2006 Kongsgaard Syrah

Drinking at home.

2006 Kongsgaard Syrah - drank 20 minutes after decanting. Very ripe and extracted, really sweet, nice and fragrant, oaky. More open an hour after decanting, really sweet and syrupy on the nose.

04 Remirez de Ganuza

Drinking at home.

2004 Remírez de Ganuza Reserva - drank 30 minutes after decanting. Nice vanilla and coconut on the nose, lots of oak, minty. Still pretty tannic but acidity was also high. One hour and 15 minutes after decanting, this showed nice plummy notes, smoked meats like chorizo, and very fragrant. Some 3 hours and 45 minutes later kinda softened up on the palate, and the nose faded to showing just smoked meats.

Secret des Sabon and Taillepieds

Drinking at a friend's place.

2002 Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - decanted 1 hour after opening and served. Leather and black fruit notes. Not too exciting compared to previous bottles.

1998 Roger Sabon Le Secret des Sabon - decanted 1 hour after opening and served 1 hour after decanting. Smoke, grilled meats, nice and fragrant nose. Decent but far, far away from a 100-point wine.

2019 Chateau Nine Peaks Qi - drank 1 hour after decanting. Really ripe and jammy, metallic and sharp, lots of oak, definitely lots of sweet vanilla, along with forest and potpourri.

Chablis and pinots

Lunch at Petrus.

2004 Raveneau Chablis Valmur - lemon citrus notes, still got good acidity with some ripeness, with some notes of straw after 15 minutes.  Opened up more after 30 minutes showing bigger nose of oak.  Still going strong more than 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening, showing some green notes and also acetone.

1990 Thomas-Moillard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Malconsorts - served 30 minutes after opening. Showing some age here with savory black olive and a little smoke. Pretty nice and smooth on the palate, some black fruits with leather notes. Showing nicely 1 hour after opening and matching well with the morels.

2002 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine - served 1 hour after opening. Very big nose of toasty oak, a little rubber... almost like Blu Tack, still sharp and alcoholic, and very extracted. Opened up and much nicer 2 hours after opening and mellowed out.

Full post on lunch is here.

76 Taittinger and Mouton

Dinner at a friend's home.

1976 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs - a little dusty at first, with vanilla, Chinese licorice, honey, and marmalade in the nose. Really lovely about 50 minutes after opening, and much more open a little more than an hour after opening. Also got richer on palate. Very, very nice.

1976 Mouton-Rothschild - started drinking 25 minutes after decanting. Not as much fruit showing compared to what was showing while decanting, but pretty fragrant anyway. About 1½ hours after decanting this was much more fragrant, with coffee and leather notes as well as some sweetness underneath. Flat and boring on the palate, though, without much finish. Some mint. Faded about 2½ hours after decanting.

Full post on dinner is here.

98 Clos Erasmus

Drinking at home.

1998 Clos Erasmus - drank 45 minutes after decanting. Definitely woodsy, a little smoked meats, potpourri, plum, reasonably fragrant. Plenty of acidity.

Beringer and Cerretalto

Dinner at a friend's home.

1991 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve - ex-winery in 2002. Decanted 30 minutes after opening, started drinking 20 minutes after decanting. Plenty of fruit with some smoke. Nice, woodsy fragrance in the open nose. Drinking pretty well.

1995 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve - decanted 1½ hours after opening and served. More savory on the nose with soy sauce notes. After additional aeration this improved and the savory notes faded, with a little more fruit. Palate was smooth and fine on this one, but condition clearly could be better.

2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto - decanted 2½ hours after opening, and served 2 hours and 45 minutes after decanting. Kinda fragrant, but definitely still some tannins here. Needs more cellaring.

2006 Arietta H Block

Drinking at home.

2006 Arietta H-Block Hudson Vineyards - started drinking 1 hour after decanting. Very ripe and sweet on the nose, highly extracted and a little sharp and alcoholic. Very fragrant and woodsy, minty, eucalyptus. Massively concentrated and still got tannins here.