Nose of herbaceous cherry with some green notes, wet stones and forest floor. There are touches of rosemary, sage, coffee and some tobacco smoke and organic tar mixing with a very red cherry nose. The palate has soft round tannins, balanced acidity and a clean long finish of cherries jubilee. Super delicious!
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Casual (Mostly) Burg Dinner with Friends (Chloe - Washington DC): Tasted double blind alongside the 2001, knowing it was a vertical. I thought it Gevrey 1er Cru. This 1996 had a charming old wine nose, clearly from a ripe vintage, but I thought it much older (1989?). Less exciting palate was clearly getting tired.
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I liked this wine so much. An almost immediate chalky taste and smell once decanted. Some cinnamon. With air, it became more perfume-y and musky. Rich and intense, the texture of the wine finely coating your tongue.
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No formal notes as this was brought to a restaurant. I found the wine drinking at an accessible point in its evolution, but it's certainly still fairly primary, with maybe some secondary notes there. Overall, still quite tight, and not revealing too much depth. I really loved the balance of the wine throughout, though, including acidity that I think this is going to allow this to continue to improve from here. I'll probably wait at least 5 years before another entry. I consumed a 2009 of this wine just last week and at the time I thought that was one to drink on the younger side (10-30 years), but based upon how this is at 18, perhaps it can go out to 40. The 2009 certainly had more palate texture than this one, but they were equally impressively balanced. Fun to try the old and young so close together in time.
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This is more fruit-forward and less developed than my last bottle but it's still exceptioanlly pretty with a silky, generous texture that's totally the opposite of that tough, lean and mean style that's characterized the '96 vintage for so long. It picks up a more solid and stony presence with air but never loses that pretty, open-knit feel.
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Tart cherries, red cherries, damp earth, black cherries, barnyard, a little cedar, and a hint of meat on the nose. Tangy red cherries, black cherries, earth, spice, herbs, and barnyard on the palate. Mouth-watering acidity, still some integrated grippy tannins at the end. Very nice finish. Really delicious. The acidity just keeps teasing you to take another sip.
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Initially a bit thin and austere, but with some air it fleshes out and develops a lovely perfume, with a mix of red fruit, sous bois, spice, and oddly a little cured meat-gaminess. A wine of contrasts, with balanced power and plenty of structure but with a supple charm to it. Beautifully textured, with excellent sap, powerful but round and giving with an excellent mix of frut and savory and enough acid to keep it fresh. Outstanding wine that I suspect will age for quite some time. Very long and early peak.. 92 pts
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Salmon and Cellar Thinning at Dan's House (Bellevue, Washington): Tasted single-blind (abbreviated notes) - Strawberry, spice, earth, black cherry, smoke, a touch of sauerkraut. Good acidity, memorable finish. Not quite as aged as I was expecting, but excellent regardless.
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This is easily the most "ready" 1996 I've ever had. It offers so much of the stuff you crave from a perfectly mature Burgundy that it actually tastes older than its age, but in a good way: this is what you wait for. The bouquet delivers an almost pungent aromatic mix of old-fashioned Burgundy barnyard with some gamey savoriness, echoed on the palate with totally tertiary flavors and a sheer, transparent structure which is almost totally resolved. This doesn't have the thick old-vine sap that I might have been anticipating -- it's actually pretty sleek -- but there is so much character and definition to the flavors that it punches above its weight.
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At peak, drank with braised oxtail at simple, fruit was cool dark and smooth, thetannis resolved with good sous Bois complexity, moderate length. Drink now.
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Burgundy Retrospective - 1996: Dry-cured firewood nose. Beautiful textures - silky, but angular and stretched. Nice body and balance. Light stepping on the finish. Really good.
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We tasted this next to a dense, highly structured 2005 Mellot red and that just accentuated the beauty and laciness of the Germain. Maturing color of medium depth. Fabulous combination of game, raspberries and smoke on the nose. Light to medium weight, sour cherries and strong but perfectly integrated acidity without any of the tartness that can plague 1996 Burgundy. Elegant feel and finely perfumed finish. Gorgeous Beaune in an early phase of maturity.
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served with organic atlantic salmon and steak for the kids, the wine is showing early maturity, still a deep dark black core with hints of orange around the rim, strong nose of dirt and violets, sweet, cherry candy on the palet, very long and strong follow through to velvet finsh, nice complexity, v good, still 5+ years to go so no rush
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4/2/2024 - Tudz Drkl Likes this wine:
Nose of herbaceous cherry with some green notes, wet stones and forest floor. There are touches of rosemary, sage, coffee and some tobacco smoke and organic tar mixing with a very red cherry nose. The palate has soft round tannins, balanced acidity and a clean long finish of cherries jubilee. Super delicious!
