Cru tasting November 2023

First flight:

1985 Leoville Las Cases (my favorite)

1986 Leoville Las Cases

1990 Leoville Las Cases

1996 Leoville Las Cases

2005 Leoville Las Cases

1912 D'Oliveiras Madeira Verdelho Reserva

Second flight:

2008 Anderson’s Conn Valley “Estate Reserve” Napa Cabernet (my favorite)

2009 Laurel Glen (Sonoma Mtn) Cabernet

2010 Plumpjack Estate Oakville Napa Cabernet

2011 Penfolds Grange

2012 Lewis Cellars Napa Cabernet

2013 Myriad Cellars “Three Twins Vineyard” Napa Cabernet

2015 SQN Trouver l'Arène

80% Syrah with the balance being Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Viognier..

30% whole cluster provides intriguing depth.

Needs lots of air. Actually gains presence bigtime over the course of a couple of hours. Very elegant.

Paired nicely with duck confit hash ....👍🍷

Pommard, Barbaresco, Barolo

 

2010 Domaine Billard-Gonnet Pommard 1er Cru Les Pèzerolles

Early... hold another five years at minimum for optimal enjoyment... powerful structure..... Lots of sour cherry.

After a couple of hours, starts to show more suppleness. Really nice potential .... classic Pommard. 

2011 Produttori del Barbaresco Rabaja Reserva

Wow! Lascivious stage for this wine. Lush, sensual, big fruit, sweet tannins. Lots of length but this will be stellar in 10 years. Not the most elegant vintage but it's a keeper for the longer haul IMO.

2013 Vajra Albe

Blend of fruit from Fossati, Coste de Vergne and La Volta. Clearly a bit early on the curve. Fine structure, quite elegant medium weight.

....opens up a bit about an hour in for the fruit to show better..... we have leftovers on this one so we'll see what tomorrow brings 

2018 Cotas 45 UBE La Carrascal

 I've posted on this before.... a very interesting exercise in a totally dry Palomino. 

Trocken Riesling lovers take note.
This will benefit from cellaring since there's still a bit of heat on the finish...

I like this producer...

Musical pairing

https://youtu.be/a9PKXTyvVD8?si=_FB8UMO8HCXVmK71

2018 Kuentz-Bas Riesling Geisburg Grand Cru

 

First time trying this producer....
One of my favorite things about this wine at this early stage of development is the petrol accent on the nose...paired with smokey mac and cheese with bacon..

Music pairing

https://youtu.be/6B_xjv_pqro?si=b4PKO28gyFozpvrD