exceptional length of white and yellow flowers, apple, peer, mirabelle. soft and fresh in mouth. nothing heavy. perfect for itself or hard cheeses. no signs of oxydation at all.
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13/2/2021. robe qui commence à dorer. notes de mirabelle couvertes par une base d’oxydation/rancio. jolie longueur en bouche mais épaisseur décevante. pas d’oxydation. 91. Moins bien le lendemain. Apogée semble passée. 12/3/2021: nouveau coup de seringue sur la même bouteille : très joli accord des notes de sous bois de l'ermitage avec une poularde aux morilles. très joli vin plein de classe. 93-94
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Tiny bit closed. Nutty, primarily, with noticeable oxidation. I'm told this is deliberate, that in fact, this 100% Marsanne is "the original skin-contact orange wine". So there you go. Acidic and oxidative. You need to be into that to like this. I don't, but I recognise the objective quality. Challenging for my palate, but interesting. Huge structure and quite tremendous. Stony and a touch of aniseed. Not an easy wine.
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Meh - I have drank about 10 of the 1997s and 1998s. This was my last bottle. I don't understand what Parker said back in the day about the wines turning into something magical with age. These wines a suspect are best drunk young. I have had some bottles that were completely oxidized and others that were just ok. This wine had some mature flavors as well as little bit of oxidative notes. The wine was drinkable but nothing memorable. Drink them up if you got them!
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Dark color, oxidized nose. Has some fruit, but is ultimately flat. Sadly, this experience with lifeless, oxidized L'Oree is something I've experienced several times before.
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Zachys/Mana tasting (Mana Contemporary (in Jersey City)): Funny to have three white rhones at dinner although given it's a category that I'm a big fan of also pretty nice. This is a very well made wine. I get many of the standard flavors - the hints of lime, the honey. It's somewhere between the Rayas and SQN in terms of punch (aka acidity or lack thereof). Very enjoyable.
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Drack från magnum. En mogen intensiv floral doft med exotisk frukt, massor av mineral, honung och våta stenar. En underbar vaxig textur som jag älskar.
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Duke's La Jolla, 4/16/16 (Duke's Restaurant, La Jolla, California): Clear light gold color. Beautiful bouquet of white peach, peach blossoms, lychee, pear, beeswax, snake fruit (which I ate a lot of last month in Indonesia), and hints of white grapefruit pith and thyme. Similar on the palate, delicate, complex, subtle, with a suggestion of chamomile tea and a touch of quinine on the finish.
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My last bottle and a hybrid of my two 2013 notes. A wine you can only drink in the privacy of your own home as there is no way you can tell from bottle to bottle what you're going to get to risk it with guests. Decanted for 90 minutes. Intense (almost alarming) gold-green colour in decanter but more "normal" in glass. Exotic fruit aromas with an asparagus tinge. Addition of vanilla on the palate, viscous with minerality and capsicum grip for balance. This bottle was more than excellent albeit à point and for drinking over the next year. Given its chronic inconsistency however, drink up with a substitute at the ready. Bonne chance!!
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Oh what a frustrating wine! My fourth note and by far the best but all different. Effectively PnP'd as an emergency follow up to a bottle of Lafite '70 - noted - that garnered the same score but didn't make it (due to consumption - not fault!) to the dinner table. Good green-gold colour, completely fresh stoned white fruit aromas, not a hint of oxidisation. Viscous rich nectarine, peach & honeysuckle palate, in balance with an unobtrusive acidity and some attractive minerality. Full and with good length. Perfect accompaniment with our roast chicken et al. Disappeared in a flash. 93+. Strictly for home consumption (with backup) as far too inconsistent. This bottle would have been good for another 5+ years, others I've had were flawed or past it.
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1998 Chapoutier L'Oree - An amazing wine that leaned more towards its stone-essence - flint, wet rock, pit fruit (peach). This wine was more in line with structure, and had a steely body, everything was so precise and balanced. Structured and based on precision and elegance. A very nobel wine.
My first exposure to the L'Oree. I think I may have been the only one at the table to prefer the 2000. I found it slightly more open and inviting. From other hermitage blancs (of lesser pedigree) I've had in the past, these both held the characteristic Hermitage profile (as these wines probably wrote the book on classic Hermitage !) I really enjoy the Marsanne variatel profile. I find Marsanne to have a waxiness/paraffin/pastey texture/flavor that I just love (from reading others tasting notes - maybe other tasters describe this as oily?). I did not pick up on any oxidation in either of the wines. Both are easily classics IMHO.
