 La Mission Haut Brion - More like haut mess. Flawed. TCA to me. Alternatively, VA. Or both. Sweet musky cherry and forest floor on palate. But flawed.
2012 Pignan - rose and cherry, cherry richness to syrup/liqueur, cinnamon, decent acid. It’s perhaps a bit rich and syrupy, but also bright and light in color.
2012 Rayas -raspberry coulis and cherry liqueur, Chinese five spice, ripe but nice acid, hint of sage. Both sweet rich fruit but also racy. Preferred the 2008, but this is clearly an exceptionally well made wine. Unique.
2012 Chateau de Fonsalette - black cherry and garrigue (with some rosemary and sage), sweet liqueur, faint hint of pepper and spice on finish.
1985 Chateau Haut Brion - Brett on the nose with some bandaid, unfortunately. Palate is lovely with pure cherry and violet and bright acid, hint of shoe polish, cigar box. A bit flawed.
1985 Ducru-Beaucaillou - classic Saint Julien (wink). Black currant and cherry, tobacco, cedar, big spice notes. Palate carries nice sweet fruit, classic sweet cherry, spice, and Levi Garrett.
1985 Chateau Trotte Vielle - that’s spiced cherry and green tobacco with green bell on the nose, rich fruit, but nice acid and tannins, with an iron filings note on the back end. Long and built to age another decade. But pretty fine now.
Some other thoughts: I don’t really love dessert or fortified wines, so my comments on 2003 d’Yquem and the 1900 Solera Henriques Madeira should be taken in context. The Madeira was exceptional, complex, interesting, and silky smooth. It is just not my cup of tea. The Yquem was delicious but again, just not my cup of tea. I’m good for about 1 ounce of those wines.
The 1985 Ducru surprised me with its youthfulness and richness. And then I was told oh, it’s a reconditioned bottle, and the crew suspects that some younger wine may have been used for the reconditioning. It certainly tastes like it. Alfert thought it was way too polished and rich and youthful and, frankly, a bit boring because of it. I don’t really disagree, but disliked it less than he did.
The 1995 Dom Oeno is showing peak maturity for me if you like aged champagne. It’s turning a bit deeper in color and is starting to add on those meaningfully aged notes while still being bright and exciting with a nice mousse. I prefer the 96, which I found cooler profiled and brighter, but this is a gorgeous champagne.
Pierre Peters Heritage is a really cool wine and among the best PP wines I’ve ever had. I am usually disappointed by Pierre Peters, but this was refined, complex, and interesting. Did I enjoy it more than any of the other champagnes? No, I didn’t. Would I drop like $1700 on this? No, never. But I think it’s rad Carnes got this through a charity raffle and I was very happy to drink his wine.
