Community Tasting Note

Jeff W wrote:

Monday, November 20, 2006 - "Chave Hermitage Magnums dinner."
In the first flight of reds we had the 1990 and 1989 from Magnum.
The 1990 was an explosion of flavour in the mouth. A wonderful bottle. Great focus and intensity, laced with acidity. Meaty power with balance and refinement. Still quite youthful, both in appearance and taste. The finish is long, deep and delicious. “Regal authority”, someone said.
The 1989 was slightly more reticent. I wondered if it needed more time (and this a 17 year old wine.) Smoky bacon and a hint of barnyard. Hold it in your mouth and feel the power. If it did not have quite the immediate impact of the 1990, it was still delicious. The long aftertaste is faintly spiced.
Without much in the way of tannin the finish on these wines is like the smile on the face of the Cheshire Cat – it lingers without any apparent means of support, then slowly fades.
Around the table, opinion seemed split between the 1990 and the 1989, but the 1990 was definitely my WOTN. (Never mind WOTN, the best Hermitage I have tasted…..to date.) It was great to taste them with food – no question that the these wines lift the food, and vice versa. (Ravioli of Grouse and Chanterelles with Pumpkin Puree, by the way.)
Is there something Burgundian in these wines? Not in the flavour, but in the weight, the levels of acidity, and the lack of reliance on tannin.
ve Hermitage Magnums dinner."

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