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2+ hour decant. Extraordinary colour, almost onion skin in the refraction of my Stuart crystal ship's decanter. In the glass more greeny deepish gold. I feared the worst, indeed had a completely different backup bottle at the ready expecting the wine to be oxidised as all too many mature white Rhones are. Remarkably, given the omens, the nose was clear indeed somewhat muted. Hints of peach and exotic fruit aromatics. Good waxy mouth feel, almost sweet on the palate with mature vegetal backdrop. My wife and I decided that it was odd but clearly classy and perversely enjoyable. I've decided to give up on this wine and will drink my remaining bottles ASAP with backup at hand hoping for the best but expecting - well - anything! Too inconsistent/variable to risk on unsuspecting guests. I repeat my earlier rant to white Rhone producers, ditch the cork and bring on the screw cap.
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Oh dear, yet another oxidised white Rhone - what is it with these wines? Previous bottle a week or so ago was fine but clearly after this in decline (88pts). Will open at short notice a bottle of Chante Alouette 2007 to try and restore faith. If the Aussies can produce Rhone style whites that hold up reliably why can't the French? Drink up and good luck.
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Peachy apricot aromas on pulling cork. Left 1 hour before drinking. Possibly a mistake. Golden colour. Nose disappeared. Lovely glycerine mouth feel, up front yellow cherry mineral flavour. Those flavours intense, but lacking in whatever was meant to make up the core of this wine. Good with food, pork fillets in this case, but remnant after eating was hollow and lacked depth. Did I lose something by not pouring straight away? Watch this space for the next bottle which will be pull-and-pour! Suspect this wine needs to be drunk soonish.
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San Diego WineSpectator.com Offline, 4/25/2012 (Bay Park Fish Co., San Diego, California): Clear light yellow-straw. Sublime bouquet of fresh white flowers, white peach, river stones, and tangerine. On the palate, there is an amazing sense of freshness, purity, and definition. Weightless yet expansive. First white Rhone I've tasted that really lit my fire. 100% Marsanne according to SD-Wineaux. Kudos to him for bringing our FIRST PLACE wine of the flight, also my #1 of the flight.
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Chinese New Year (Home of Mike and Sandra O.): Not decanted, but had been open a couple hours. No formal notes. Lovely nose that was quite floral and subtle, with a touch of apricot and pear—am I smelling rocks?-- and honey. Palate, smooth, really coats the mouth with a fantastic slightly waxy mouth feel. Fantastic depth with ripe yellow fruits and bursting with mineral character. Finish a little short than I expected, but showing more of that fantastic mineral quality. Wish I had spent more time with this. Seemed to be fading quickly with air.
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Yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of paraffin, spices, camphor and pears. Flavors of pears, peaches and light notes of apricot. Light to medium acidity, medium body. Drink now.
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The ripe nose of apricots and prunes was immediately apparent, as was the brilliant golden color. Sweet, with flavors of honey, apricots, prunes and yellow raisins. Very good, though I preferred the lighter, more subtle, drier-styled Chave Hermitage Blanc (1999) that we had next.
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Burgundy At Dale's (Dale's House In Honolulu): This was our starter wine tonight. Although highly regarded, it really didn't do much for me, or for most of the crew. The nose was light, in the mouth it was only satisfactory, and the finish was disappointing. Will need to try it again.
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A 98 point dinner at Steve Cramer's (West Seattle, WA, USA): Liquid gold, deep in color yet with a watery edge. For me this was all about nutmeg, vanilla and spice delivered with a rich, ripe oily texture. My notes were very brief, but I did think this was fantastic.
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Very deep yellow colour. Very chocolaty on the nose, but also apples and maybe even a rubbery note. Marvellous explosion of flavours and nuances in the mouth. And what great mouth-feel. Real luxury here. Very concentrated, but no heaviness. Could probably do with a few years rest. Very structured on the long lingering finish.
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12/31/2021 - winetobealive wrote: 95 Points
exceptional length of white and yellow flowers, apple, peer, mirabelle. soft and fresh in mouth. nothing heavy. perfect for itself or hard cheeses. no signs of oxydation at all.
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2/13/2021 - winetobealive wrote: 93 Points
13/2/2021. robe qui commence à dorer. notes de mirabelle couvertes par une base d’oxydation/rancio. jolie longueur en bouche mais épaisseur décevante. pas d’oxydation. 91. Moins bien le lendemain. Apogée semble passée.
12/3/2021: nouveau coup de seringue sur la même bouteille : très joli accord des notes de sous bois de l'ermitage avec une poularde aux morilles. très joli vin plein de classe. 93-94
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12/12/2020 - CGandur Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lovely, a touch oxidized, but beautiful. Not for everyone though
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12/19/2018 - ricard wrote: 94 Points
Tiny bit closed. Nutty, primarily, with noticeable oxidation. I'm told this is deliberate, that in fact, this 100% Marsanne is "the original skin-contact orange wine". So there you go. Acidic and oxidative. You need to be into that to like this. I don't, but I recognise the objective quality. Challenging for my palate, but interesting. Huge structure and quite tremendous. Stony and a touch of aniseed. Not an easy wine.
