What an amazing wine! As I get to know it better, I love it more and more. It's not an easy wine, which, for me, is part of its appeal--to really understand how magical it is, you need to give it a lot of attention over a long stretch of time. It's not all that complex at any one moment. Rather, its complexity comes as a parade of autumn forest, coffee, cedar, black plums, fruit cake, tobacco, maraschino cherries, smoke, leather, melon, peaches, raw almonds, milk chocolate, roses, and on and on, each coming into the spotlight for a moment and then stepping aside to let the next take its turn. Elegant and refined, with an exceptionally long aftertaste. [Tasted over an hour and a half from the Jancis Robinson glass. I gave this bottle more than two weeks upright for the sediment to settle out, and I strongly suspect that this wine needs that. See my earlier notes of 10/13/23, 2/7/23, 10/16/21, 2/8/20, and 10/17/19]
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Although, unlike the two most recent bottles of this wine that I've tasted, this was a "normal" wine, it was no less beautiful. Immediately after opening, the wine was unpleasantly acid. But after just ten or fifteen minutes in the glass it became gorgeous, with cedar, baked plums, and tobacco, followed by a wonderfully vivid and long tobacco-infused aftertaste. At around the 40 minute point, rose petals entered the mix. And at around 80 minutes, cherries became a major element. At every stage, the wine was intensely and vividly present. If you're about to taste this, it might be worth glancing at my earlier notes from 2/7/2023 and 10/16/2021, since I have no way of knowing which incarnation of this wine you're going to get! [Tasted over two hours from the Jancis Robinson glass.] (I've been thinking about my reaction to this latest bottle of this wine, and I've come to suspect that the reason this bottle, while still superb, was not the amazing experience of the two previous bottles is that I gave those two bottles a full two weeks for the sediment to settle out. I gave this latest bottle "only" six days. While it's hard to imagine that six days wouldn't be plenty of time, my guess is that there was a lot of very fine slightly bitter sediment still present in the wine this time, causing the difference. The next time I taste this wine I'm going to give it a full two weeks!)
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What an extraordinary wine! This isn't an "easy" wine to understand--I thoroughly misunderstood the first two bottles I tasted and only really got what the wine was about on the third bottle. This was the fourth and totally confirmed the experience of the third (October 16, 2021).
The tricky thing about this wine is that, unlike other great wines, the "complexity" of the wine doesn't consist in an extraordinary number of things going on all at once. Rather, and uniquely in my experience, it consists in the wine's astonishing way of changing and changing and changing in the glass, with smoke, cherries, roses, leather, peaches, melon, and more and more, each one getting a brief moment in spotlight and then yielding the stage to the next. It's an amazing experience, and one that requires a lot of attention over a long period.
All of this makes this a very difficult wine to fit into any scoring system. The last time I tasted it, I stuck strictly to the same system I use for other wines and gave it 94 points. This time, I'm using the score to give a more accurate idea of how wonderful a wine this is and am giving it 96 points.
This should continue to be fabulous for at least several years, quite possibly longer in bottles with corks in good condition. [Tasted from the Jancis Robinson glass.]
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This was the third time I've tasted this wine, but the first time that I've understood it. Of the three bottles (see 10/27/19 and 2/8/20), this was the only one to have a cork that was in very good shape for a wine this old, and that, of course, made it easier to taste. Two other things that made a difference: having a third chance to taste it was very helpful (this is not an "obvious" wine), and, very important, I came across a video on the internet where Michel Chapoutier tastes and talks about an unspecified vintage of this wine--unlike almost all other videos of this type, this one was really helpful.
The big thing to know about this wine is that, from the moment it's poured, it keeps changing in the glass. Initially, intense smoke overwhelmed everything else, with a long, long, very dry aftertaste. But in the course of the next two hours and a half, in succession, leather (with significant bitterness in the aftertaste), plums, cherries, tar (and here the plums entered and softened the aftertaste), and finally (?) melon and hints of licorice and spices take the stage. [Even 24 hours later, the wine, stoppered and kept cool overnight, was still lovely, with a distinct and gorgeous floral quality and with a ghost of licorice at the end of the long long aftertaste. What an extraordinary wine!]
Through all of this, the wine remains elegant, restrained, never overpowering. This would be exquisite with simple grilled lamb chops.
The essence of enjoying this wine is to follow how it changes. To call any one stage "the best" and to try to catch it at just that stage, would be to miss most of what makes this wine so special. Save this for a quiet evening when you can give the wine a lot of attention over several hours.
