The following notes are fairly brief; most of the wines were drunk during holiday parties where I was more focused on socializing than taking very detailed notes.
1994 Noël Verset Cornas: From magnum. Seamless texture on the palate with the acidity well-integrated and the tannins largely resolved. Intense notes of dark fruit, smoked meat, and iron, but incredibly fragrant on the nose and delicate lightness on the palate. A wowza wine.
2011 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese: In magnum. Starts off a little imprecise, but with air, the crisp acidity, beautiful white fruit, and slight hint of sweetness comes together into a racy elixir of power and elegance. Super good.
2011 Weingut Keller Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs: Powerful, yet sleek, taut, and racy. Expressive nose of florals, orchard fruit, and citrus zest. Long finish. Does decline though as the evening progresses. From magnum.
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc: Expressive nose, great balance on the textured palate, with good acidity, interesting complexity, and breadth. A very tasty, delicious wine; certainly one of the best Bourgogne Blancs I've ever had.
1974 Oddero Barbaresco: Definitely fading, but a really interesting nose of fading fruit, tar, and roses. The palate is very tangy, acidic, and austere, but I kind of like it. Tannins are pretty much completely resolved. Definitely hitting the downslope, but there is still something here.
2002 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots: Kind of disjointed with an intensely smoky, toasty flavor. Acidity was not very well integrated. Very weird bottle.
1985 Fratelli Barale Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà: Definitely better on the nose than my last bottle. Doesn't have any maderized notes on it. On the palate, the red fruit is more pronounced than last time, tannins more or less resolved, acidity still lively, this was surprisingly quite good, though definitely fading. The cork on this was pretty pristine. This is probably as good of a bottle of this as you can get.
1996 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut: From magnum. Very youthful with intense acidity. Linear, graceful, yet powerful. An impressive champagne that has years to go.
NV Krug Champagne Brut Rosé Edition 26eme: I wasn't extremely impressed with this. A rich, powerful wine, it seemed a little too obvious and ponderous without tremendous grace or complexity. Eh.
1984 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie: Interesting wine. Definitely mature, yet the acidity is perhaps still a little too jagged. But the red fruit, leather and herbs on the palate are quite interesting.
1984 Ch“teau d'Yquem: Pretty good. Decent acidity, savory and saline. Perhaps a touch tired.
2011 Domaine de la Loue Savagnin Arbois Cuvée Raphaëlle: I didn't take a formal note, but I remember this having crackling energy and being very citrus driven. Very nice, racy Jura white that has a beautiful tension.
1997 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve: Sunny, vibrant purple fruit on the palate that is deep and intense, but also finessed and elegant on the palate. This wine wears the ripeness of the vintage well, with juicy acidity and a long finish. Delicious!
1974 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek: Strongly reminded me of a Napa Cab. Still has some nice dark fruit, nice acidity, smoky earthiness, and leather and tobacco notes. Really nice.
1973 Ridge Late Picked Geyserville: Rich, full-throttled, but balanced. Definitely tertiary at this point, but not oxidized or maderized. Really interesting tasting this.
2005 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots: I primarily remember this just being elegant and surprisingly accessible. A lovely wine.
2015 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo: And this was very inaccessible and fiercely tannic. This really needs a lot more time to resolve.
And many more, but just didn't take the time to write notes for the following.
2008 Pierre Gimmonet Extra Brut: Tasty
2003 Leoville Poyferre: In magnum. Pretty ripe. I remember this not being undrinkable, though I didn’t spend much time with it.
1970 Ch“teau Suduiraut: Still alive and kicking. Good.
2011 Duplessis Chablis 1er Cru Montmains: Nice wine. Tasted like proper Chablis instead of Chassagne (which seems to be harder to find nowadays).
2006 Lequin-Colin Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vielles Vignes: I remembered liking this; perhaps it was a touch light and just about uncomplicated red fruit, but simplicity can be good.
1999 and 1996 Joseph Swan Pinot Noir: Neither tasted like cola, which automatically makes them good. I think I remembered liking ‘96 more?
1995 Joseph Swan Zinfandel: I had this but completely forgot to take a note.
1993 Ridge California Zinfandel Pagani Ranch: Very good. My favorite of the non-70s Ridge wines I had.
1993 Ridge California Bridgehead Mataro: Also good.
1983 Lytton Springs Winery Zinfandel Private Reserve: I had this, but don’t remember much. Cool to have something from Lytton Springs that was this old.
2010 Ridge Mazzoni Home Ranch: Had this, but didn’t take a note.
2011 Ridge Geyserville: Ditto. Too much Ridge and spent too much time on the older wines.
2004 Turley Petite Syrah Rattlesnake Ridge: No memories of this.
2022 Louis Billard Saint-Romain: A very nice white Burg. Classical (not natty at all). Apparently the winemaker interned at DRC.
