^ I agree you can always decant longer if it hasn’t opened up yet, plus I love to watch/taste the wine evolve throughout the decant. To me that adds to the mystique and beauty while trying to break down or open up a wine. Nice choices BTW.
Notes are an overstatement. No one (thankfully) had a paper and pen out during our indulgence.
'06 Rhys Alpine Chardonnay - very much in the lemon curd sprectrum of Chard - others mentioned oak but I found it well integrated - a nice base of minerality to support the lemon theme - bright, well balanced acidity - drinking very well.
'01 Arcadian Francesca Pinot - I didn’t get to give as much attention to this as I was making dinner but as I recall - very nice cherry notes and freshness that masked its age - a certain sophistication, however, that only comes with 10 years in bottle and lovely for it
'04 SQN Poker Face - Dave said he wished he would have taken a picture of my face after the first sip - this one moved around a lot over the course of the night and everywhere it went was interesting - stunning in it’s depth (some meat, plums, chocolate) and purity - a wow wine - if I never drink another SQN I’ll have lived well only ever tasting this.
'09 Cayuse Bionic Frog - totally different than the SQN but equally incredible - our consensus WOTN but it was a very close vote - this too changed a bit over the evening and for me only got better and more lithe as time went on - very broad on the palate - this one snuck into every corner, pleasurable all the way.
'00 Beaucastel CdP - This could have easily been run over by the competition but held it’s own admirably - that pleasurable savoriness I’ve come to adore from CdP - an additional lightness and funk - well integrated fruits and earthiness - drinking beautifully
'07 Saxum JB Bone Rock - I don’t have much experience with Saxum but I do have plenty with Carlisle and this was very much in that vain but somehow even better - plenty of oak but not off-putting - at points Matt found this miles ahead of the other wines and I could understand his perspective - very meaty and a bit floral and some sweetness all tied together in a delicious way
'01 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenurh Auslese - I love this wine every time and it stood up to it’s very steep competition - loads of acidity - apricots, peaches, and the subtle and pleasant sweetness that goes with them - some tropical notes - loads of minerality - what a finish to a brilliant night.
We were lucky. For the fact that each of these wines were drinking very well. And for the simple fact we were drinking each of these wines.