If I thought all bottles of this wine had corks in the good shape that this one had, I'd say this could last another ten years without any problem. But, given that two bottles out of three (all from the same case) had corks that were seriously deteriorating, and given that the wine is already fully at its peak, my own feeling is that it would be silly to wait.
This is, by its very nature, a difficult wine to score. A case could be made for a higher, even a much higher, score.
Here's a link to the Chapoutier video I mentioned: https://terlato-mchapoutier.com/about/wines/hermitage-la-sizeranne/ [This link no longer works, alas!]
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Very similar to my last bottle in May, plenty of fresh fruit with a nice savory, meaty aspect. Tasted blind next to the '69 Chapoutier Côte Rôtie, it was clear these were cut from the same cloth with the '69 showing more age while the '91 shows more smoke/cigarette/jerky and a touch of new oak that the '69 completely lacked.
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Very good. Was expecting this to be over the hill and it was anything but that. Leathery, earthy rich but balanced wine. Went really well with braised short ribs.
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From a nice looking bottle. This showed notes of dark plums, grilled meat, cedar and leather. Was very muted at first but became better with some air. Fading again after an hour and a half or so. Very good
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A second bottle from the same case as the bottle of 10/27/2019. But this bottle was in significantly better shape--both the cork and the wine. Scents and flavors of cedar, blueberries, bacon, licorice, tar, a hint of vanilla and a brief hint of pine. Pleasant medium-long aftertaste. Over the course of an hour in the glass, the wine faded to a much simpler and less interesting mix of cherries, dust, and spices. Clearly an old wine, but old in a very nice way. My objective score remains the same--but subjectively this was a much more enjoyable wine. If one could count on all the bottles being like this, I'd say that this wine had at least two more years of life left. But given the experience of the earlier bottle, I'd suggest that, if you have any of these in your cellar, the sooner you finish them the better. (PS - the food suggestions I made for the earlier bottle do NOT apply to this bottle!)
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The cork in this bottle had dried out, and the wine reflected this--obviously an "old" wine, but a very nice old wine. Intense nose of decaying rose petals, maybe a touch of leather and cooked plums, and a hint of roasted nuts. Fills the mouth, with a very long and pleasant aftertaste--flavors similar to the nose. Would work very well with high-quality beef and could hold its own against very spicy food--even perhaps a Mexican Mole Poblano. But a bottle with a cork in better condition might be *very* different.
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Blomster, kaffe, mocca, på nese. Kirsebær, bacon, kaffe, mocca, røyk. Jøsses for en struktur i munn. Denne har utviklet seg vakkert, og jeg antar dette er på topp nå, selv om denne flaska hadde tålt mange år til på langs. 93
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Herbs, forest floor, honey bouquet. Tasted blackcurrants, plums, minerals, blood iron, terroir, with earthy, mushroom tertiaries. Minty, leafy, warm finish. No edges. Enjoyed it. Not as complex as the L’Ermite 1997 opened tonight. Slightly past it’s prime so open soon.
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Northern Rhone Dinner at Marc's (DC/Silver Spring MD): Muted nose, but just some heat. Rather normal black fruit profile. Not super complex and sorta mundane. Mostly primary. Still has good grippy tannins. Maybe some more time open would have helped.
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Høj stand. Perfekt prop. Farven var uden brun kant. Efter en halv time var den helt åben. I duften var bacon og andet animalsk fremtrædende. Tanninerne var helt integreret. God balance. Lav alkohol. Kun en lille smule bundfald der ødelagde det sidste glas. Faldt ikke samme i løbet af aftenen.
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Decanted 30 minutes. Low neck. Garnet with brownish outer rim. Strong nose of mint, followed by tobacco, leather, nettles. Anised-cherry and some earthy/herbal flavours on the palate. The tannins have nicely softened. Long finish. Very pleasant wine to drink now, especially with food. My previous bottle two years ago wasn't half as nice.
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Still very fresh and energetic. There's some bacon fat on the nose along with plum and cassis fruit. It has some earthy development and floral perfume too. In the mouth the fruit is intense and it is a wine of great harmony with all components melding perfectly together. It is somewhere near its apogee and a joy to drink now.
