Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.
Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — 13 days ago
50 year Wynn’s Black Label celebrating my friend Lucille’s 50th birthday. Cork was in good shape and the wine was too. Very brown but still showing some purple tinge. Fruit all but gone but wonderful tertiary characters of leather, spice and earthiness. Drank beautifully over hours and did not fade. — 2 months ago
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with aromas of black cherry, cassis, and distant notes of vanilla. Is more of a velvety feel on the palate, with flavors of dark chocolate and espresso — 2 days ago
Ample aroma. Oak and acidic. Aroma. Complexity with black currant, tabacco. A bit rich > 2007. 2006 @, premier cru, 240411 — 21 days ago
As Noël Verset started to divest in his vines, there were several producers who came away with some real treasures. The most famous was Franck Balthazar who was able to purchase Verset’s prized holdings in Chaillots. Perhaps less known is Auguste Clape also purchased some ex-Verset vines in the Sabarotte lieu-dit. The 1997 Clape pours a much deeper color, nearly opaque purple. Dense brambles with some black licorice, lavender pastilles and minerals. Somewhat reticent even at 25+ years old. The venison, umami bomb, potato and pearl onion helped coax this Clape from slumber though. Drinking well now but easily has the stuffing to see 2037 and possibly beyond. — a month ago
DAL 9000
Deep inky color. Bouquet of dry dusty mild cherries. Initial taste of mild dry not quite sweet cherries. In the middle, a quick evaporation of dark fruit. Finishes with a dry dusty dark cherry tannins. — a month ago