A group of friends went to CraftBar in Atlanta last night for NYE. We had four excellent wines.
Vilmart et Cie Cuvee Grand Cellier NV:
There is a really fine, elegant nose here, full of green apples, peaches, brioche and smoke. Citrus and white stones can also be noted on the nose. The wine is pure and loaded with flavors that are precise and delicate, yet they manage to seem, at the same time, powerful and intense. I think this was as good of a bottle of this wine as I have had yet. 93+ points
Dom Ruinart Brut Rose 1996:
Clove, strawberries and red roses form the aromatic profile. The wine is a vibrant mix acid, chalk, light spices, ripe berries, ginger and stems. Still a little unresolved and firm but shows a lot of potential for future development. Very pretty and delicate, but kind of like a giant sleeping. 92 points
Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1998:
Spicy, slightly mentholated nose, but also jammed with ripe plums, candied cherries, Christmas cake and tar. To start the wine did not work with some of the food on our table- mostly cheese, although CraftBar does make some pretty amazing beef jerky! Once we dispatched with the cheese the wine really started to preform better. Blackberries, leather, crunchy raspberries, red plums, earth, cracked spices, Dr. Pepper and smoked meats all blended together to reveal a very complex, and, for lack of a better term, rather slutty wine. If you like CDP you will probably did this wine. 95 points
Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Vino da Tavola 2001:
A really massive nose- black cherry, coffee ground, dirty, damp earth and a touch a tart cranberry. Loads of glycerin, chocolate, raspberries and toasty oak make up the bulk of the wine. Bits of vanilla, cream, smoke and bramble find there way into the mix as well. The tannins have really begun to integrate and this wine is starting to play nicely. This is one of my favorite Flaccianellos and it really strutted last night. 96 points