Surprisingly youthful, intense, full-bodied, and loaded with multiple layers of peppery, spicy red and black fruits, smoke, and pungent herbs. The wine lingers with its rich levels of concentrated red fruits and cracked pepper in the finish. Drink from 2023-2034.
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Rich, dark berries, smoke, leather, cassis, packed into this youthful bottle. What a lovely wine that got better after the first hour it was open and showed no signs of age at all. Excellent wine that I think will only get better with another 5-10 years in the bottle
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Lunch wine with friends on a Friday afternoon. The 1991 Le Pavillon lured the nose with beautiful aromas of cherries, plum juice, graphite, blood, leather, wood undergrowth and wisps of smoke. On the palate silky, with still perceptible tannin and beautiful freshness. This wine still appears so young and vital, with an amazing grip, strength and a wonderfully playful grace. Magnificent length.
Der 1991 Le Pavillon lockte mit herrlichen Aromen von Kirschen, Pflaumensaft, Graphit, Blut, Leder, Unterholz sowie Rauch. Am Gaumen seidig, mit noch spürbarem Tannin und schöner Frische. Dieser Wein wirkt noch immer so jung und vital, mit ordentlichem Grip, Kraft und einer wundervoll spielerischen Anmut. Grandiose Länge.
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Well shiat. Mesmerizing and multifaceted right out of the bottle: plum, fig, coffee, orange peel, vanilla, nutmeg, dried flowers. Very ripe but free of stewed/roasted/jammy flavors for hours. Only middleweight at this age, nicely acidic, very long finish delivered by gentle, powdery tannin. Wide open but power/concentration and structure to last a long time. Easily in the class of the best Chaves and Jaboulets I’ve had. Got a little muddy/raisined at the end of the bottle, but that might have been sediment or too much air. A knockout.
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What a fascinating wine. 1 h in the decanter. Started on the fruit side an changed with every sip i took. Silky , very cool and precise. Dark Body, leather and minty stuff. great finish. This is big but not heavy at all. Flirting with perfection. A point but no hurry. I ll try to hunt for another.
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This is really coming on strong now. The fruit is loaded with rocks, stones, spice, earth and herbs. Full-bodied, concentrated and deep, with power, tannins and length, 90 minutes in the decanter added all the right stuff.
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Acker Auction - June 2018 (Laduree NYC W Broadway): Part of the morning tasting line-up which I missed. It wasn't showing as well as one would hope and so I got a mostly full bottle at the end of the night to enjoy. Interestingly enough, very different than how it was described. It's true this wine is more reserve and not in your face, but still really nice. Black cherry of all flavors, grandma's spice cabinet, a smooth and easy to drink wine. I found myself going back again and again. Very tasty.
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A touch of oak, smoke, dark fruits, tobacco, wet soil, and coffee on the nose. Powerful, big, full bodied, rich and deep, the wine still shows just a hint of oak in the incredibly long, mouth filling finish. Believe it or not, I think it needs more time to develop to its full potential. This is really such a super wine.
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from a magnum. given price paid for, we were expecting more. nose and palate of cote rotie (not that is too distinctive from hermitage) with many terroir features
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Drunk from a magnum with no decanting. Came on after about an hour with incredibly long black fruits suffused with milky tannins, no dryness. Not overbearing or juiced up at all.
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I echo Jeff Leve's comments. This wine is stunning in every sense of the way. You taste black cassis ,raspberry jam. decanted about 3 hours in advance, the wine is the real deal. Still very youthful, this wine will serious grow in the next 7-10yrs
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Stunning in every sense of the word with its intense display of sweet black cherry liqueur, crushed rocked, licorice, smoke and black raspberry jam. The was coats your palate, teeth and gums with flavor that does not quit. Double decanted about 4 hours in advance, the wine is the real deal. Still youthful, this promises to be even better in the years to come.
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Most tasters seem to think this is a special wine - wow, they find something here I do not. It is perfectly fine but inelegant, over-extracted and cumbersome. Yes, it has size and would be something that Parker would like. Right, enough said...
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In Zurich again with CVA and Andrew. This was part of a big lineup of Syrah based wines that included a 76 Grange, 03 Saxum Bone Rock, 04 Sine Qua Non Ode to E...this was CVAs contribution and it lived up to my prior experience with this wine. Prior tasting notes started with "Wow"
This was open for about an hour prior to drinking, really started to show the secondary flavors and complexity after another 30 minutes, drank over 2 hours
Black/blue fruits, plums, spices, roasted meats. Secondary flavors that emerged included coffee, oak. Finish was layered and long
Still feels like its very young, bright and fresh. Probably goes another two decades. Chapoutier can be controversial, one of our guests was ready to not like this...which would have been hard to say with this bottle. Impressive wine
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Drinking Rhones at Capella (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): If the 90 La Mouline was benefited by being so different than the CDPs served earlier, this certainly suffered to be in the same flight as the 90 La Mouline. A bit monolithic, black fruits, plum, sweet spices and earth. Good concentration and good length. It will benefit a few more years of cellaring and then will last for a long time. Not the best showing but even at best, no match to the 90 Mouline.
