2008 Rivers Marie Chardonnay B. Thierriot Vineyard

Pale golden. Delishious toasty aromas of honey, vanilla and lemon cream. Silky steely palate with tons of depth. Very long finish. We just love this. Jill says divine and like a California bleach blond. I say we'd guess burgundy blind. This is done in an elegant, not heavy style. Great. Grade: A.

2007 Fevre Chablis le Clos

Holy crap! Tons of depth and oyster shell aromas. I'm sucking on an oyster. Huge, very long finish. Wonderful and refreshing. Whole, refreshing and expressive. Barry says spicy, long finish, mineraly. Great value at under $100. Everyone loves it. Tito says 98 points (that's like some critics giving 100+). Grade: A/ A+

2001 Argyle Chardonnay Nuthouse

Even if I covered the price, this is the gem on the list. Beauty and prime Oregon chardonnay. It is great that it has been aged, because this is orchestral. The vinegar in the salad made the chard sing. Lovely oaky vanilla lemon. Full body very long finish. A real beauty. From the menu at Pimms in Anguilla for $50 .

2005 Grand Cru Burgundy at Executive Wine Seminars

From March 11, 2009

First tasting at a loss at Executive Wine Seminars. Grand cru from chambolle. Most expensive tasting I've ever attended, and worth every penny.

1. Beautiful color. Smells like a forest. Mossy. Gigantic finish. Flinty. One for the cellar. Just delicious. Perfect balance. Very long. Most disagree and point out the acidity. A. Grivot Richebourg

2. Fresh violets. Just incredible nose. Just spectacular. Fireworks of lavender and spice. Really washed the palate with flavor. Finish goes on and on. A complete perfect wine. I am in the minority. Most don't love it. A+ Mugnier musigny. I guessed right blind

3. Dirty interesting nose. Oh my another incredible and unique wine. More dirt and funk than the others. So much silky power. Riper style. More than a minute finish. A. Roumier Bonnes Mares

4. Sublime nose. a very long wine. More toward tomato. Tannic. Least favorite of the first 5 but still very nice. Awkward now. A- Latour Clos Vougeot

5. Most delicious nose. Lightest color of the group. Closed and tight palate. But so much wrapped into its lovely core. Masculine. Not drinking great now but would love to own some. Finish is unbelievably long. Everyone loves this one. Most think it is drinking great. A/a+. Grandes Echezeaux Romanee Conti. 2nd place overall.

6. Totally outrageous sexy aromas. Beautiful color. I absolutely love
this. Rich and light and a ferocious finish. A/a+ cde tart.

7. More closed totally pretty aromas. Rich and lush. Very present and
very smooth tannins. Just wierd. Vegital. Clos vougeot? B+ vogue
musigny

8. Wow. Best nose of the night. A+ before I even evaluate. Must own. Magical combo of earth like the 1000 call girl meets the incredible hulk Ed says. Lightest of the first 10 wines. What I need from burgundy. Complexity and poise. Groffier bonnes mares 1st overall.

9. More shy. Floral. Then absolutely lovely palate floral. Pure fruit. Soy. Very tannic finish. Everyone likes it. A. Romanee St Vivant Hudelot-Noellat

10. Bizarre smells more like syrah. Darkest of the night. So lush. Lots of perfectly lovingly ripe extracted fruit and an incredible finish. Most don't like it. I love it. Want to buy it badly. Hope it is affordable. A/a+ perrot-minot clos vougeot

11. Oh boy. Big time fragrant nose. . Moss juicy. Perfect harmony and such a long finish. Delicious. Delicate style. Apparent oak. A. Romanee St Vivant Cathiard

12. More typical minerality. Delicious all the way through. Dark and brooding and mysterious. Long. Tart on the end. Ed says cola syrup. A- Drouhin Musigny

13 Very dark. charcoal and ash and roses. Just magical and wotn so far. Wine of the lifetime. Extracted and modern. Stinging almost shockingly long finish. Sweet. Atypical in this context. A+ laurent Grandes Echezeaux. 3rd overall.

14. Tomato and cinnamon. Acids but very well balanced. On the lighter side but very long. Closed right now. Not about fruit unlike a lot of the others someone says . A. Leroy Romanee St Vivant! I think this bottle was about $2000

15. Winner perfect nose. Musty completely engrossing full palate. Ripe harmony. A little awkward but absolutely delicious. A. Clos Vougeot Jadot.

