January Rhônes

Chicago, IL
Tasted Monday, January 31, 2022 by acyso with 407 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • NV Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    From jeroboam. I don't know if this wine is still better in large format, but this was a fantastic edition of this wine (not sure which release it was). Bright apples, pears, and quince, with refreshing acidity too. Speaks very honestly of chardonnay.

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  • 1998 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    From magnum. A big, chunky edition of Rare, with many of the same oxidative, autolytic characteristics as a recent 2002 (in fifth). But this is a much tighter package overall -- the acidity seems to tie all the broad, ripe fruit and doughy elements all together. Almost a little chewy from the concentration. Excellent and ready to drink now; all day, every day.

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Flight 2 (8 Notes)

  • 2013 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    This wine has improved a bit versus the last time I had it many years ago. The nose has the requisite red fruit and some olives, and compared to the Gonon, is very clean. The palate doesn't have quite the same complexity as the nose, and this feels a little light overall.

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  • 1996 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    A bottle in good condition, but not really offering too much of interest anymore. It feels a little old and tired; a bit of a generic old red wine thing going on here. High acid and some briny notes as well, but definitely feeling a bit long in the tooth. Drink up.

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  • 2015 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    It's been a while since I tasted this last; this wasn't my bottle as I personally wouldn't have chosen to pull this from my cellar now, but hey, who am I to turn down a glass of this? In this mini vertical, this wine still remains at the top of the heap as far as Gonon vintages are concerned. it's a big, juicy wine; more black than red, with full, sweet fruit, but also some of the classic Gonon lightness and elegance.

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  • 2014 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    I've not been a huge fan of this edition the few times I had it in the past; this bottle was pretty much in line with that. It's of a very light disposition, with an almost thinning palate. Much more briney and olivey, but lacking the weight that the best versions of Gonon have. Resolved and drinkable now; not a vintage I'd be keen on holding for too long.

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  • 2013 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    Can't believe I never managed to get a note on this vintage until now. Sadly I'm not sure this was totally representative, as I found it far dirtier and brettier than Gonon really ought to be. Some tart fruit (both red and black) here, but the funk was a little too distracting. Not as enjoyable as the Chave today.

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  • 2012 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    Very nice bottle of Gonon; kind of like a hypothetical blend of the 2014 and 2015 with everything kind of inbetween the two. The fruit is a mix of red and black, there's good acidity, some brine and olives, and medium weight.

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  • 2016 Aurélien Chatagnier St. Joseph La Sybarite 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    Very young and juicy, but quite typical for the vintage. The fruit is bright, lifted, and red, and there's a slight bit of oaky polish here. Still fairly tight, this needs air or cellar time to round out all the rough edges. I do wish that the oak was dialled back here.

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  • 2019 Dard et Ribo St. Joseph 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    Smells like what I would imagine purple to smell like, if purple had a smell. Super natty style, but we lucked out on this one; it's pretty damn clean though there was definitely a slight hint of mousiness on the finish. Very juicy, this obviously is drinking partially like syrah juice, but mostly like a barrel sample. Very nice ripeness, black fruit, and intensity here.

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Flight 3 (6 Notes)

  • 2015 Jean-Luc Jamet Côte-Rôtie Les Terrasses 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Very ripe, as I remember this wine being, with a little more polish than the other Jamet. Relatively black-fruited with some sweetness and oak poking through (though not in a distracting way). Farther than I'd like it to be from my platonic ideal of syrah, but quite delicious nonetheless, especially if you're looking for a bit of a juicier style.

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  • 2018 Jean-Luc Jamet Côte-Rôtie Les Terrasses 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    From magnum. Obviously young, this is a little too juicy right now; it feels like you're tasting a barrel sample still. Surprisingly light and red-fruited for the vintage though the ripeness and sweetness of the fruit do come through here. Almost feels a little light, but with really sweet fruit.

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  • 1987 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    This almost felt a little thin after the 1992 Fonsalette Syrah, but obviously this isn't a small wine by any stretch of the imagination. A little dusty on the nose at first, but this does blossom into some lovely syrah perfume. None of the modern Guigal oakiness, either the oak treatments were different back then or the wine has somehow absorbed the oak. High in acid, which serves to give this extra freshness. In any case, this was a lithe, elegant version of syrah and certainly one of the better versions of the Guigal La-Las I've had.

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  • 2015 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Vieille Vigne en Coteaux 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Clearly a wine made in the natty style, but it's actually clean, so it's reasonably drinkable. Red-fruited and much softer than it should be for a 2015, this feels like it's getting into its secondary phase already, especially with a palate that feels far too resolved for a wine this young. A pleasant wine to drink, especially for the style, but not one I would risk cellaring.

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  • 1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Somewhat oaky, but at least there's fruit. Served next to the Jaboulet La Chapelle, at least you get some sweetness and something else other than tannin in this bottle of syrah. Despite that, this is still a blocky, charmless wine, and I suspect the comparison next to the Jaboulet did this wine favours, as in a vacuum I don't think I would have liked this anywhere near as much.

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  • 1985 Bernard Burgaud Côte-Rôtie 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    The nose veers a bit into poopy territory and there are also some dirty elements here. One of those old-school dirty farmer syrahs, but without the feral intensity that the best of them have. This still has some fruit, but feels mostly desiccated at this point. Unfortunately, tastes a little like generic old wine at this point.

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Flight 4 (10 Notes)

  • 1989 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal Flawed

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    One of the most corked bottles I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

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  • 2006 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 83 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Sweet and porty, and not pleasantly so. A distinct lack of acid and lift here; this is really plodding and difficult to drink. A big whiff here.