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Regular dinner group (@ JvT): Mature bouquet with blood and beautiful herbs and spices. I was so impressed that I forgot to write really descriptive notes. The fruits and wine are beautifully ripe and classical as well. There is beautiful acidity and a pleasant bit of sweetness. This is a truly fantastic wine. Completely ready now, but this can probably last another decade. I love it!
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Mostly Northern Rhone dinner (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): This seems a bit monolithic, certainly not the best example of this wine. Some black fruits, black plum, steak, still a hint of oak. Good concentration and decent finish. It was outshined by the Belle Helene and the La Las. Having had an exceptional bottle before, I have to assume that this is not entirely correct. Still good match with a grilled red meat.
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Gorgeous wine with a long life ahead of it. Started after only 30 minutes of decanting, the wine went through 3 distinct stages of evolution over 3 hours -- at first, surprisingly (black/dark red) fruit-driven nose, quite primary, elegant but quite light in the mouth. Second, gained dramatically in volume, length and complexity (both mouth and nose); coffee character began to develop significantly. At around 2.5 hours began displaying interesting secondaries.
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1 hour in decanter. Great time to be drinking this wine. Classic nose and palate for a middle aged Hermitage. Beautiful with kobe short ribs. Alongside were 83 La Chappelle and 89 Angelus, both also very good.
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Just a beautiful, ever evolving masterpiece of a wine. Notes of leather , sweet meat, olive, anise and spice, constantly changing in the glass, with balance and finesse. We swore something other than pure syrah must be at play here, but kudos to the winemaking for achieving such an impressive and subtle expression of the grape.
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Popped, poured, consumed over next two hours. Wonderful nose. Started out on the palate very tight and primary. After thirty minutes, it began to open and reveal some of the potential promised by the bouquet. For the next hour, it added complexity, but felt incomplete. In the final thirty minutes, the gaps began to fill as it came together. This will probably age on its structure and fruit for decades. 95 for the final thirty minutes. I imagine the score would have kept climbing with air but it was gone. Will definitely revisit this with more air or more bottle age.
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At Bistro Jeanty in Yountville during PNV week, a detour from a week of CA Cabs.
Drank this next to the 99. Wow...this Is one spectacular wine. Old vines are probably what gives this the intensity and concentration. Black/blue fruits, roasted meats, spice. Still feels like its very young, bright and fresh. Probably goes another two decades
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Rarities at 11 Madison (11 Madison Park): Intense nose of black fruits, blackberries and leathers. Broad and very pure on the palate with jammy blackberry fruit and supreme freshness. I find a bit of a whole in the middle but this still tastes quite young and primary. The finish kicks in nicely with a lovely note of black licorice along with roasted meats and saddle leather. A big wine with lots of fresh lift and acidity - this is something that could be gorgeous if it continues to develop. 94+
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Regardless of how many times I taste this wine, I'm never bored. The licorice, smoke, vanilla, kirsch, pepper, wild strawberry, herbs and wet earth capture your attention. Thick, rich and intense, at close to 22 years of age, it's still young. I would not be surprised to see this sublime wine age for decades.
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I 100% concur with the Wine Doctor's 2011 review. I can't pen it more accurate except perhaps that my bottle was a bit more evolved and any residual power has transformed into layered elegance.
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Another beautiful bottle. Color still showing no signs of age. Deep purple, no brownish hints yet. Took a while to open, but after an hour in decanter, it blossomed. With a great Cassoulet it was magnificent.
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Welcoming Craig C to DC - Marks duckhouse Part 1 (Marks duckhouse, Falls Church, Va): I noticed Jeff Leve’s TN and I actually have very little to add. This is damn primary. The nose is somewhere between Chave Hermitage and Guigal La Las. Jeff wrote “Coffee, smoke, crushed stone, licorice, blackberry jam, pepper, spice, truffle, earth and tobacco notes” and that is the perfect description although this bottle was as open as Jeff’s bottle. Incredible concentration and balance. This has a long life ahead. The modern day version of the 61 La Chapelle? 97 for current drinking and 100 for +potential. Another bottle with the last drop being the best.
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1991 Chapoutier Pavillon retains is deep, dark color. Coffee, smoke, crushed stone, licorice, blackberry jam, pepper, spice, truffle, earth and tobacco notes explode from the glass the moment the bottle is opened and poured. Powerful, rich, intense and concentrated, everything is in balance and harmony. The wine ends with a long, pure, seamless finish filled with truffle coated, molten, cherry liqueu that remained on your palate for over one full minute!
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Deeply colored without any hint of maturity. Beautiful mix of red and black fruit, anise. Round and lush with a blackberry liqueur quality but moderated by mint and terrific, round tannins. Super pure Syrah. These '91 Hermitages often outperform. Pretty profound wine.