2008 Rivers Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

This might be the best $25 pinot I've ever had. Jill says huge, ripe juicy blackberry and black current. We agree it is beautiful. It is long, pure, pretty, anise and clove and menthol and a great finish. Do yourself a favor and sign up for their mailing list. Grade: A.

2003 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard

Dark ruby. Tree bark and cola aromas. Rhubarb and sour cherry palate. Long, but tart. Jill says not harmonizing. It tastes good, and in general Kistler makes great wine, but this one isn't living up to its pedigree. Still looks young, so may improve. Note the price is playing a major factor in my grade here. At $20 I'd buy as much as possible. Grade: Retail $90, B-

2001 Argiano Brunello de Montalcino

Pretty ruby. Closed at first. After 2 hours it is showing well. Sweet aromas of plums and tobacco box. Medium body and rustic, and a bit simple on the palate. Long, tannic finish. I bought a case from the Zachys flood sale, 3 years or so ago, for about $23 per bottle. Awesome deal. Current retail $60. Grade: B+ (Grade is an A at the price I paid)

2004 Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin 1st Cru Clos St Jacques

Amazing aromas of dried leaves, iron and mushroom. Some of the greenness of the 04 vintage on the nose, but not the palate. Tons of depth and tension. Candied cherries, minerals, tiny cranberries, earth and funk. Extremely long finish. Clos St Jacques is one of my favorite vineyards, and is usually as good as most grand crus. It always seems to have an extra dimension. This is from vines planted in 1919. Still young. Retail $100, grade: A-.

2003 Ojai Syrah White Hawk Vineyard

Teeth staining purple. Delicious aromas of stewed plums, and candy apple. Full and powerful body with a long, smooth finish. Not a lot of complexity, but very tasty. Does not taste 7 years old. Those of you that still have some, no need to rush to drink it. Retail only. Grade: A-

1999 Grand Cru Burgundy blind with David Hamburger (Acker WInes)

May 5, 2009

More terrior specific vintage. Largest crop since 82 and one of the largest ever in burgundy. Really great vintage. Lots of grand crus declassified due to size of the harvest. Very small grapes. Cool extended growing season.

Grade is mine, ranking was done by the group.

1. Muted aromas and floral. Medium ruby. Lighter earthy style. Subtle tomato and some acids. Bullion nose. Silky and feminine. Good not amazing. Still primary. Still closed. Will improve. B+ Jadot Bonnes Mares. 8th place.

2. Darker ruby. Black fruit aromas. Not a lot of dimension but tasty and Very long. New world extraction . Tannic. Delish. Dujac? Grade: A. Tied for last place! Claude Dugat Charmes Chambertin.

3. I guess Grandes Echezeaux from sight alone- JulieAnne says she'll buy me a bottle if I'm right. Doesn't smell like Romanee Conti at all. Higher pitched. Ponsot? Very compelling and silky. Rose hips. Smoke and tobacco. Killer. Grade: A. Dujac Clos St. Denis. 5th place

4. Best aromas so far. Medium ruby. Earthy and acidic. Fickle personality. Hard now. Closed. Very tannic. B+ 14th place. Potel Romanee St Vivant.

5. Very pretty aromas. Little burnt and reduced. Killer awesome balance. Great fruit. Blueberries wood bark dense tannic but resolved. Milk chocolate. Little alcohol shows at the end. Really good and no one votes for it. David says chambolle. A. Drouhin musigny. Tied for last place.

6. Now I am having fun. Brooding serious mushroom aromas. Funky truffly tannins. Very long finish. Too young. Mind blowing. Grace. I love burgundy. Someone guesses rousseau. Primary. Grade: A/a+ 14th place. Grivot Clos Vougeot

7. Darker purple. Serious cherry juice aromas. Something odd. Big wine new world in style. Great. Seriously smooth. Dujac? Grade: A. I am way off!! It's Romanee Conti Grandes Echezeaux. 4th place.

8. Some sediment. Great lively fruity. Incredibly long. Best so far. A powerhouse. JulieAnne says rousseau. Impeccible stunning balance. Smacked in the face with earthy perfect fruit. Savage. I need to own some. Grade: A+ 2nd tie. Girardan Mazis Chambertin!

9. Darker. Medicinal aromas. So tannic. Powerful. Sharp. Hard to drink now. Lots of potential. A- 7th place. Mommessin Clos de Tart.