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10/19/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Casual (Mostly) Burg Dinner with Friends (Chloe - Washington DC): Tasted double blind alongside the 2001, knowing it was a vertical. I thought it Gevrey 1er Cru. This 1996 had a charming old wine nose, clearly from a ripe vintage, but I thought it much older (1989?). Less exciting palate was clearly getting tired.
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1/8/2016 - Ben H. Likes this wine:
I liked this wine so much. An almost immediate chalky taste and smell once decanted. Some cinnamon. With air, it became more perfume-y and musky. Rich and intense, the texture of the wine finely coating your tongue.
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10/19/2014 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points
No formal notes as this was brought to a restaurant. I found the wine drinking at an accessible point in its evolution, but it's certainly still fairly primary, with maybe some secondary notes there. Overall, still quite tight, and not revealing too much depth. I really loved the balance of the wine throughout, though, including acidity that I think this is going to allow this to continue to improve from here. I'll probably wait at least 5 years before another entry. I consumed a 2009 of this wine just last week and at the time I thought that was one to drink on the younger side (10-30 years), but based upon how this is at 18, perhaps it can go out to 40. The 2009 certainly had more palate texture than this one, but they were equally impressively balanced. Fun to try the old and young so close together in time.
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11/7/2013 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is more fruit-forward and less developed than my last bottle but it's still exceptioanlly pretty with a silky, generous texture that's totally the opposite of that tough, lean and mean style that's characterized the '96 vintage for so long. It picks up a more solid and stony presence with air but never loses that pretty, open-knit feel.
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7/29/2013 - rmh66 wrote: 92 Points
Tart cherries, red cherries, damp earth, black cherries, barnyard, a little cedar, and a hint of meat on the nose. Tangy red cherries, black cherries, earth, spice, herbs, and barnyard on the palate. Mouth-watering acidity, still some integrated grippy tannins at the end. Very nice finish. Really delicious. The acidity just keeps teasing you to take another sip.
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7/22/2013 - cct wrote: 92 Points
pop and pour, Drunk over two hours
Initially a bit thin and austere, but with some air it fleshes out and develops a lovely perfume, with a mix of red fruit, sous bois, spice, and oddly a little cured meat-gaminess. A wine of contrasts, with balanced power and plenty of structure but with a supple charm to it. Beautifully textured, with excellent sap, powerful but round and giving with an excellent mix of frut and savory and enough acid to keep it fresh. Outstanding wine that I suspect will age for quite some time. Very long and early peak.. 92 pts
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5/20/2013 - rmh66 wrote: 91 Points
Salmon and Cellar Thinning at Dan's House (Bellevue, Washington): Tasted single-blind (abbreviated notes) - Strawberry, spice, earth, black cherry, smoke, a touch of sauerkraut. Good acidity, memorable finish. Not quite as aged as I was expecting, but excellent regardless.
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2/22/2013 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is easily the most "ready" 1996 I've ever had. It offers so much of the stuff you crave from a perfectly mature Burgundy that it actually tastes older than its age, but in a good way: this is what you wait for. The bouquet delivers an almost pungent aromatic mix of old-fashioned Burgundy barnyard with some gamey savoriness, echoed on the palate with totally tertiary flavors and a sheer, transparent structure which is almost totally resolved. This doesn't have the thick old-vine sap that I might have been anticipating -- it's actually pretty sleek -- but there is so much character and definition to the flavors that it punches above its weight.
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2/17/2013 - beachbum wrote: 91 Points
At peak, drank with braised oxtail at simple, fruit was cool dark and smooth, thetannis resolved with good sous Bois complexity, moderate length. Drink now.
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4/30/2011 - dcwino wrote: 89 Points
Burgundy Retrospective - 1996 (Version KS) (Washington DC): Light caramel, a hint of perfume, cedar, pine, rose pedal, medium body
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4/30/2011 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Burgundy Retrospective - 1996: Dry-cured firewood nose. Beautiful textures - silky, but angular and stretched. Nice body and balance. Light stepping on the finish. Really good.
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4/3/2011 - drwine2001 wrote:
We tasted this next to a dense, highly structured 2005 Mellot red and that just accentuated the beauty and laciness of the Germain. Maturing color of medium depth. Fabulous combination of game, raspberries and smoke on the nose. Light to medium weight, sour cherries and strong but perfectly integrated acidity without any of the tartness that can plague 1996 Burgundy. Elegant feel and finely perfumed finish. Gorgeous Beaune in an early phase of maturity.
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11/28/2009 - beachbum wrote:
served with organic atlantic salmon and steak for the kids, the wine is showing early maturity, still a deep dark black core with hints of orange around the rim, strong nose of dirt and violets, sweet, cherry candy on the palet, very long and strong follow through to velvet finsh, nice complexity, v good, still 5+ years to go so no rush
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