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AMAZING, ELEGANT BERRY FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR WITH A BIT OF SWEET EARTHINESS. TASTE LIKE THE NOSE. LONG LINGERING FINISH. NICE COMPLEXITY, RUSTIC YET ELEGANT.
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1991 Chapoutier Pavillon is filled with fresh ground black pepper, blackberry, cherry, crushed stone and spice aromas. Intense, dense, fat, round and mouth filling, the wine ends with a long sensation of fresh blackberry, sweet and sour dark cherry and spice flavors.
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MOPA 100 Point Wine Tasting (Rancho Santa Fe, CA): Light nose, but the flavor made up for it. Dusty dry plum coated in leather and truffles. Silk sheet finish. Gorgeous. So much dimension, especially in comparison to all those ’82 Bordeaux.
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Three Fantastic Dinners in DC; 10/26/2008-10/28/2008 (Washington, DC): Whoops, somehow forgot to note this in more timely fashion. From my recollection, young, dark, mostly primary but very typical Syrah aromas developing some bacon along the way. Dense and round. Excellent but give it time. Although '91 Cote Rotie gets all the billing, this is another outperforming '91 Hermitage (along with the Chave tasted recently).
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Remarkably dark fading to a ruby border. Nose is intense and seems young, with crushed rose petals, resin, leather, creosote. Dense in the mouth, almost chewy, but with a satiny tannic structure; ripe fruit framed by intense acidity, finish fades for easily a minute. A monumental hermitage!
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Northern Rhones at my place (my house): Can’t find my notes but I recall it being rustic in style, No were near the density of the 1989 or 1990. I was actually very disappointed . I thought it was going to be the wine of the night but It just didn’t have it tonight. Oh well. 92 points but this really wasn't a good bottle.
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taste: loads of black pepper and smoked meats with dark cherry, bacon fat, charcol, and peppercorn tones
overall: wonderfully balanced wine with great feel that only french syrah can bring. Great silky feel and weight with a great attack and very long finish
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Once poured, the aromatic fireworks kicks off with intense scents of ripe black fruits, minerals and spice. On the palate, this elixir of Hermitage coats every nook and cranny of your mouth with waves of deep, ripe, powerful black fruit. This has incredible concentration. But, everything is in perfect balance. The texture is plush, fat, rich and opulent. The finish lasts close to :60! Still youthful, this magical wine should continue to improve offering hedonistic thrills for another 20 years or more. This wine is an E ticket ride!
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atlanta blue nose group hermitage tasting which included 88,89,90 chave, 88, 89, 90 jaboulet la chappelle, 89, 90, 91 sorrell le greal and 89, 90, 91 chapoutier pavillon. enjoyable, ripe wine but not as good as its too predecessors. lacked their concentration.
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Dark ruby to the edge. Deep, rich, full bodied wine with the aroma of beetroot. Fine grained tannins are warm and fully resolved. Beats, pepper, licorice, black fruits, with balanced acidity. A fine and concentrated wine, perfectly balanced. Outstanding. -JBL
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Steak night with Scott Manlin (Sammamish, WA): When we pulled the capsule on this (my) bottle, it was a somewhat crappy looking leaker with dried gunk all over the place. I was relieved when I popped the cork though and saw that this was screaming with goodness. Stunning bouquet, plush palate, this was exotic, ripe, yet with more than enough poise and structure to keep it interesting. One of my wines of the night, this rocked!
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This bottle remained closed up tight for an hour after decanting. Then it came alive -- a dark, brooding blend of brambly, earthy, wood resin flavors, with prominent tannins that lent an agreeably sappy mouthfeel. Shortly thereafter, a fruitier side emerged, with blackberries and sour cherries. Splendidly complex, but a rough, bucking bronco of a wine that seemed to fight with itself and with me the whole time. At three hours after decanting, it ran out of fight, and began to shut down again. The nuances vanished, and the wine became rather tasteless, though still quite tannic. I plan to leave the last half-glass out overnight and see if it develops yet another personality. Quite a ride I had with this bottle. I'm not sure what to make of it all, but I tend to conclude that this wine's best years are yet to come.
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Offline chez Dan Bailey (London): A powerhouse of a wine. Immensely concentrated with black pepper and blackberry on the nose, fat and mouthfilling with very smooth tannins.
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Shiraz/Syrah dinner party w Bob Muraro/Delia McDonald and Doug Clarke. Bob's contribution. Picked up from Bob in am at Int'l Wine Storage, Miami. Double decanted in am, seemed dumb or fragile, but was reluctant to let it breathe. Decanteed again 1 hr before dinner. Wine turned out to be dumb, I think. Showed hints of things to come but was outclassed by the Aussie trio of 92 Hill of Grace; 93 Mt Edelstone, and 98 Armagh.
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Chapoutier verticale at St John (London): The nose on this one is also quite incredible, best nose of the 89-90-91 trilogy and it is also the best of this trio to drink right now.
