Jan 11 2019 blind tasting notes.

Felsina Vino Spumante Brut Rose – this bubble was made from sangiovese and was finished dry and with plenty of character, both of which elude many Italian fizzes. Pale salmon colour with a nice yeasty bread nose, juicy acidity and tasty finish.

NV Hugues Godmé Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs – mature PN nose, excellent balance and length. Nose started out slightly funky but switched to apple shortly afterwards.

2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly – clear pale yellow colour, a nose of lemon, mineral and apple notes, balanced and long sweet finish. Good.

2005 Arcadian Syrah Stolpman Vineyard – medium red with clear edges, a sappy fruit nose that made you expect sweetness in the mouth but in fact it was very well balanced and had a good acid level and length. Still youthful.

1974 Spring Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
– browning colour with bricky edges, a nose of earth and umami things - bit of soy, smooth and bright in the mouth – in excellent condition! Why don’t they make them like this any more? You may say that they do and you just have to wait 40 years for them to develop, but I doubt that many Cal-cabs made today will ever present like this at whatever age.

2007 Castell'in Villa Santacroce Toscana IGT – fairly dark wine with an intriguing dark cherry, ripe cocoa and Bovril nose. Good concentration and velvety finish. Lovely! About 50/50 sangio/cab IGT.

2004 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Vigna Asinone – dark wine with big ripe fruit nose with some cocoa and pencil shavings, Young, concentrated and with plenty of tannin, but not as hard as they were the last time I tasted this around 3-4 years ago.

1995 Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua – I’ve been sitting on this since release. Clear dark garnet colour and a slightly ripe slightly funky nose but nowhere near wat it was when younger. Smooth and full on palate, tannins resolved, and very good length. This is why we cellar wines like this. I have seen reports saying that the wine is well over the hill. I attribute those to either different cellar conditions or different taste, as this one was in good shape.

2009 Reynvaan Syrah Stonessence – though I rarely get to taste these wines I enjoy them a lot. This one was dark with a spicy fruit nose and a very slight bit of funk, but contrary to what might predict, totally unlike the all too common pumped up syrahs – this had medium body, excellent fruit on palate and very good length. It would make an interesting comparison with a slightly modern Rhone syrah in a blind tasting.

1983 Château Haut-Batailley – I drank up my 1983s a few years ago, but some are still cruising along in very decent shape. Burgundian colour, tannins fully resolved, still reasonable fruit levels and medium length. Decent.

1992 Quady Starboard Lot B – the nose was sweet but not spirit and the wine was sweet and warm without heat or being cloying – nicely balanced wine. Believe these were made from Port varietals (his early wines were zin based).