1999 Vincent Girardin Pommard Les Rugiens and 2002 Martinelli Pinot Noir Martinelli Vineyard Reserve

Doing a side by side Burgundy and California pinot noir tasting is fun and a popular way to underscore the differences in pinot noir from the respective regions.
Lately in these tastings, the Burgundies have tended to outpace the California counterparts, and this evening was no exception.  Both wines were opened a couple of hours prior to dinner.
The '99 Vincent Girardin Pommard Les Rugiens (13% abv) was the hands-down favorite.  Lithe florals on the nose with cherry palate complemented by a a seductive minerality that made the wine impossible to resist.
The '02 Martinelli Reserve (14.5% abv) was good, but not as fresh as the '98 vintage examples we've enjoyed recently. Mellow raspberry. .. the fruit was hanging in there ... dusty mouthfeel with the nicely aged tannins... alluring sous bois. A very nice pinot noir on its own, but just didnt show the food friendliness of the Pommard.
Paired with Latin mopped and brined bone in pork chop, smashed corn and white cheddar grit cake and stuffed poblano. 

2010 Jacques Prieur Clos de la Feguine and 2011 Brittan Vineyards Basalt Block

2010 J. Prieur Beaune Clos de la Feguine 
Wow! This is a beautiful wine that is drinking well now. Decanted and let it breathe for an hour before dinner. Gorgeously alluring nose of violets and mellow spice. The palate is soft, earthy cherry fruit and sous bois.  
My first experience with this monopole from which both red and white wines are produced. Highly recommended ... 
2011 Brittan Vineyards Basalt Block 
Seems painfully young compared to the Clos de la Feguine. Very tart at this stage. Food friendly sour cherry with hints of anise. Light in color. Needs another few years of cellaring.

1999 Leroy Bourgogne Rouge

It's been quite a while since I've had a Leroy Bourgogne Rouge. I bought a lot of the '93 and '95 vintages back in the day.
This wine contains declassified Clos de la Roche, Clos de Vougeot, Corton Renardes, Savigny Narbantons, Volnay Santenots, and Pommard Vignots.
The '99 is drinking well, but I don't believe there's much upside to hanging onto it longer.
A big wine (for a Pinot Noir). Color-wise, it barely passes the Soldera test. Huge flavors of both red and blue fruit at only 12.5 abv. Satiny mouthfeel. Quite nice bit of meaty and sous bois accents. 
A bit reticent on the nose,  but the palate opens up very nicely over the course of several hours.
Paired this with chicken parmigiana for dinner. 
The younger vintages can be had for less than $40 per bottle. I plan to capitalize on the 2005 and 2009 vintages. 
Good example of a very nice entry level wine from a renowned producer.

2003 Pax Cellars Syrah Pangea

Bottled only in magnums (676 bottles), this is Pax Mahle's homage to Guigal's single vineyard Cote-Roties. 100% whole cluster, aged for 36 months in 500 liter puncheons. 
This is a beautiful wine that is still quite young. Characteristic piquancy that immediately lets you know that no de-stemming was used here. Incisive fruit definition on the palate with tasty notes of creosote and cassis.  Spicy florals that have not yet reached their peak. Balance that belies its 15% abv. This bottling is a rare treat that underscores the vintner's talent. 

'96 E. Pira (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Cannubi and '96 Prunotto Barolo Bussia

Decent stemware but not ideal for Barolo at a restaurant. Wines were slow-o'd for several hours but not decanted at the restaurant (but they should have been to help them open up).
Preferred the Cannubi from Chiara Boschis over the Prunotto Bussia. The Prunotto was darker in color and overall a bit more monolithic. Very nice fruit, earth, tar, roses but just seemed a bit heavy handed. Maybe with more bottle age it will evolve. 
The Cannubi was reticent at first, then began to blossom gracefully. It has that lightness of being that I look for in my favorite wines from Piemonte. Lilting florals, well balanced fruit. It continued to improve over the evening. 
The '10 Clerico Arte was the first time I've had that wine. Nice, well balanced but young.
To be honest, I am becoming more and more enamored of Barolo from the younger 2004 vintage in general, which I believe may eventually rival the classic 1990 vintage. 
Also poured was a very interesting white wine from South Africa, a '12 Sadie Family Old Vines T Voetpad. This is a heritage field blend of Semillon, Palomino,  Chenin Blanc and Muscat. An elegant, lighter bodied wine full of character. It reminded a bit of Borgo del Tiglio (again with lightness of being),  except the nose was sweeter with even a very slight hint of petrol.
The big surprise was the '05 Pax Syrah Alder Springs The Terraces from Mendocino. Co-fermented with 3% Viognier.  This was a pop and pour late in the dinner and it performed more than admirably - in fact, I loved it!  Gorgeous hints of iodine on the nose. Beautifully mellow fruit with just the right amount of game notes. Balanced at 13.9% abv. This is the second impressive showing I've had from older Pax syrahs in the past month (the first being the rare '03 Pangea bottling).