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91 Chapoutier Ermitage Pavillon (high shoulder fill, some gunk under the capsule, but no clear evidence of heat damage -- perhaps just a high initial fill and then evaporation). Black/red with a watery pink rim. Initially: Nose dominated by ripe red currents, creosote, and a distinctive raw-milk camembert element. Long and sweet, red current fruit framed by firm tannins.
After about two hours: the camembert aroma is gone -- now red currents, creosote, garrigue, lavender. Showing very well: long, sweet, rather seductive. Initially 96, after two hours 97.
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Northern Rhone tasting with the Lakeshore Boys (My house): Decanted 3 hours prior to serving and consumed over the following 2 hours. This wine was showing much younger than the La Mordorée. Black color. Spices and black fruits on the nose. Extremely concentrated with silky tannins. Needs another 3-5 years at least.
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Consumed at Tapenade with lentil soup and pancetta penne pasta. Bottle provided by Ken Johnson. Bright disc. Opaque ruby/garnet robe with red rim. Clean nose, showing an explosive bouquet of chocolate-covered cherries, mint, roasted herbs and a whiff of bacon. Full-bodied on the palate, with medium acidity, medium residual supple tannins and similar flavors as for the nose. The wine is silky-textured in the mouth, with an excellent evolution which leads to a long, smooth finish. Very close to perfection, indeed!
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A bit browner. Scents of dark berries and even foie gras. And some candy. Very nice and enjoyable. No hard edges or spiky corners here. Goes down oh so easily. Again, a long agreeable finish.
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9/12/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Surprisingly youthful, intense, full-bodied, and loaded with multiple layers of peppery, spicy red and black fruits, smoke, and pungent herbs. The wine lingers with its rich levels of concentrated red fruits and cracked pepper in the finish. Drink from 2023-2034.
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11/25/2022 - mowtod Likes this wine: 92 Points
One bottle with low fill and flawed. The other delightful , beautiful bouquet and rich flavor and great match for a hearty stew
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11/3/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Charleston VII; 11/2/2022-11/6/2022 (Charleston, SC (various locations)): Classic and awesome like you'd expect. Needed some time to open. Dark and brooding style of wine. Very nice.
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8/15/2022 - G SQUARED wrote: 94 Points
In a great spot.
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3/23/2022 - G_H wrote: 96 Points
A beauty! Northern rhone classic but wirh such a pure core.
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8/15/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 96 Points
2nd round after Imperial GWC!: Great showing - vibrant and in its prime. Very impressed with this tonight. My overall WOTN! Open now! 96/97
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5/9/2020 - cch1966 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Medium purple. Black berries, pepper, tobacco and bacon. Great complexity and balance. Decanted for 3 hours. Outstanding wine.
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10/19/2019 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote: 96 Points
Rich, dark berries, smoke, leather, cassis, packed into this youthful bottle. What a lovely wine that got better after the first hour it was open and showed no signs of age at all. Excellent wine that I think will only get better with another 5-10 years in the bottle
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7/7/2019 - oversand wrote: 98 Points
Great. It is everything it needs to be now. Concentrated with all you want from the best northern rhone.
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5/17/2019 - MNig Likes this wine: 96 Points
Lunch wine with friends on a Friday afternoon.
The 1991 Le Pavillon lured the nose with beautiful aromas of cherries, plum juice, graphite, blood, leather, wood undergrowth and wisps of smoke. On the palate silky, with still perceptible tannin and beautiful freshness. This wine still appears so young and vital, with an amazing grip, strength and a wonderfully playful grace. Magnificent length.
Der 1991 Le Pavillon lockte mit herrlichen Aromen von Kirschen, Pflaumensaft, Graphit, Blut, Leder, Unterholz sowie Rauch. Am Gaumen seidig, mit noch spürbarem Tannin und schöner Frische. Dieser Wein wirkt noch immer so jung und vital, mit ordentlichem Grip, Kraft und einer wundervoll spielerischen Anmut. Grandiose Länge.
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5/6/2019 - burgcamel wrote: 97 Points
Had everything I was looking for but lacked a little weight. Earth, smoke, leather and minerals all in a nicely integrated package.
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4/16/2019 - cooberp Likes this wine: 94 Points
Well shiat. Mesmerizing and multifaceted right out of the bottle: plum, fig, coffee, orange peel, vanilla, nutmeg, dried flowers. Very ripe but free of stewed/roasted/jammy flavors for hours. Only middleweight at this age, nicely acidic, very long finish delivered by gentle, powdery tannin. Wide open but power/concentration and structure to last a long time. Easily in the class of the best Chaves and Jaboulets I’ve had. Got a little muddy/raisined at the end of the bottle, but that might have been sediment or too much air. A knockout.
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2/17/2019 - Frank Schneider wrote: 99 Points
What a fascinating wine. 1 h in the decanter. Started on the fruit side an changed with every sip i took. Silky , very cool and precise. Dark Body, leather and minty stuff. great finish. This is big but not heavy at all. Flirting with perfection. A point but no hurry. I ll try to hunt for another.
