June 22, 2023 - Not a stunning expérience. Wine is still enjoyable but vibrations are limited. Decanting helps. Maybe another 48h on carafe could help.
April 20, 2019 - Not as heralded a vintage as others in this era but this was superb. At first it was all nose—iron, blood, red autumnal fruits but it was a bit tense and closed. After about 1 hr open (in bottle) the palate woke up and it really came alive with a fabulous silky mouth, succulent dark red fruits, iron on the finish. Lacking some of depth of fruit of more famous vintages but very much alive and energizing. In a higher toned style to my taste. (Perfectly stored bottle that was bought on release.)
May 26, 2017 - Intimate Dinner Series (Carlucci's, Downers Grove): Popped and allowed to sit a while before being poured and followed over the course a few hours. Notes of red currant, pepper and herbs, perhaps also a touch vegetal. Red fruit and pepper on the palate. Develops an intriguing pine needle/evergreen note. Vegetal notes appear and fade between fruit and spice aromas. Develops a nice floral note after a couple of hours in the glass. By the end of the evening, about four hours after the cork was pulled, the fruit had really come forward and added weight on the palate.
May 14, 2016 - Surprised to find this still so youthful on the palate. Stunning ripe nose, lilies and some dried meat. On the palate it's less exciting. Very good example for a top syrah, though. Length a bit disappointing. Was it worth the money (roughly 350 dollars at a restaurant)? To a certain extent only.
May 10, 2016 - Perfectly acceptable but this wine, even well stored bottles, is on a downward slope. Lacks palate complexity at this point although capably displays discrete dry dark fruit and soil notes. Consumed over two hours.
December 7, 2015 - Un grand vin encore une fois et je me rends compte que je suis fou de Guigal en relisant tout mes notes.
Un beau côté tertiaire et sensuel en même temps . Très beau et souple mais une finale un peu courte.
Des feuilles mortes de décembre sont dans mon verre.
À déjà été un grand vin for sûre
17/20
May 19, 2014 - I had stood this 750ml for weeks, and had extremely high hopes and dreams. Opened, decanted, and savored on its own for about 60 minutes to start, and then resumed another 60-90 mins later to see how it evolved. The nose was really lovely, if not stunning. A bit less impressive on the palate: tasty, balanced, but surprisingly unremarkable in a "sum-of-the-parts" fashion. That was just the point: I had extreme difficulty identifying individual components of nose or palate, all the while enjoying the total package. Nice structure, and after a couple hours, that overwhelmed/dried out relative to the level of fruit. Med-long, lovely, lingering finish. A highly enjoyable bottle, but a bit disappointing given the price tag and pedigree. I am also surprised to see so few notes on this specific bottle: is this really that "off-the-run?" Drink up: I can't imagine further upside from here.
October 20, 2012 - From a 25 ml pour from a dispenser at The Sampler in London. Rich, complex nose of paprika, cherry pie, barbecue sauce, and peat. Very airy and effortless in the mouth--good food wine. The structure seems to have come into place, so this is probably near peak. This isn't really a good match for my palate so I wasn't personally taken with it, but it's objectively an interesting and well-made wine firing on all cylinders.
March 11, 2012 - Sadly, this bottle never opened up. Was not corked, nor any bricking, just would not show anything, waited on it for 3 1/2 hours decanted.
January 14, 2012 - No notes taken. Opened about 90 minutes before serving. Served after a pair of Rousseau Chambertins ('88 and '00) and represented a fairly significant change of direction. The nose was stunning. Just what you'd expect from a La La. A bit less impressive on the palate. A good core of flavor, but doesn't expand across the palate as you'd expect. More structure than fruit. Finishes strong with a long, lingering finish. A great bottle of wine, but nowhere near as good as the '88s.