France

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Chidaine is a favorite Loire producer of ours.  Excellent wines for not crazy money.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with chalk/minerals along with pears and lemon rind.  Medium bodied.  Nice acidity.  Great texture.  On the palate, minerality with pears.  Long finish.  This is nice on its own and even better with food.  This would be great with a goat cheese and roasted beet salad.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years. 

This is a blend of 66% Merlot and 34% Cabernet Franc.  It is consistently a great value in Right Bank Bordeaux and in good vintages (such as 2008) it often out performs the vintage.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, cherries, coffee, slight chocolate and cigar box.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is approaching peak.  Some complexity and depth.  Flavors of black cherries, cherries, spice, chocolate and char.  Good finish.  This will be better with food.  It should work great with Lamb.  Drink over the next ten years.

Wow.  One of the best CdP's I have ever had.  This is in a great place right now.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is incredible with black cherries, black raspberries, violets, garrique and slight char.  Full bodied.  Sexy, voluptuous texture.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is just about at peak.  Complex and deep with layers of fruit and minerality.  Flavors of black cherries, black raspberries, spice, earthiness and char.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and would be excellent with Roasted Duck.  Drink over the next ten years.  

Pop and pour on day 1 and it was a bit disappointing.  Good, not great.  Recorked and tried again on day 2.  So much better.  At eight years from vintage, that is surprising and impressive.  Purple in color with some ruby hues.  Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is deep with black raspberries, gravel/asphalt, some garrique, and slight dried floral notes.  Full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  Very lively.  On the palate, this is complex.  Layers of black raspberries, black cherries, spice and char.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This is delicious.  Great on its own, this would be great w

Always a pleasure to drink d'Yquem.  This vintage is 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc.  From a 375ml bottle.

Funny, I had just been talking about the 2002 vintage in Bordeaux.  I liked it but it was a "Restaurant" vintage meaning early accessibility and not wines to lay down for thirty years.  But, as they say, great producers make great wines in every vintage.  That is certainly true for this bottle.  Tasted blind, it started out slow, but just kept getting better.  Purple  in color but a bit flat, opaque.  The nose is nice with black cherries, cherries, spice, cigar box and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, great balance.  Complex.  Flavors of cherries, spice and char.  Long f

This was interesting.  In a room with 7 blind tasters with plenty of experience, no one even guessed Chardonnay much less Burgundy.  Personally, I was stumped.  It was good, but I had no idea what it might be.  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a nice minerality with a touch of quince.  A very nice mouthfeel, slightly oily.  On the palate, mostly minerals.  Good finish.  It drinks well on its own and would be better with some seafood or hearty vegetarian dishes.  Drink over the next five years or so.  

As many times as I have had the red, I am not sure I ever had the white.  Tasted blind, I guessed Hermitage.  It is a blend of 45% Clairette and 30% Grenache Blanc, with the Roussanne and Bourboulenc.  Light golden in color with some green flecks, clear and bright.  The nose has lemon, wax, vanilla, oak and spice.  With air a slight tropical fruit.  Full bodied.  Viscous.  Nice mouthfeel.  On the palate, lemons with almonds turning slightly bitter on the finish.  Long finish with some heat.  A very nice white Rhone.  Young but drinking well.  It needs a bit of food to sort out the rough edg

Gigondas is often thought of as a "lesser" Chateauneuf du Pape.  That can be good as in pricing or bad as in quality.  This is neither.  It is one of the best Gigondas produced and it is not inexpensive.  That said, if you like CdP, you will love this.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, spices, slight floral, black cherries and earth.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is complex and layered.  Deep.  Flavors of black raspberries, earth and char.  Long finish.  This is not yet  at peak but

Iced tea/ orange in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with honey, peaches, and some citrus.  Viscous texture.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is tasty.  Flavors of peaches with some honey.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well.  A bit more mature than expected but still with life left.  Drink over the next five to ten years.  It drinks well on its own and would work nicely with not too sweet, dry cookies, and of course, foie gras.