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11/12/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
This is really coming on strong now. The fruit is loaded with rocks, stones, spice, earth and herbs. Full-bodied, concentrated and deep, with power, tannins and length, 90 minutes in the decanter added all the right stuff.
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6/20/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Acker Auction - June 2018 (Laduree NYC W Broadway): Part of the morning tasting line-up which I missed. It wasn't showing as well as one would hope and so I got a mostly full bottle at the end of the night to enjoy. Interestingly enough, very different than how it was described. It's true this wine is more reserve and not in your face, but still really nice. Black cherry of all flavors, grandma's spice cabinet, a smooth and easy to drink wine. I found myself going back again and again. Very tasty.
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5/16/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Acker Auction & Commanderie des Costes du Rhone (Zuma & Racines): A real treat to get to try. It's very tasty. In a great drinking spot right now. Very well balanced. Not as many detailed notes as I'd like, but I have that I quite liked it written down.
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4/30/2017 - Edclr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Now very soft, but fruit still obvious. Slight bricking, long finish, now in its prime.
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1/12/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
A touch of oak, smoke, dark fruits, tobacco, wet soil, and coffee on the nose. Powerful, big, full bodied, rich and deep, the wine still shows just a hint of oak in the incredibly long, mouth filling finish. Believe it or not, I think it needs more time to develop to its full potential. This is really such a super wine.
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12/19/2016 - Old Vino Likes this wine: 95 Points
from a magnum. given price paid for, we were expecting more. nose and palate of cote rotie (not that is too distinctive from hermitage) with many terroir features
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10/15/2016 - jkoenen wrote: flawed
Tainted bottle. Corked? No score.
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10/12/2016 - ato2 Likes this wine:
Drunk from a magnum with no decanting. Came on after about an hour with incredibly long black fruits suffused with milky tannins, no dryness. Not overbearing or juiced up at all.
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8/5/2016 - Jeffrey Silver Likes this wine: 100 Points
I echo Jeff Leve's comments. This wine is stunning in every sense of the way. You taste black cassis ,raspberry jam. decanted about 3 hours in advance, the wine is the real deal. Still very youthful, this wine will serious grow in the next 7-10yrs
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6/29/2016 - fatfishzsy wrote: 95 Points
平衡、柔顺,没有希拉的油腻,果香诱人且不肥腻,酸度支撑很明显
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7/29/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
Stunning in every sense of the word with its intense display of sweet black cherry liqueur, crushed rocked, licorice, smoke and black raspberry jam. The was coats your palate, teeth and gums with flavor that does not quit. Double decanted about 4 hours in advance, the wine is the real deal. Still youthful, this promises to be even better in the years to come.
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2/21/2015 - lepetitchateau wrote: 88 Points
Most tasters seem to think this is a special wine - wow, they find something here I do not. It is perfectly fine but inelegant, over-extracted and cumbersome. Yes, it has size and would be something that Parker would like. Right, enough said...
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1/27/2015 - walkerjfw wrote: 98 Points
In Zurich again with CVA and Andrew. This was part of a big lineup of Syrah based wines that included a 76 Grange, 03 Saxum Bone Rock, 04 Sine Qua Non Ode to E...this was CVAs contribution and it lived up to my prior experience with this wine. Prior tasting notes started with "Wow"
This was open for about an hour prior to drinking, really started to show the secondary flavors and complexity after another 30 minutes, drank over 2 hours
Black/blue fruits, plums, spices, roasted meats. Secondary flavors that emerged included coffee, oak. Finish was layered and long
Still feels like its very young, bright and fresh. Probably goes another two decades. Chapoutier can be controversial, one of our guests was ready to not like this...which would have been hard to say with this bottle. Impressive wine
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10/16/2014 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Drinking Rhones at Capella (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): If the 90 La Mouline was benefited by being so different than the CDPs served earlier, this certainly suffered to be in the same flight as the 90 La Mouline. A bit monolithic, black fruits, plum, sweet spices and earth. Good concentration and good length. It will benefit a few more years of cellaring and then will last for a long time. Not the best showing but even at best, no match to the 90 Mouline.
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9/20/2014 - canan wrote: flawed
Chateauneuf Du Pape 1990 Horisontal (@Terkel): DANG...
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8/2/2014 - Zweder Likes this wine: 99 Points
Regular dinner group (@ JvT): Mature bouquet with blood and beautiful herbs and spices. I was so impressed that I forgot to write really descriptive notes. The fruits and wine are beautifully ripe and classical as well. There is beautiful acidity and a pleasant bit of sweetness. This is a truly fantastic wine. Completely ready now, but this can probably last another decade. I love it!
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7/25/2014 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
Mostly Northern Rhone dinner (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): This seems a bit monolithic, certainly not the best example of this wine. Some black fruits, black plum, steak, still a hint of oak. Good concentration and decent finish. It was outshined by the Belle Helene and the La Las. Having had an exceptional bottle before, I have to assume that this is not entirely correct. Still good match with a grilled red meat.