2001 Domaine Gérard Doreau Monthélie: I remember this being an uncomplicated, but nice wine.
1994 Noël Verset Cornas: From magnum. Seamless texture on the palate with the acidity well-integrated and the tannins largely resolved. Intense notes of dark fruit, smoked meat, and iron, but incredibly fragrant on the nose and delicate lightness on the palate. A wowza wine.
2011 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese: In magnum. Starts off a little imprecise, but with air, the crisp acidity, beautiful white fruit, and slight hint of sweetness comes together into a racy elixir of power and elegance. Super good.
2011 Weingut Keller Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs: Powerful, yet sleek, taut, and racy. Expressive nose of florals, orchard fruit, and citrus zest. Long finish. Does decline though as the evening progresses. From magnum.
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc: Expressive nose, great balance on the textured palate, with good acidity, interesting complexity, and breadth. A very tasty, delicious wine; certainly one of the best Bourgogne Blancs I've ever had.
1974 Oddero Barbaresco: Definitely fading, but a really interesting nose of fading fruit, tar, and roses. The palate is very tangy, acidic, and austere, but I kind of like it. Tannins are pretty much completely resolved. Definitely hitting the downslope, but there is still something here.
2002 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots: Kind of disjointed with an intensely smoky, toasty flavor. Acidity was not very well integrated. Very weird bottle.
1985 Fratelli Barale Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà: Definitely better on the nose than my last bottle. Doesn't have any maderized notes on it. On the palate, the red fruit is more pronounced than last time, tannins more or less resolved, acidity still lively, this was surprisingly quite good, though definitely fading. The cork on this was pretty pristine. This is probably as good of a bottle of this as you can get.
1996 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut: From magnum. Very youthful with intense acidity. Linear, graceful, yet powerful. An impressive champagne that has years to go.
NV Krug Champagne Brut Rosé Edition 26eme: I wasn't extremely impressed with this. A rich, powerful wine, it seemed a little too obvious and ponderous without tremendous grace or complexity. Eh.
1984 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie: Interesting wine. Definitely mature, yet the acidity is perhaps still a little too jagged. But the red fruit, leather and herbs on the palate are quite interesting.
1984 Ch“teau d'Yquem: Pretty good. Decent acidity, savory and saline. Perhaps a touch tired.
2011 Domaine de la Loue Savagnin Arbois Cuvée Raphaëlle: I didn't take a formal note, but I remember this having crackling energy and being very citrus driven. Very nice, racy Jura white that has a beautiful tension.
1997 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve: Sunny, vibrant purple fruit on the palate that is deep and intense, but also finessed and elegant on the palate. This wine wears the ripeness of the vintage well, with juicy acidity and a long finish. Delicious!
1974 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek: Strongly reminded me of a Napa Cab. Still has some nice dark fruit, nice acidity, smoky earthiness, and leather and tobacco notes. Really nice.
1973 Ridge Late Picked Geyserville: Rich, full-throttled, but balanced. Definitely tertiary at this point, but not oxidized or maderized. Really interesting tasting this.
2005 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots: I primarily remember this just being elegant and surprisingly accessible. A lovely wine.
2015 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo: And this was very inaccessible and fiercely tannic. This really needs a lot more time to resolve.
And many more, but just didn't take the time to write notes for the following.
2008 Pierre Gimmonet Extra Brut: Tasty
2003 Leoville Poyferre: In magnum. Pretty ripe. I remember this not being undrinkable, though I didn’t spend much time with it.
1970 Ch“teau Suduiraut: Still alive and kicking. Good.
2011 Duplessis Chablis 1er Cru Montmains: Nice wine. Tasted like proper Chablis instead of Chassagne (which seems to be harder to find nowadays).
2006 Lequin-Colin Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vielles Vignes: I remembered liking this; perhaps it was a touch light and just about uncomplicated red fruit, but simplicity can be good.
1999 and 1996 Joseph Swan Pinot Noir: Neither tasted like cola, which automatically makes them good. I think I remembered liking ‘96 more?
1995 Joseph Swan Zinfandel: I had this but completely forgot to take a note.
1993 Ridge California Zinfandel Pagani Ranch: Very good. My favorite of the non-70s Ridge wines I had.
1993 Ridge California Bridgehead Mataro: Also good.
1983 Lytton Springs Winery Zinfandel Private Reserve: I had this, but don’t remember much. Cool to have something from Lytton Springs that was this old.
2010 Ridge Mazzoni Home Ranch: Had this, but didn’t take a note.
2011 Ridge Geyserville: Ditto. Too much Ridge and spent too much time on the older wines.
2004 Turley Petite Syrah Rattlesnake Ridge: No memories of this.
2022 Louis Billard Saint-Romain: A very nice white Burg. Classical (not natty at all). Apparently the winemaker interned at DRC.
2001 Domaine Gérard Doreau Monthélie: I remember this being an uncomplicated, but nice wine.