10. Smells Ponsot. Wow wee nose. Lavender dripping tiny wild berries. Huge finish. Killer. JulieAnne says Potel RSV. Killer. Zinger of a finish. Grade: A. 5th place. Roumier Rouchottes Chambertin.

11. Darker shy nose. Sleek and so outrageously delicious. An entire universe of perfectly balanced flavor. Bounded by silk. Modern. Dujac?. David says Dugat or Groffier. Grade: A. Groffier. Cdb, Tied for 2nd.

12. Anise and everything is right with the nose. Very long. Little poopy on the long palate. Someone says maderized. JulieAnne guesses Jadot Bonnes Mares. Grade: B. 5 votes. 11th place. Rouget echezeaux

13. Best nose of the night. Gives me chills. Little baby fat fruit and seems young. Huge and easy to drink. Buy it. Grade: A. 1st place Rousseau Rouchottes Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes.

14. Lavender and Claude Dugat. Awesome hard but like modern art the edges make a balance. Long finish. Great stuff. Grade: A/a+ 3rd place. Af Gros Richebourg

15. Odd. Some alcohol. JulieAnne says victorias secret. Va va voom. Little alcohol on nose. Stunning palate. Huge dense brooding. Grade: A. 19 votes. 6th place. Ponsot Clos de la Roche.

2007 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvee Natalie

Pretty velvet purple. Unbelievable sappy roasted menthol aromas. Deep, lush and dense palate filled with earth and truffle. Extremely long. When Kistler gets it right, they are as good as anything. This wine is magic. I've been on a burgundy kick lately, but right now I am glad to be on the Kistler list. I wish I had more- this is my only bottle. Much stronger than the 06 version. I paid $90 from the Kistler list. Retail $120 and worth every single penny. Grade: A/ A+

Great birthday dinner at Apiary

Thanks to my friends for joining me, and special thanks to Josh, Seth and JulieAnne for bringing along some great, interesting wine.

96 Pol Roget Sir Winston Churchill (mag). So complex and complete. Dough and yeast. Grapefruit. Exotic. Makes Jill smile. Young, especially in this format. A+

02 raveneau valmur. A beauty. Minerals and stones and sea salt. Very long and very good. Mature. A.

06 giroud corton charlie. Oaky. Full rich and one dimension. Nice not exceptional. B+

90 williams seleyem pinot noir sonoma coast. Burgundian and still good. I'd guess nsg blind. Bright. Very nice. I didn't know California pinot could age this long. A-

76 Lopez de Herradia Rioja Bosconia. Jalapeño and earth. Delish. Dusty. Long and funky and I really like it! JulueAnne says lacks long finish. Burgundian. Thanks Josh. A.

97 Mortet Chambertin. Earth shattering. A+ all the way. Dense rich complex earth. Nose gives chills and makes everyone smile. A+ JulieAnne says very comfortable. All agree near its peak. Thanks again Josh!

91 Muga Predo Enea. Seth says is the greatest value per dollar of any wine made today. At
first stinky. Then nice and very long. A-

Blind. Seth says olive. Filled with power. Some guess old some guess new world. Qupe syrah! I am stumped, and correctly guess syrah. Then I veer way off and say Sine qua Non. It is a 1994 Bien nacito hillside select. A-

92 thackery orion. Mmm aroma. Rustic and powerful. High alcohol. Jill says like raw leather. Rough. B+

2001 merkelbach erdener treppchen riesling auslese. Delish peach puree. Luchee. Petrol. Wonderful. A. Thanks Seth!

05 shafer firebreak. Doesn't smell good. One of my fav California producers. Everyone says like nail polish remover. Too much. Just doesn't work. C-

67 yquem A++ Seth got some from the next table, and I drunkingly brought over the empty mag of sir winston to share (oops, I really though it wasn't empty)

2005 Bouchard Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus

Wonderful aromas of menthol and earth. Deep rich sappy palate. An enchanted mushroom. pine forest of flavor. Huge finish. Lovely burgundy and will only improve. Jill guesses burgundy blind, and says like scorched pine needles, 2005 burgundies I've tried haven't shut down. I wonder if there won't be a dumb period for this near-perfect vintage. Retail $80, grade: A (Jill agrees)

2000 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

Starting to develop secondary mushroom aromas, to go with its black fruits. At first it is acidic, but after being open for an hour it is starting to shine. The palate is full of blue and black fruits behind its classically earthy textures. This is ready to go, and a little past its prime. Acids slightly stick out at the end. Still I like it. This wine proves Kistler's high quality production in the more challenging vintages. Not available at retail, was about $40 on release. Grade: A-

2002 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1st Cru Combe Aux Moines

At first it smelled of dried leaves and showed a hard astringency. Now that it has been opened an hour its blossomed. There's an anise, morel mushroom, a sleek mouth feel, and a fascinating, long finish. It is fickle and serious(ly good). And, it is not quite ready! Age it a few more years. Not available at retail. I've had it a few years. I paid $60. Grade: A.