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Je n'avais pas de grosse attente pour cette bouteille achetée aux enchères pour moins de 20 USD il y a 2 ans, mais ce fût une belle surprise! High fill, bouchon impeccable. Non carafée. Très jolie couleur rubis brillant, quasiment sans traces d'évolution. Au nez, des arômes de pâte de cacao, de chocolat et d'épices. En bouche, c'est rond mais solide avec cette agréable sécheresse - comme la garrigue - que je trouve typique de la Syrah à maturité. Sur la base de cette bouteille, devrait tenir encore une dizaine d'années.
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Served blind, I was quite surprised to find out what it was, as I would not expect this wine to have aged so well. Lots of earth, smoke, and ripe black raspberries paired with elegant textures and a sweet, soft finish. This is much better than the last bottle tasted.
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Young looking, with no bricking, a bright ruby color, looking much healthier than a pleasantly aged 1990 I had a couple years back, but it lacked stuffing. Tart, with a little red currant fruit, but thin. J. judged it undrinkable, I thought it was ok, but probably mostly because I was curious.
Definitely past its prime, but the pretty appearance in the glass makes me think it wasn't entirely over the hill, it probably just wasn't that great to begin with.
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There’s a strong, smoky whiff of bacon fat along with blood plum, tar and liquorice. In the mouth it is round and creamy showing bright and youthful fruit flavours trimmed with a little earth. There’s a touch of stemmy hardness to the finish but all in all this is polished, modern wine with character.
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Incredibly mature. Needed 24 hours to coax all this wine had to offer. Out of the bottle initally was quite flat, but as the wine developed, the fruit was superb and the tannins pure and rounded. Great example of 1991 North Rhone..I think the wine is clearly at its peak. Would open all I had and share...
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I was really looking forward to this and perhaps built it up too much, but it was something of a disappointment. Cork pulled about 20-30 min before serving at which point it was decanted and the entire bottle poured immidiately. If I were to try this again I would definitely just pop and pour. The nose had a strong sweet mint/eucalytpus/je nais se quois quality that I only got 2-3 sniffs of before it disappeared. Nice mouthfeel, structure, all that good stuff. No fruit that I could discern but a great meaty character reminiscent of a grilled or roasted bone. Some pepper, lots and lots of mineral and a touch of olive but much of this was somewhat faint, and in comparison to other Hermitage I've had (none this old) it was relatively linear. That said it was still very good wine though I can't stress enough that based on this showing this wine seems to be on the downside and ought not be held much longer.
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IWFSC 750th Dinner (Chicago Club): Low expecations here as I've never had a Sizeranne that I really like, but this was the best bottle I've had. Full red color with hints of lightening. Really nice black pepper notes on the nose and on the palate in particular.
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WineFanatic Northern Rhone Offline (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind. This caught me off guard with a strong note of eucalyptus/mint on the nose. A ton of fruit on the nose as well had me thinking this wine was much younger than it was. Hints of manure (very nice) and barnyard notes with a velvety mouth feel. Lengthy finish giving dried tobacco. Drinking very well. Excellent.
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Lots of variance, bottle to bottle. This one got better with a few minutes of air time. Others have either taken longer or have been way past their prime. I'd definitely say drink now.
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Still drinking well but, past its prime. Color was still good with no bricking at the edge, but the color and depth is surprisingly thin. Nose was smoky and somewhat musty with age. Fruit is still present but quite subdued. Tannins and acid in good balance, but the "age funk" took an easy 3-4 points off.
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Dark, but not opaque, not browning at all. Popped and poured and this was open in just a few minutes to quite a glorious nose and taste. Full bodied, but not thick, the mouthfeel was velvety. Not real big on the attace, the mid-palate was juicy and sumptuous with fruit and forest. Fully mature, the balance was perfect. I'me searching for more. 95-96
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Color starting to turn toward brown, but a lot of good mature taste still there. Tasted a bit of rust, blood, and smoke. Good mouth feel. Full bodied. Not unhappy I have several more, but will drink them soon.
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Dinner with Mike Grammer (Union @ Seattle, WA): The color is dark red. The nose gives off some smoke, bacon, and dark spicy fruit. The palate is firm and moderately tannic with lots of acidity. This is an outstanding wine but it could still use some more time.
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Blood, fur, clay, iron filings... all around funk, and still tannic and youthful. Softened and developed a nice mouthful of red fruits after 45 minutes - a considerable improvement. This was the best food wine of the evening.