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6/16/2014 - jonnyoro wrote: 100 Points
With 1990 montrose and1990 cheval blanc- hat trick of 100 point wines...
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5/8/2014 - Lord Rayas wrote: 95 Points
inky, deep and flavourful. never been a big fan of chapoutier but this was excellent.
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2/25/2014 - ccn wrote: 94 Points
Gorgeous wine with a long life ahead of it. Started after only 30 minutes of decanting, the wine went through 3 distinct stages of evolution over 3 hours -- at first, surprisingly (black/dark red) fruit-driven nose, quite primary, elegant but quite light in the mouth. Second, gained dramatically in volume, length and complexity (both mouth and nose); coffee character began to develop significantly. At around 2.5 hours began displaying interesting secondaries.
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11/20/2013 - Edclr Likes this wine: 96 Points
1 hour in decanter. Great time to be drinking this wine. Classic nose and palate for a middle aged Hermitage. Beautiful with kobe short ribs. Alongside were 83 La Chappelle and 89 Angelus, both also very good.
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11/13/2013 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 96 Points
Just a beautiful, ever evolving masterpiece of a wine. Notes of leather , sweet meat, olive, anise and spice, constantly changing in the glass, with balance and finesse. We swore something other than pure syrah must be at play here, but kudos to the winemaking for achieving such an impressive and subtle expression of the grape.
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9/21/2013 - rsbeck wrote: 95 Points
Popped, poured, consumed over next two hours. Wonderful nose. Started out on the palate very tight and primary. After thirty minutes, it began to open and reveal some of the potential promised by the bouquet. For the next hour, it added complexity, but felt incomplete. In the final thirty minutes, the gaps began to fill as it came together. This will probably age on its structure and fruit for decades. 95 for the final thirty minutes. I imagine the score would have kept climbing with air but it was gone. Will definitely revisit this with more air or more bottle age.
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8/30/2013 - mwanasheria wrote: 98 Points
This was a spectacular bottle. Remarkably young with herbs, cherries, leather, scorched earth, pepper, long finish.
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2/22/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 99 Points
At Bistro Jeanty in Yountville during PNV week, a detour from a week of CA Cabs.
Drank this next to the 99. Wow...this Is one spectacular wine. Old vines are probably what gives this the intensity and concentration. Black/blue fruits, roasted meats, spice. Still feels like its very young, bright and fresh. Probably goes another two decades
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1/30/2013 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 98 Points
Degustateurs (Cyrano's Bistrot, Chicago IL): Wow, can thes wines get any better, youthful yet elegant and a real mouthful.
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12/22/2012 - dream wrote: 94 Points
Rarities at 11 Madison (11 Madison Park): Intense nose of black fruits, blackberries and leathers. Broad and very pure on the palate with jammy blackberry fruit and supreme freshness. I find a bit of a whole in the middle but this still tastes quite young and primary. The finish kicks in nicely with a lovely note of black licorice along with roasted meats and saddle leather. A big wine with lots of fresh lift and acidity - this is something that could be gorgeous if it continues to develop. 94+
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12/20/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Regardless of how many times I taste this wine, I'm never bored. The licorice, smoke, vanilla, kirsch, pepper, wild strawberry, herbs and wet earth capture your attention. Thick, rich and intense, at close to 22 years of age, it's still young. I would not be surprised to see this sublime wine age for decades.
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5/27/2012 - ledwards wrote: 94 Points
I 100% concur with the Wine Doctor's 2011 review. I can't pen it more accurate except perhaps that my bottle was a bit more evolved and any residual power has transformed into layered elegance.
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2/29/2012 - Edclr wrote: 96 Points
Another beautiful bottle. Color still showing no signs of age. Deep purple, no brownish hints yet. Took a while to open, but after an hour in decanter, it blossomed. With a great Cassoulet it was magnificent.
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12/15/2011 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Welcoming Craig C to DC - Marks duckhouse Part 1 (Marks duckhouse, Falls Church, Va): I noticed Jeff Leve’s TN and I actually have very little to add. This is damn primary. The nose is somewhere between Chave Hermitage and Guigal La Las. Jeff wrote “Coffee, smoke, crushed stone, licorice, blackberry jam, pepper, spice, truffle, earth and tobacco notes” and that is the perfect description although this bottle was as open as Jeff’s bottle. Incredible concentration and balance. This has a long life ahead. The modern day version of the 61 La Chapelle? 97 for current drinking and 100 for +potential. Another bottle with the last drop being the best.
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10/7/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
1991 Chapoutier Pavillon retains is deep, dark color. Coffee, smoke, crushed stone, licorice, blackberry jam, pepper, spice, truffle, earth and tobacco notes explode from the glass the moment the bottle is opened and poured. Powerful, rich, intense and concentrated, everything is in balance and harmony. The wine ends with a long, pure, seamless finish filled with truffle coated, molten, cherry liqueu that remained on your palate for over one full minute!