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12/3/2018 - Big Dog wrote: 85 Points
Meh - I have drank about 10 of the 1997s and 1998s. This was my last bottle. I don't understand what Parker said back in the day about the wines turning into something magical with age. These wines a suspect are best drunk young. I have had some bottles that were completely oxidized and others that were just ok. This wine had some mature flavors as well as little bit of oxidative notes. The wine was drinkable but nothing memorable. Drink them up if you got them!
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2/11/2017 - Alex G. Does not like this wine:
Dark color, oxidized nose. Has some fruit, but is ultimately flat. Sadly, this experience with lifeless, oxidized L'Oree is something I've experienced several times before.
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9/20/2016 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Zachys/Mana tasting (Mana Contemporary (in Jersey City)): Funny to have three white rhones at dinner although given it's a category that I'm a big fan of also pretty nice. This is a very well made wine. I get many of the standard flavors - the hints of lime, the honey. It's somewhere between the Rayas and SQN in terms of punch (aka acidity or lack thereof). Very enjoyable.
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5/13/2016 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 92 Points
Drack från magnum. En mogen intensiv floral doft med exotisk frukt, massor av mineral, honung och våta stenar. En underbar vaxig textur som jag älskar.
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4/16/2016 - Javachip wrote: 94 Points
Duke's La Jolla, 4/16/16 (Duke's Restaurant, La Jolla, California): Clear light gold color. Beautiful bouquet of white peach, peach blossoms, lychee, pear, beeswax, snake fruit (which I ate a lot of last month in Indonesia), and hints of white grapefruit pith and thyme. Similar on the palate, delicate, complex, subtle, with a suggestion of chamomile tea and a touch of quinine on the finish.
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9/3/2015 - NickBurwood Likes this wine: 92 Points
My last bottle and a hybrid of my two 2013 notes.
A wine you can only drink in the privacy of your own home as there is no way you can tell from bottle to bottle what you're going to get to risk it with guests.
Decanted for 90 minutes. Intense (almost alarming) gold-green colour in decanter but more "normal" in glass. Exotic fruit aromas with an asparagus tinge. Addition of vanilla on the palate, viscous with minerality and capsicum grip for balance.
This bottle was more than excellent albeit à point and for drinking over the next year. Given its chronic inconsistency however, drink up with a substitute at the ready. Bonne chance!!
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10/27/2013 - NickBurwood wrote: 93 Points
Oh what a frustrating wine! My fourth note and by far the best but all different.
Effectively PnP'd as an emergency follow up to a bottle of Lafite '70 - noted - that garnered the same score but didn't make it (due to consumption - not fault!) to the dinner table.
Good green-gold colour, completely fresh stoned white fruit aromas, not a hint of oxidisation. Viscous rich nectarine, peach & honeysuckle palate, in balance with an unobtrusive acidity and some attractive minerality. Full and with good length. Perfect accompaniment with our roast chicken et al.
Disappeared in a flash. 93+.
Strictly for home consumption (with backup) as far too inconsistent. This bottle would have been good for another 5+ years, others I've had were flawed or past it.
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5/29/2013 - pilot360 wrote:
1998 Chapoutier L'Oree - An amazing wine that leaned more towards its stone-essence - flint, wet rock, pit fruit (peach).
This wine was more in line with structure, and had a steely body, everything was so precise and balanced.
Structured and based on precision and elegance. A very nobel wine.
My first exposure to the L'Oree.
I think I may have been the only one at the table to prefer the 2000. I found it slightly more open and inviting.
From other hermitage blancs (of lesser pedigree) I've had in the past, these both held the characteristic Hermitage profile (as these wines probably wrote the book on classic Hermitage !)
I really enjoy the Marsanne variatel profile. I find Marsanne to have a waxiness/paraffin/pastey texture/flavor that I just love (from reading others tasting notes - maybe other tasters describe this as oily?).
I did not pick up on any oxidation in either of the wines. Both are easily classics IMHO.
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4/28/2013 - NickBurwood wrote: 90 Points
2+ hour decant.
Extraordinary colour, almost onion skin in the refraction of my Stuart crystal ship's decanter. In the glass more greeny deepish gold. I feared the worst, indeed had a completely different backup bottle at the ready expecting the wine to be oxidised as all too many mature white Rhones are.
Remarkably, given the omens, the nose was clear indeed somewhat muted. Hints of peach and exotic fruit aromatics. Good waxy mouth feel, almost sweet on the palate with mature vegetal backdrop. My wife and I decided that it was odd but clearly classy and perversely enjoyable.
I've decided to give up on this wine and will drink my remaining bottles ASAP with backup at hand hoping for the best but expecting - well - anything!
Too inconsistent/variable to risk on unsuspecting guests. I repeat my earlier rant to white Rhone producers, ditch the cork and bring on the screw cap.