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1/23/2024 - SpenceP wrote: 96 Points
What an amazing wine! As I get to know it better, I love it more and more. It's not an easy wine, which, for me, is part of its appeal--to really understand how magical it is, you need to give it a lot of attention over a long stretch of time. It's not all that complex at any one moment. Rather, its complexity comes as a parade of autumn forest, coffee, cedar, black plums, fruit cake, tobacco, maraschino cherries, smoke, leather, melon, peaches, raw almonds, milk chocolate, roses, and on and on, each coming into the spotlight for a moment and then stepping aside to let the next take its turn. Elegant and refined, with an exceptionally long aftertaste. [Tasted over an hour and a half from the Jancis Robinson glass. I gave this bottle more than two weeks upright for the sediment to settle out, and I strongly suspect that this wine needs that. See my earlier notes of 10/13/23, 2/7/23, 10/16/21, 2/8/20, and 10/17/19]
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11/4/2023 - Fretzcowine wrote:
Bret said to decanter for two hours
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10/13/2023 - SpenceP wrote: 95 Points
Although, unlike the two most recent bottles of this wine that I've tasted, this was a "normal" wine, it was no less beautiful. Immediately after opening, the wine was unpleasantly acid. But after just ten or fifteen minutes in the glass it became gorgeous, with cedar, baked plums, and tobacco, followed by a wonderfully vivid and long tobacco-infused aftertaste. At around the 40 minute point, rose petals entered the mix. And at around 80 minutes, cherries became a major element. At every stage, the wine was intensely and vividly present. If you're about to taste this, it might be worth glancing at my earlier notes from 2/7/2023 and 10/16/2021, since I have no way of knowing which incarnation of this wine you're going to get! [Tasted over two hours from the Jancis Robinson glass.]
(I've been thinking about my reaction to this latest bottle of this wine, and I've come to suspect that the reason this bottle, while still superb, was not the amazing experience of the two previous bottles is that I gave those two bottles a full two weeks for the sediment to settle out. I gave this latest bottle "only" six days. While it's hard to imagine that six days wouldn't be plenty of time, my guess is that there was a lot of very fine slightly bitter sediment still present in the wine this time, causing the difference. The next time I taste this wine I'm going to give it a full two weeks!)
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2/27/2023 - peanutbutterskittles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Savory game notes, peppery, and good acidity still with some lingering, but diminished fruit.
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2/7/2023 - SpenceP wrote: 96 Points
What an extraordinary wine! This isn't an "easy" wine to understand--I thoroughly misunderstood the first two bottles I tasted and only really got what the wine was about on the third bottle. This was the fourth and totally confirmed the experience of the third (October 16, 2021).
The tricky thing about this wine is that, unlike other great wines, the "complexity" of the wine doesn't consist in an extraordinary number of things going on all at once. Rather, and uniquely in my experience, it consists in the wine's astonishing way of changing and changing and changing in the glass, with smoke, cherries, roses, leather, peaches, melon, and more and more, each one getting a brief moment in spotlight and then yielding the stage to the next. It's an amazing experience, and one that requires a lot of attention over a long period.
All of this makes this a very difficult wine to fit into any scoring system. The last time I tasted it, I stuck strictly to the same system I use for other wines and gave it 94 points. This time, I'm using the score to give a more accurate idea of how wonderful a wine this is and am giving it 96 points.
This should continue to be fabulous for at least several years, quite possibly longer in bottles with corks in good condition. [Tasted from the Jancis Robinson glass.]
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10/16/2021 - SpenceP wrote: 94 Points
This was the third time I've tasted this wine, but the first time that I've understood it. Of the three bottles (see 10/27/19 and 2/8/20), this was the only one to have a cork that was in very good shape for a wine this old, and that, of course, made it easier to taste. Two other things that made a difference: having a third chance to taste it was very helpful (this is not an "obvious" wine), and, very important, I came across a video on the internet where Michel Chapoutier tastes and talks about an unspecified vintage of this wine--unlike almost all other videos of this type, this one was really helpful.
The big thing to know about this wine is that, from the moment it's poured, it keeps changing in the glass. Initially, intense smoke overwhelmed everything else, with a long, long, very dry aftertaste. But in the course of the next two hours and a half, in succession, leather (with significant bitterness in the aftertaste), plums, cherries, tar (and here the plums entered and softened the aftertaste), and finally (?) melon and hints of licorice and spices take the stage. [Even 24 hours later, the wine, stoppered and kept cool overnight, was still lovely, with a distinct and gorgeous floral quality and with a ghost of licorice at the end of the long long aftertaste. What an extraordinary wine!]