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5/7/2011 - drwine2001 wrote:
Deeply colored without any hint of maturity. Beautiful mix of red and black fruit, anise. Round and lush with a blackberry liqueur quality but moderated by mint and terrific, round tannins. Super pure Syrah. These '91 Hermitages often outperform. Pretty profound wine.
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3/24/2011 - buckeye76 wrote: 96 Points
AMAZING, ELEGANT BERRY FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR WITH A BIT OF SWEET EARTHINESS. TASTE LIKE THE NOSE. LONG LINGERING FINISH. NICE COMPLEXITY, RUSTIC YET ELEGANT.
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12/8/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
1991 Chapoutier Pavillon is filled with fresh ground black pepper, blackberry, cherry, crushed stone and spice aromas. Intense, dense, fat, round and mouth filling, the wine ends with a long sensation of fresh blackberry, sweet and sour dark cherry and spice flavors.
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7/29/2010 - Philippe_C wrote: 89 Points
Nose of ripe red fruit, mushrooms... in the month, red fruit, dusty, a bit short
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6/13/2010 - jkline wrote:
plush, rich, dense. needed time to open. Smelled asian spices, leather on the nose.
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9/12/2009 - psmith wrote:
Spicy blackberry fruit. Clean wine - well resolved and very drinkable, but still youthful. Fine structure. Very nice.
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5/9/2009 - rstark wrote: 98 Points
MOPA 100 Point Wine Tasting (Rancho Santa Fe, CA): Light nose, but the flavor made up for it. Dusty dry plum coated in leather and truffles. Silk sheet finish. Gorgeous. So much dimension, especially in comparison to all those ’82 Bordeaux.
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10/28/2008 - drwine2001 wrote:
Three Fantastic Dinners in DC; 10/26/2008-10/28/2008 (Washington, DC): Whoops, somehow forgot to note this in more timely fashion. From my recollection, young, dark, mostly primary but very typical Syrah aromas developing some bacon along the way. Dense and round. Excellent but give it time. Although '91 Cote Rotie gets all the billing, this is another outperforming '91 Hermitage (along with the Chave tasted recently).
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9/21/2008 - KPB wrote: 97 Points
Remarkably dark fading to a ruby border. Nose is intense and seems young, with crushed rose petals, resin, leather, creosote. Dense in the mouth, almost chewy, but with a satiny tannic structure; ripe fruit framed by intense acidity, finish fades for easily a minute. A monumental hermitage!
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6/4/2008 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
FRENCH BAKERY Northern Rhone BYO Dinner; 6/3/2008-6/4/2008 (The French Bakery, Kane Concourse, Bay Harbour Islands, FL): Bob's Wine. Another RP 100 pointe! Won flight with 7 votes. Bob had decanted fon an hour or two. Revelaled itself well with great depth, good aromatics, and silky smooth finish.
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5/23/2008 - Claudio161 wrote: 93 Points
Northern Rhone Get Together in North Chicagoland (Gurnee, Illinois): Sight: Medlium color. Clear wine
Nose: Pommegranite; burnt/smoked meat; charcoal and charred red fruits
Taste: Tannins and acid nicely balanced. Medium body; smooth flowing taste with a flavor that made me want to forget my love for cote rotie.
Overall: Great wine. Different than what I am usually used to but definitely very interesting. 93 points.
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5/23/2008 - jordanj wrote: 92 Points
Northern Rhones at my place (my house): Can’t find my notes but I recall it being rustic in style, No were near the density of the 1989 or 1990. I was actually very disappointed . I thought it was going to be the wine of the night but It just didn’t have it tonight. Oh well. 92 points but this really wasn't a good bottle.
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5/23/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
Northern Rhones and other syrahs (Gurnee IL, Jordan's house): nose: great nose with black and white peppers accompanied by smoked meats, charcol, and loads of dark cherry
taste: loads of black pepper and smoked meats with dark cherry, bacon fat, charcol, and peppercorn tones
overall: wonderfully balanced wine with great feel that only french syrah can bring. Great silky feel and weight with a great attack and very long finish
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4/5/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Once poured, the aromatic fireworks kicks off with intense scents of ripe black fruits, minerals and spice. On the palate, this elixir of Hermitage coats every nook and cranny of your mouth with waves of deep, ripe, powerful black fruit. This has incredible concentration. But, everything is in perfect balance. The texture is plush, fat, rich and opulent. The finish lasts close to :60! Still youthful, this magical wine should continue to improve offering hedonistic thrills for another 20 years or more. This wine is an E ticket ride!
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1/13/2008 - IAMVLAD wrote: 92 Points
atlanta blue nose group hermitage tasting which included 88,89,90 chave, 88, 89, 90 jaboulet la chappelle, 89, 90, 91 sorrell le greal and 89, 90, 91 chapoutier pavillon. enjoyable, ripe wine but not as good as its too predecessors. lacked their concentration.