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  • 2009 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 70 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    No fruit or acid. A dull, lifeless thud of a syrah; oaky, dusty, and drying. Evokes sawdust. Like a mouthful of it.

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  • 2012 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Now we're back on track! This is the Sorrel Gréal that I know and love. A mix of red and black fruit, plenty of structure, and proper Hermitage weight. No oak sticking out here. Kind of like a Chave, but rustic. Excellent stuff -- something worthwhile to follow as the years go on.

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  • 1988 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    From magnum. The best of the Chapelles opened tonight. Red berries and elegance, but with that typical Jaboulet blockiness that really detracts from the overall enjoyment of the wine. Moderately complex, but this mostly feels too tannic for any further enjoyment right now. Whether this becomes a beauty the way Chave's does isn't really a question up for debate here: no. This feels like a wine that's just going to dry out. But for now, this is adequate and reasonably representative of the state of Hermitage.

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  • 1989 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle Flawed

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Brett up the wazoo, and also oxidized.

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  • 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 85 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    This bottle was quite bretty (I joked that it could have been Montrose). The usual dull thud that is Jaboulet's La Chapelle, this is an exercise in tedium. A heavy-handed bottle of wine that is overwhelmed by tannin and lacking in any modicum of elegance. Shows good typicity for Jaboulet La Chapelle though.

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  • 1995 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 85 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Some meatiness but also some brett. And you know how sometimes you can say that some wines are dusty but in a good way (St. Julien, Rutherford, etc.)? This is dusty as in it tastes like a mouthful of dust. Foursquare, inelegant, and blocky, just a clumsy bottle of Hermitage. Overly tannic without anything else to balance it out. Gives the appellation a bad name, if you ask me.

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  • 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

    An old, dirty, musty nose, like opening the drawer from a really old wooden dresser. The palate is much better than the nose though; this has the ripeness and fruitiness of the vintage, and there is even still a little bit of sweetness. Probably better to drink sooner than later; it's not as if this wine is so big that it has legs for much further aging.

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  • 1985 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Ehh, I thought that this bottle was slightly corked. Others didn't think so. Nonetheless, it seemed that the palate was thin and lacked the intensity and depth that I would expect from this, the king of syrahs. Lots of acid; whatever the issue, I don't think this was the best bottle.

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Flight 5 (5 Notes)

  • 1992 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Cuvée Syrah 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

    Extremely smoky nose, with the smoke permeating all the way to the palate. Very elegant and lithe, with plenty of acidity and some drying red fruit. There's also quite a bit of green that runs through the wine, but I felt that this added rather than detracted: in fact, this was one of my favourite wines of the evening, though others found the green streak too distracting.

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  • 2017 Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet (Hervé Souhaut) La Souteronne 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Ardèche

    Juicy, no-fuss wine, even though the person who brought it scratched out the word gamay on the back label. Yes, it doesn't really taste like Beaujolais, and mercifully so, and there really isn't any of that nasty sucralose character to make you think that this could be gamay. But that said, this isn't a particularly complex wine; it's juicy and drinkable with a pronounced strawberry note. It's a fun beverage the way Caprisun is.

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  • 2013 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Very nice aromatics with a lovely herbal and perfumed quality to the nose. The palate shows moderate ripeness, fruit that's more red than black, just a little sweetness (in contrast to the 2003), but also a little more alcohol than the palate can really handle.

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  • 2003 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 80 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Confected cherries. Very sweet with no acidity whatsoever. Plenty of alcoholic kick on the back end too. Good for the vintage and what it is, but that's really damning with faint praise.

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  • 2011 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    A very large-scaled wine, but that's to be expected. The alcohol pokes through a little on the back end, but unlike most of the wines tonight where there was obtrusive alcohol, this one did manage to stand its ground thanks to the generous amount of sweet fruit here. Still firmly structured; this needs time to soften up, but my guess is that patience will be rewarded. This bottling is one of the few Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvées that I bother with.

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Flight 6 (1 Note)

  • 2011 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

    I truly, deeply love Allemand, but I suspect this may be one of the worst wines that was made there in the decade. While this has the textural qualities that I expect from Allemand, there just isn't the richness and depth in this wine. The fruit feels emaciated, and there's even a slight hint of green. This isn't as bracingly green as my last bottle, but it's there and it's very distracting to me.

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Flight 7 (3 Notes)

  • 2010 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Réservée 80 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Honestly, I didn't even know Pégau made a white wine. This was super weird. Of the Rhône whites tonight, this had the most acidity, but that didn't help against the distinct caramel apple note on the nose and palate. A lot of cooked apple, but also a contradictory oily texture that I found somewhat unpleasant. Very interesting to try, but I wouldn't want to have to drink even a glass of this.

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  • 2017 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 83 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    I have so much trouble with this wine. The red is handily one of the best wines made in France, but this one... "It's a freight train," said an extremely qualified professional at the table. Oily and spicy at the same time, but then the midpalate seems to evaporate into alcoholic fumes and some bitterness. A touch sweet but just lacking the freshness that I want in any wine. It's hard to see me wanting a glass of this with anything.

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  • 2018 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers 80 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

    Extremely floral and a bit aldehydic too on the nose. This has a rounded, oily texture lacking in any acidity to make this easily drinkable; I think the very hot vintage doesn't make that any easier. It's really hard to think of any situation where someone would prefer to buy this over the excellent St. Joseph rouge made in the same house.

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