Through all of this, the wine remains elegant, restrained, never overpowering. This would be exquisite with simple grilled lamb chops.
The essence of enjoying this wine is to follow how it changes. To call any one stage "the best" and to try to catch it at just that stage, would be to miss most of what makes this wine so special. Save this for a quiet evening when you can give the wine a lot of attention over several hours.
If I thought all bottles of this wine had corks in the good shape that this one had, I'd say this could last another ten years without any problem. But, given that two bottles out of three (all from the same case) had corks that were seriously deteriorating, and given that the wine is already fully at its peak, my own feeling is that it would be silly to wait.
This is, by its very nature, a difficult wine to score. A case could be made for a higher, even a much higher, score.
Here's a link to the Chapoutier video I mentioned: https://terlato-mchapoutier.com/about/wines/hermitage-la-sizeranne/ [This link no longer works, alas!]
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8/5/2021 - andtheodor wrote: 93 Points
Very similar to my last bottle in May, plenty of fresh fruit with a nice savory, meaty aspect. Tasted blind next to the '69 Chapoutier Côte Rôtie, it was clear these were cut from the same cloth with the '69 showing more age while the '91 shows more smoke/cigarette/jerky and a touch of new oak that the '69 completely lacked.
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5/22/2021 - andtheodor wrote: 93 Points
Maturing very well and several steps ahead of the 1990 of this. Still plenty of fruit plus some savory smoky leathery character.
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12/25/2020 - Dgames wrote: 96 Points
Very good. Was expecting this to be over the hill and it was anything but that. Leathery, earthy rich but balanced wine. Went really well with braised short ribs.
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5/30/2020 - Atzll1 Likes this wine: 91 Points
From a nice looking bottle. This showed notes of dark plums, grilled meat, cedar and leather. Was very muted at first but became better with some air. Fading again after an hour and a half or so. Very good
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2/8/2020 - SpenceP wrote: 93 Points
A second bottle from the same case as the bottle of 10/27/2019. But this bottle was in significantly better shape--both the cork and the wine. Scents and flavors of cedar, blueberries, bacon, licorice, tar, a hint of vanilla and a brief hint of pine. Pleasant medium-long aftertaste. Over the course of an hour in the glass, the wine faded to a much simpler and less interesting mix of cherries, dust, and spices. Clearly an old wine, but old in a very nice way. My objective score remains the same--but subjectively this was a much more enjoyable wine. If one could count on all the bottles being like this, I'd say that this wine had at least two more years of life left. But given the experience of the earlier bottle, I'd suggest that, if you have any of these in your cellar, the sooner you finish them the better. (PS - the food suggestions I made for the earlier bottle do NOT apply to this bottle!)
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12/23/2019 - WinoRick Likes this wine: 92 Points
In a nice place. Silky, musty, sweet fruit. Drink over the next couple of years.
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10/27/2019 - SpenceP wrote: 93 Points
The cork in this bottle had dried out, and the wine reflected this--obviously an "old" wine, but a very nice old wine. Intense nose of decaying rose petals, maybe a touch of leather and cooked plums, and a hint of roasted nuts. Fills the mouth, with a very long and pleasant aftertaste--flavors similar to the nose. Would work very well with high-quality beef and could hold its own against very spicy food--even perhaps a Mexican Mole Poblano. But a bottle with a cork in better condition might be *very* different.
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8/22/2019 - "Rhône Rider" Likes this wine: 93 Points
Blomster, kaffe, mocca, på nese. Kirsebær, bacon, kaffe, mocca, røyk. Jøsses for en struktur i munn. Denne har utviklet seg vakkert, og jeg antar dette er på topp nå, selv om denne flaska hadde tålt mange år til på langs. 93
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5/8/2019 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Herbs, forest floor, honey bouquet. Tasted blackcurrants, plums, minerals, blood iron, terroir, with earthy, mushroom tertiaries. Minty, leafy, warm finish. No edges. Enjoyed it. Not as complex as the L’Ermite 1997 opened tonight. Slightly past it’s prime so open soon.
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4/27/2019 - ericindc Likes this wine: 90 Points
Northern Rhone Dinner at Marc's (DC/Silver Spring MD): Muted nose, but just some heat. Rather normal black fruit profile. Not super complex and sorta mundane. Mostly primary. Still has good grippy tannins. Maybe some more time open would have helped.