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1/4/2008 - Chevaliers wrote: 95 Points
Dark ruby to the edge. Deep, rich, full bodied wine with the aroma of beetroot. Fine grained tannins are warm and fully resolved. Beats, pepper, licorice, black fruits, with balanced acidity. A fine and concentrated wine, perfectly balanced. Outstanding. -JBL
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10/28/2007 - Ricky99 wrote: 99 Points
as close to perfect as any wine I have ever tasted. Beautiful balance, smokey warm nose and a finish to die for
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10/26/2007 - Eric wrote:
Steak night with Scott Manlin (Sammamish, WA): When we pulled the capsule on this (my) bottle, it was a somewhat crappy looking leaker with dried gunk all over the place. I was relieved when I popped the cork though and saw that this was screaming with goodness. Stunning bouquet, plush palate, this was exotic, ripe, yet with more than enough poise and structure to keep it interesting. One of my wines of the night, this rocked!
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3/6/2007 - zazoo wrote: 99 Points
Just a wonderful wine. Right from the nose at the beginning to the last drop a few hours later. One of my all time favorites!
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11/4/2006 - mattiasjansson wrote: 98 Points
Robert Parker 100-point dinner (Bellavino, Thousand Oaks, CA): Fantastic nose. Perfect nose. Long, long complex finish.
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9/11/2006 - RiedelBeagle wrote: 94 Points
This bottle remained closed up tight for an hour after decanting. Then it came alive -- a dark, brooding blend of brambly, earthy, wood resin flavors, with prominent tannins that lent an agreeably sappy mouthfeel. Shortly thereafter, a fruitier side emerged, with blackberries and sour cherries. Splendidly complex, but a rough, bucking bronco of a wine that seemed to fight with itself and with me the whole time. At three hours after decanting, it ran out of fight, and began to shut down again. The nuances vanished, and the wine became rather tasteless, though still quite tannic. I plan to leave the last half-glass out overnight and see if it develops yet another personality. Quite a ride I had with this bottle. I'm not sure what to make of it all, but I tend to conclude that this wine's best years are yet to come.
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4/30/2006 - Rani wrote: 94 Points
Offline chez Dan Bailey (London): A powerhouse of a wine. Immensely concentrated with black pepper and blackberry on the nose, fat and mouthfilling with very smooth tannins.
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3/31/2006 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Shiraz/Syrah dinner party w Bob Muraro/Delia McDonald and Doug Clarke. Bob's contribution. Picked up from Bob in am at Int'l Wine Storage, Miami. Double decanted in am, seemed dumb or fragile, but was reluctant to let it breathe. Decanteed again 1 hr before dinner. Wine turned out to be dumb, I think. Showed hints of things to come but was outclassed by the Aussie trio of 92 Hill of Grace; 93 Mt Edelstone, and 98 Armagh.
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12/20/2005 - KPB wrote: 97 Points
Another beauty
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10/27/2005 - Will wrote:
Chapoutier verticale at St John (London): The nose on this one is also quite incredible, best nose of the 89-90-91 trilogy and it is also the best of this trio to drink right now.
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8/3/2005 - KPB wrote: 96 Points
91 Chapoutier Ermitage Pavillon (high shoulder fill, some gunk under the capsule, but no clear evidence of heat damage -- perhaps just a high initial fill and then evaporation). Black/red with a watery pink rim. Initially: Nose dominated by ripe red currents, creosote, and a distinctive raw-milk camembert element. Long and sweet, red current fruit framed by firm tannins.
After about two hours: the camembert aroma is gone -- now red currents, creosote, garrigue, lavender. Showing very well: long, sweet, rather seductive. Initially 96, after two hours 97.
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3/19/2005 - Eric wrote: flawed
A 98 point dinner at Steve Cramer's (West Seattle, WA, USA): Badly corked, a shame!
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2/26/2005 - cassetta wrote: 95 Points
Northern Rhone tasting with the Lakeshore Boys (My house): Decanted 3 hours prior to serving and consumed over the following 2 hours. This wine was showing much younger than the La Mordorée. Black color. Spices and black fruits on the nose. Extremely concentrated with silky tannins. Needs another 3-5 years at least.
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11/26/2003 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 98 Points
Consumed at Tapenade with lentil soup and pancetta penne pasta. Bottle provided by Ken Johnson. Bright disc. Opaque ruby/garnet robe with red rim. Clean nose, showing an explosive bouquet of chocolate-covered cherries, mint, roasted herbs and a whiff of bacon. Full-bodied on the palate, with medium acidity, medium residual supple tannins and similar flavors as for the nose. The wine is silky-textured in the mouth, with an excellent evolution which leads to a long, smooth finish. Very close to perfection, indeed!
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4/1/2002 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 94 Points
A bit browner. Scents of dark berries and even foie gras. And some candy. Very nice and enjoyable. No hard edges or spiky corners here. Goes down oh so easily. Again, a long agreeable finish.
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