France

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From a difficult vintage, this was outstanding.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, black olives, spice and slight graphite.  Medium to full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries with some underlying earthiness.  Great acidity.  Long finish.  This is complex but needs some air to unwind.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Great on its own, but this will be better with food (but let it breather for a while prior to serving).  This would be great with lamb, of course, but a smoky, black bean burger would be very nice

This is from one of the early Garagiste (Garage wines) wineries.  Inky purple, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is earthy with cassis and a touch of brown sugar.  Plush texture.  Medium to firm tannins.  Long finish. Drinking well and close to maturity.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  This would work nicely with beef stroganoff.  

Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, cherries and dust.  Medium to full bodied.  Great lush texture.  On the palate this is bigger than on the nose.  Cassis with some char.  Firm tannins.  Medium depth.  Good finish.  i found this to be slow maturing like many 2000's but it is certainly accessible and drinking  well at this point.  it should go at least another ten years.  This would work nicely with Lamb chops.  

Great showing for this wine.  Still, not close to maturity, but certainly no harm drinking now.  Purple in color with very slight dark brown hues, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, blueberries, cigar, graphite, and a slight herbal/minty note.  Medium tannins.  Full bodied.  On the palate, cassis with underlying char and minerality.  Good acidity.  Complex.  Long finish.  This is delicious and kept improving all night long.  It will improve but was fantastic now.  Great on its own, this needs big/fatty food now such as Prime Rib.  Drink over the next twenty years.  

Light golden in color with a nice mousse of medium small bubbles.  Clear and bright.  The nose has some pears but overall, quite tight.  Medium bodied with good acidity.  More open on the palate with lemon-lime notes and minerality.  Good finish.  Overall, it seems to be hiding something, but even with air, it never developed the depth it seems to promise.  To be sure, a very nice wine that will work with most foods.  It would go well with spicy Hunan food.  Drink over the next few years.  

This is 100% Chenin Blanc fermented and aged in wood barrels.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose shows some citrus and spice.  A nice oily texture.  On the palate, lemons.  Crisp.  Nice finish.  A very nice wine that is drinking well.  The oak is not obtrusive and seems to add a bit of weight/texture to the wine.  It is lovely on its own and should work well with many foods.  It would be a nice pairing with scallops.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.

This was oxidized.  Apparently, the cork crumbled on removal.  Of course, anytime a White Burgundy is oxidized earlier than expected it is worrisome.  My friend who opened it said prior bottles had been good.  

The wines of Pegau can reach great heights, but they often have a lot of barnyard notes which are not for everyone.  I love them.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  Most opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, cigar, cedar and yes, barnyard.  Medium bodied.  Lower acidity.  On the palate, black cherries with some earthiness.  Complex.  Getting pretty close to peak.  Long finish.  This is great on its own, but probably better with food.  A nice beef stew would be classic but it would work with a bowl of chili, too.  Drink over the next five to ten years.  

Not a particularly good vintage, but when someone opens a bottle of Mouton, it gets one's attention.  Purple/brown in color, mostly opaque and slightly flat.  There is some fruit on on the nose, cherries along with dried cherries and caramel/brown sugar notes.  Thin.  Moderate acidity.  Some cherries on the palate.  At age 50, it really was better than expected.  More of a cool factor than a wine I would want to drink but not bad.  Maybe with some cheeses at the end of a meal would be cool.  Drink up.  

This is a big, plush wine for Bordeaux standards.  It seemed a bit polarizing between those who enjoy those types of wines and those who want a more "traditional" Bordeaux.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has blueberries, cassis, cedar and tobacco.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, a plush, rich texture.  Plenty of depth.  Still quite youthful.  Long finish.  It is slightly over the top but I think with a bit more cellaring it will come together.  Another five years in the cellar will help.  Drink over the next twenty.  A nice choice with BBQ Ribs.