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4/18/2019 - Mads Eriksen wrote: 93 Points
Igen flot performance. Ingen udvikling og holdt stadig efter 2 timer. Masser af bacon og andre animalske noter. Lang eftersmag.
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12/14/2018 - Mads Eriksen wrote: 92 Points
Høj stand. Perfekt prop. Farven var uden brun kant. Efter en halv time var den helt åben. I duften var bacon og andet animalsk fremtrædende. Tanninerne var helt integreret. God balance. Lav alkohol. Kun en lille smule bundfald der ødelagde det sidste glas. Faldt ikke samme i løbet af aftenen.
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1/17/2018 - Herb K wrote:
Drinking beautifully even though it was eclipsed by the ‘90.
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4/7/2017 - ls2019 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 30 minutes. Low neck. Garnet with brownish outer rim. Strong nose of mint, followed by tobacco, leather, nettles. Anised-cherry and some earthy/herbal flavours on the palate. The tannins have nicely softened. Long finish. Very pleasant wine to drink now, especially with food. My previous bottle two years ago wasn't half as nice.
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3/12/2017 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Still very fresh and energetic. There's some bacon fat on the nose along with plum and cassis fruit. It has some earthy development and floral perfume too. In the mouth the fruit is intense and it is a wine of great harmony with all components melding perfectly together. It is somewhere near its apogee and a joy to drink now.
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12/9/2016 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 88 Points
Inexpressive and not particularly interesting. Neither smoky nor floral. Structured palate with currant. Quite wound up.
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6/9/2015 - iwfsc Likes this wine: 95 Points
IWFSC 802 Dinner (Glenview Country Club, Golf IL): Hitting on all cylinders, deep color, great floral nose, long finnish, filling and dense on the palate. Still has a couple of years.
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4/8/2015 - Ericsson wrote: 90 Points
Je n'avais pas de grosse attente pour cette bouteille achetée aux enchères pour moins de 20 USD il y a 2 ans, mais ce fût une belle surprise!
High fill, bouchon impeccable. Non carafée. Très jolie couleur rubis brillant, quasiment sans traces d'évolution. Au nez, des arômes de pâte de cacao, de chocolat et d'épices.
En bouche, c'est rond mais solide avec cette agréable sécheresse - comme la garrigue - que je trouve typique de la Syrah à maturité.
Sur la base de cette bouteille, devrait tenir encore une dizaine d'années.
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8/12/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Served blind, I was quite surprised to find out what it was, as I would not expect this wine to have aged so well. Lots of earth, smoke, and ripe black raspberries paired with elegant textures and a sweet, soft finish. This is much better than the last bottle tasted.
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1/7/2013 - Mr T wrote:
tired/over the hill as described below
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5/18/2011 - jlangley wrote: 75 Points
Past its prime. Still there are strong Rhone Syrah characteristics.
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12/24/2010 - pgm wrote: 79 Points
Young looking, with no bricking, a bright ruby color, looking much healthier than a pleasantly aged 1990 I had a couple years back, but it lacked stuffing. Tart, with a little red currant fruit, but thin. J. judged it undrinkable, I thought it was ok, but probably mostly because I was curious.
Definitely past its prime, but the pretty appearance in the glass makes me think it wasn't entirely over the hill, it probably just wasn't that great to begin with.
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9/12/2010 - Mh33 wrote: 82 Points
Ok but a little flat - past due.
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7/7/2010 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
There’s a strong, smoky whiff of bacon fat along with blood plum, tar and liquorice. In the mouth it is round and creamy showing bright and youthful fruit flavours trimmed with a little earth. There’s a touch of stemmy hardness to the finish but all in all this is polished, modern wine with character.
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5/26/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 75 Points
Tart, short and unpleasant. And those were the positive traits!
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1/4/2010 - 1961Vintage wrote: 92 Points
Incredibly mature. Needed 24 hours to coax all this wine had to offer. Out of the bottle initally was quite flat, but as the wine developed, the fruit was superb and the tannins pure and rounded. Great example of 1991 North Rhone..I think the wine is clearly at its peak. Would open all I had and share...
