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1983 Château L’Arrosée - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (12/23/2013)
Very nice opening here, aromatic with a mature, sweet-smokey bouquet dominated by foremost by cigar tobacco, then cinnamon, graphite, cherries, some capsicum. Light bodied yet intense to drink, with bright acids and cranberries and good midpalate texture. Silky smooth, resolved structure. This is riding now on its acids rather than tannins, making it food friendly and a throwback. I loved this. 92-93. -
2005 Williams Selyem Gewürztraminer Late Harvest Vista Verde Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, San Benito County (12/22/2013)
Beautiful bouquet marked by orange marmalade, Grand Marnier, dried apricots, anise, some oak, some honey, very floral. Very intense to taste, with apricot fruits, and lots of bracing acidity. Reminds me of a Moscatel dessert wine, like Ordonez’s #2, but much more lithe in body, could be enjoyed as an aperitif. Lovely. 93 pts. -
1992 Ridge Monte Bello - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (12/20/2013)
Big, spicy, minty, rich bouquet, in a classic Californian mold, with some roast, some char. Sweet, lots of mint, juniper berries, and a cool streak of menthol, a big round slug of sweet Cali cab fruit on the attack, followed by brisk acids, good depth, and near perfect balance. Ready to go. Very classy but still a New World style in my book (not a criticism). There’s a spicy, piney thing to the fruit that I get from lots of Priorats (must be the oak). My quibble is I’m not sure it’s better than the lovely 1992 Ridge Santa Cruz Cab I had recently. 92 or 93 pts. -
1971 Château de Rayne-Vigneau - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes (12/18/2013)
This showed very well, a drier and more alcoholic style of Sauternes that would be best paired with cheese. Good color for a 42 year old sticky, this has a huge marine/saline profile with resolved texture and a long finish. Spicy and rich and intense in flavor and body, but without lots of sweetness. Just lovely and fun as birth year wine. Going strong. 93 pts. -
1982 Château Sociando-Mallet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc (12/18/2013)
I really liked this and it got better and better with air. Initially a bit out of sorts, showing classic green tobacco with some ashtray, but this built body and sweetness with air, becoming fruity one minute, and then bruising the next. Very deep and just the right concentration. Excellent. 93 pts. -
1986 Château Rausan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (12/18/2013)
Aromatic with dried orange, smokey/ashy notes, showing a classic Margaux fragrance. The palate is very smooth on the attack and midpalate, but this still has hard tannins on the finish, but they don’t detract #I actually like them#. Not as full bodied as I recall, this is more of a statesmen-esque wine, classic and buttoned down. Really excellent and very food friendly. 93-94. -
1996 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée - France, Champagne (12/18/2013)
Really terrific. A bit sweet on the attack in a round and lively package, balanced and right in my preferred style (high acidity but not too austere, not too “red” with a lot of pinot notes). This bottle seemed slightly advanced/oxidized (it did have a loose cork), with a copper color, but showed more complex for it. Refreshing and full at the same time. 93 pts. -
2010 Château Gloria - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (12/17/2013)
Not closed, primary and wide open like a barrel sample. Starts out fruity as all get out. Nearly garish, jammy modern nose with some caramelly new oak and oodles of cassis, but there is also something fresh too with smokey-gamey notes appearing and some cooling capsicum. This is spicy right now, with huge minerality and more restraint on the palate, showing inky iodine, ripe but with some cranberry tartness, and lots of tannins on the finish but not freakishly so. I confess, I really like this, but I doubt that Bordeaux tasted like this when young in years past (I know the 2000 vintage didn’t and most 2005s didn’t either). -
1995 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/16/2013)
Takes until the 2nd half of the bottle to take form, with the first half light and a bit dull… Nose of menthol, anise, reminds me of the 2001 Tirant. Lots and lots of tongue tingling menthol to taste, spicy fruit highlighted with anise and roasted notes, good chewy midpalate depth. Smooth without being plush, good tangy acids. This is very nice, a bit monolithic but very enjoyable. It will hold at this level for a long time probably, but I doubt it will every develop another gear in complexity or nuance. In sum, a classy textbook Cali cab fruit bomb with the right trimmings to provide some gravitas for its fruity core. Depending on preferences, this could go up or down in points, but for me, I’m 92 points on this one. -
2007 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée du Papet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/13/2013)
I opened this with trepidation, coming as it does on the heals of other uber hot 2007 CDPs. My fears seem to have been unwarranted… Garrigue with hints of pepper, some Grenache rubber, raspberry jam, no heat, no oak, lots of freshness, even some salinity. A fair amount of tannin too. Not tight, but still playing close to the vest. Subdued, but has a finish that builds and builds. The nose shows flashes of the 2007 style, but the palate is cool and buttoned-down for a CDP. I like this now, but I think it will be much better with another five to ten in the cellar.
Wow, Pat, that’s a hell of a tasting! Really cool wines. I love that '82 Sociando Mallet - sent my last bottle off to Kenny H as a reward for donating big coin to Manzi’s charity. He posted some equally glowing notes. Interesting to read about the 2010 Gloria. I put mine in storage without even trying it. Perhaps I should play with one for fun. Almost reads like an '09!
The 2010 Gloria was a lot like the 2009, which I tried in the spring. Definitely more tannin on the 2010. Both are stellar wines in the making, I think.
Pat - Your L’Arrosee and Sociando notes bring back fond memories. You capture those wines perfectly. And they were showing pretty similarly 15-20 years ago! Doesn’t sound like much has changed, except that maybe the S-M is a little more giving.
John, I was really impressed by the Arrosee, much more than expected. I expected it to be fading, but this bottle was going strong at year 30! I had high expectations for the Sociando and it lived up to them.