1996 Krug

Subject of an enjoyable debate with JulieAnne and Josh. I say any wine with a 3 minute vibrating finish is a work of genius and a truly great wine. This has it. It is complex with doughy hazelnut and lemon rind and an excellent sleek texture. JA and Josh both say it has potential but now just has one dimension. I'd love to drink more of it, and argue more. Grade: A+.

2006 Mendel Unus

Deep luxurious purple. Captivating aromas of baked plums, warm earth, menthol and vanilla. Rich palate with dark chocolate, pretty berries and cherries, and a long, smooth finish. Delicious wine, with character and depth. I found this for about $30 in the Naples, Florida. Jill agrees, this is way in front of the wine we had last night. Grade: A.

2007 Sequana Sarmento Vineyard Pinot Noir

Nice light pinot color. Some interesting (good) strange (not so good) smells. Something like wet wood bark with cherry powder. Pure, very nice fruit on the palate and a long, but slightly hot finish. We drank with fish, and it didn't work. I'd suggest drinking it with meat. Now after dinner I like it more. Interesting, and fairly priced. Retail $30, grade: B+.

Meursault with Wine Workshop (from 11/13/2008)

More wine than most other communes. Charmes is fat. Perrieres is like grand
cru leaner .

1. 04 roulot les meix chavaux. Somewhat simple aromas and closed this is just too young. Its got all the stuffing but not drinking great tonight. I do see potential. Yeasty. B

2. 02 boillot poruzots. More of a nose and fuller deeper and stonier than the roulot. Flinty like tko. Finish goes on and on. A.

3. 02 Bouchard genevrieres. A little stinky like cheese. Silky slick mouth feel and a little oxidized. Someone says bubblegum. Sweet and tasty but oddball. B+

4. 02 boyer-martenot charmes. Pear and green apple aromas. Simple and flat. Tails off quickly in the finish. Not crazy about it. Pass. Getting worse and sherried. D.

5. 02 Matrot charmes. Better again. More fleshy and robust with some sea salt and brine. I like this one. Talkative finish. A-

6. 02 Girardin charmes. Sediment. Inexpressive nose and tired wine. Yawn. Darker than the others. Then after 20 minutes turns nice and full. Full and rich buttery hazelnuts. . B+

7. 04 boillot charmes. From the upper part (the good part). Rocking pear and peach nose. This is excellent. Excellent body compelling saline wonderful complete finish. Favorite so far. One to buy. A.

8. 04 roulot charmes. 70 year old vines. Lighter than the others. Also completely delicious but more subtle. Packed full of peach pit, cold rocks. One to sit and sip and sip. Just growing. Sense of piece and calm. Lighter body. Some say it lacks intensity. A-

9. 02 chateau de puligny montrachet perrieres. Much more salty nose. More chiseled and lean and full of character. The place comes out. Perrieres strongly exibits the definition of terroir. David says anise. Loving this one. A.

10. 02 Girardin perrieres. Simplier more fruity nose. Richer and riper but some of the salt and brine is missing. Tasty but not so special from this vineyard. David says powder and chalk. B+

11 matrot perrieres. Sulfur and poopy nose that blows off a little. Off bottle. Not clean. C.

12. 2000 Lafon meursault. Village wine. A little thinner mid palate missing structure. $100. Nice at this price there's better. B.

13 00 lafon clos de la barre. Wow I really like this one. Singing. Dancing. A beam of light. Lemon curd and sea rocks. Melding. $150. A

14 00 coche chevalieres. The nose makes me laugh. It is crazy. So complex. Rich and full and complex and salty and creamy wotn in the tough company. Toasty oak and everything. Unbelievable multi minute finish. $350. A.

2005 Kistler Kistler Vineyards Chardonny

Jill says lemon curd. Beam of sunshine. Vanilla bean creme brulee. Thinking of ordering a beer if no corkage at Hasaki but I've never been this happy with a beer. Delicious and long we both grade
A.