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12/20/2009 - thirtyoneknots wrote:
I was really looking forward to this and perhaps built it up too much, but it was something of a disappointment. Cork pulled about 20-30 min before serving at which point it was decanted and the entire bottle poured immidiately. If I were to try this again I would definitely just pop and pour. The nose had a strong sweet mint/eucalytpus/je nais se quois quality that I only got 2-3 sniffs of before it disappeared. Nice mouthfeel, structure, all that good stuff. No fruit that I could discern but a great meaty character reminiscent of a grilled or roasted bone. Some pepper, lots and lots of mineral and a touch of olive but much of this was somewhat faint, and in comparison to other Hermitage I've had (none this old) it was relatively linear. That said it was still very good wine though I can't stress enough that based on this showing this wine seems to be on the downside and ought not be held much longer.
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12/14/2009 - lastone wrote: 93 Points
Gloriously mature, beautifully balanced, could stay at this level for years. Put on weight since the late '90's. Classic Hermitage.
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12/8/2009 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
IWFSC 750th Dinner (Chicago Club): Low expecations here as I've never had a Sizeranne that I really like, but this was the best bottle I've had. Full red color with hints of lightening. Really nice black pepper notes on the nose and on the palate in particular.
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10/7/2009 - David J Cooper wrote:
Medium red. Funky sweet nose with bits of mint and cassis Cooler then the two Cote Roties. Lots of acid. Sweet flavours but dry finish. Very good.
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10/6/2009 - godx wrote: 92 Points
WineFanatic Northern Rhone Offline (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind. This caught me off guard with a strong note of eucalyptus/mint on the nose. A ton of fruit on the nose as well had me thinking this wine was much younger than it was. Hints of manure (very nice) and barnyard notes with a velvety mouth feel. Lengthy finish giving dried tobacco. Drinking very well. Excellent.
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9/21/2009 - grapist wrote: flawed
over the hill...oxidized
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5/30/2009 - grapist wrote: 91 Points
Lots of variance, bottle to bottle. This one got better with a few minutes of air time. Others have either taken longer or have been way past their prime. I'd definitely say drink now.
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4/20/2009 - french16 wrote:
Over the hill.
Maybe an off bottle
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4/19/2009 - grapist wrote: 91 Points
Still drinking well but, past its prime. Color was still good with no bricking at the edge, but the color and depth is surprisingly thin. Nose was smoky and somewhat musty with age. Fruit is still present but quite subdued. Tannins and acid in good balance, but the "age funk" took an easy 3-4 points off.
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12/5/2008 - minipanda wrote: 94 Points
Syrah au Centenaire (Centenaire): Elegance, finesse, vin ciselé. Aurait pu séduire encore dans bien des années, mais c'est, snif, la dernière.
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11/20/2008 - Johann Von Mastiff wrote: 92 Points
Drinking great right now.
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10/29/2008 - grapist wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well. Likely at it's peak.
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2/13/2008 - grapist wrote: 95 Points
Dark, but not opaque, not browning at all. Popped and poured and this was open in just a few minutes to quite a glorious nose and taste. Full bodied, but not thick, the mouthfeel was velvety. Not real big on the attace, the mid-palate was juicy and sumptuous with fruit and forest. Fully mature, the balance was perfect. I'me searching for more. 95-96
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12/14/2007 - grapist wrote: 91 Points
Color starting to turn toward brown, but a lot of good mature taste still there. Tasted a bit of rust, blood, and smoke. Good mouth feel. Full bodied. Not unhappy I have several more, but will drink them soon.
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8/2/2007 - kris.h wrote: 94 Points
Dinner with Mike Grammer (Union @ Seattle, WA): The color is dark red. The nose gives off some smoke, bacon, and dark spicy fruit. The palate is firm and moderately tannic with lots of acidity. This is an outstanding wine but it could still use some more time.
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10/31/2006 - Moorese wrote: 91 Points
Blood, fur, clay, iron filings... all around funk, and still tannic and youthful. Softened and developed a nice mouthful of red fruits after 45 minutes - a considerable improvement. This was the best food wine of the evening.
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10/2/2004 - JasonD wrote: 90 Points
From the tasting at Michael's. Roasted meat, tar, ginger.
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10/1/2004 - Eric wrote:
Seattle Tasting Group does older Northern Rhône reds (Bellevue, WA, USA): Clearly oxidized, showing some astringency and clear signs of damage. That's too bad, as there is still plenty of tarry and meaty fruit and pine needle here. Not rated.
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3/1/2001 - winefool wrote: 87 Points
Light cherry color with mild aromas of anise and fruit. Dusty with a medium fruit and slight chocolate on the palette. Just OK. 3/01
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