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2/18/2013 - BobJohnson1 Does not like this wine:
Double yuck. Second oxidized bottle.
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12/20/2012 - NickBurwood wrote: flawed
Oh dear, yet another oxidised white Rhone - what is it with these wines?
Previous bottle a week or so ago was fine but clearly after this in decline (88pts).
Will open at short notice a bottle of Chante Alouette 2007 to try and restore faith. If the Aussies can produce Rhone style whites that hold up reliably why can't the French?
Drink up and good luck.
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12/13/2012 - NickBurwood wrote: 88 Points
Peachy apricot aromas on pulling cork. Left 1 hour before drinking. Possibly a mistake.
Golden colour. Nose disappeared. Lovely glycerine mouth feel, up front yellow cherry mineral flavour. Those flavours intense, but lacking in whatever was meant to make up the core of this wine.
Good with food, pork fillets in this case, but remnant after eating was hollow and lacked depth.
Did I lose something by not pouring straight away?
Watch this space for the next bottle which will be pull-and-pour!
Suspect this wine needs to be drunk soonish.
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11/19/2012 - BobJohnson1 Does not like this wine:
YUCK!
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11/13/2012 - keithgg wrote:
Maderized. Interesting at forst but became undrinkable.
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9/25/2012 - jeff nowak wrote: flawed
double blind to the group. my second (and final) shot with this wine which i lovingly cellared since release to no avail. horribly oxidized.
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9/25/2012 - kstoddard wrote: flawed
Blind Night (Kevin): Worst than the last bottle. Sherry. Heavy oxidation. Please Jeff no more...
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8/15/2012 - jeff nowak wrote: flawed
very dark color. one taster said upon pouring, "this is either shot or a rare treat." unfortunately, it was the former.
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8/15/2012 - kstoddard wrote: flawed
Blind Night (Kevin): Heavily oxidized
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4/25/2012 - Javachip wrote: 96 Points
San Diego WineSpectator.com Offline, 4/25/2012 (Bay Park Fish Co., San Diego, California): Clear light yellow-straw. Sublime bouquet of fresh white flowers, white peach, river stones, and tangerine. On the palate, there is an amazing sense of freshness, purity, and definition. Weightless yet expansive. First white Rhone I've tasted that really lit my fire. 100% Marsanne according to SD-Wineaux. Kudos to him for bringing our FIRST PLACE wine of the flight, also my #1 of the flight.
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2/4/2012 - Nutty08 wrote: 93 Points
Chinese New Year (Home of Mike and Sandra O.): Not decanted, but had been open a couple hours. No formal notes. Lovely nose that was quite floral and subtle, with a touch of apricot and pear—am I smelling rocks?-- and honey. Palate, smooth, really coats the mouth with a fantastic slightly waxy mouth feel. Fantastic depth with ripe yellow fruits and bursting with mineral character. Finish a little short than I expected, but showing more of that fantastic mineral quality. Wish I had spent more time with this. Seemed to be fading quickly with air.
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12/20/2011 - CamWheeler wrote: flawed
Christmas Lunch (Golden Century, Sydney): Corked
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12/10/2009 - wineismylife wrote: 94 Points
thirsty man does Dallas (Suze in Dallas, TX): WIML94+
Tasted December 10, 2009 at an offline.
Yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of paraffin, spices, camphor and pears. Flavors of pears, peaches and light notes of apricot. Light to medium acidity, medium body. Drink now.
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1/17/2008 - Old_Winyards wrote: 94 Points
The ripe nose of apricots and prunes was immediately apparent, as was the brilliant golden color. Sweet, with flavors of honey, apricots, prunes and yellow raisins. Very good, though I preferred the lighter, more subtle, drier-styled Chave Hermitage Blanc (1999) that we had next.
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7/23/2006 - BenSlivka wrote: flawed
not fit for drinking ... madeirized, tainted ... sigh (pgn)
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3/4/2006 - BradE wrote:
Burgundy At Dale's (Dale's House In Honolulu): This was our starter wine tonight. Although highly regarded, it really didn't do much for me, or for most of the crew. The nose was light, in the mouth it was only satisfactory, and the finish was disappointing. Will need to try it again.
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3/19/2005 - Eric wrote:
A 98 point dinner at Steve Cramer's (West Seattle, WA, USA): Liquid gold, deep in color yet with a watery edge. For me this was all about nutmeg, vanilla and spice delivered with a rich, ripe oily texture. My notes were very brief, but I did think this was fantastic.
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7/18/2002 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 95 Points
Very deep yellow colour. Very chocolaty on the nose, but also apples and maybe even a rubbery note. Marvellous explosion of flavours and nuances in the mouth. And what great mouth-feel. Real luxury here. Very concentrated, but no heaviness. Could probably do with a few years rest. Very structured on the long lingering finish.
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