Dinner at Pompette (Chicago, IL): Wow, that's some serious bottle variation from the last time I had it. This bottle is clean, with nary a hint of brett, and features a generous amount of red (surprisingly, given the vintage) fruit coupled with intense saline and meat notes that don't show up until this wine has been exposed to a good amount of air. Very elegant and light, especially in the context of syrah, but impressive complexity here. A very nice bottle that reaffirms my love of Sorrel. One of the very few Hermitage producers worth a damn.
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January Rhônes (Chicago, IL): Sweet and porty, and not pleasantly so. A distinct lack of acid and lift here; this is really plodding and difficult to drink. A big whiff here.
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Hospice Auction Wine Night (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): We weren't planning to serve any reds until later in the night. However, some of the guests looked daunted by all the champagne, whites and sauternes, so down to the cellar we went. This is a forward, flavorful Northern Rhone, mostly dominated by dark berries, but some fun cured meat and herbs. It did the trick.
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My wife and I are normally aligned but I loved this and she hated it. I found it beautifully fragrant and very powerful. Still felt very young and its best days are ahead of it.
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Interestingly, this opened up tight and subdued, but with air this unfolds to show blueberry fruit, lots of blueberry fruit, if not blueberry pie, flowers and spices. If I was served this blind, I would have guessed Barossa Shiraz. Big and dense, ripe, edgy tannins and a ton of blue fruit, 15% alc. This is young, way to young, but I still wonder if this will ever show true Hermitage character. ‘Bon Vivant’ is spot on btw.
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6 years later and how it has changed. Bloody game, leather, complex, fruit totally integrated into the secondary flavors. Loved it in 2004 but now at the next level. At its absolute peak and will last but never better than now.
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Nose of dark fruits, soil, herbs, espresso. Tasted dark fruits, soil, earth. Slightly acidic initially. But after breathing, the acidity receded and the flavours and structure came forth - black fruits, dark cherries, espresso bitterness and peppers. Ok to open now but this should get better with a few more years.
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A friend brought this over to have with a leg of lamb and it was purchased under a merchant description as a classic Hermitage. That was only the case when we removed the cork and were greeted with black olive tapanade aromas. Went into decanter and we started to follow it after an hour. Olive notes gone and what we got was massive ripe red fruit with nice full texture and some nice layering. This is obviously young and seemed primary and surprisingly heady. The more it set in the decanter the more new world it seemed and definitely not in the classic Hermitage style, Seriously at 3-4 hr mark this could have been mistaken for a decent Ausi Shiraz. Checking the label 15% and that tells you a lot. So if you are looking for a classic Northern Rhone this is not your wine, but as a hedonistic Syrah- a nice bottle of wine which is what my score indicates. Will be interesting to see if it develops more classic Hermitage nuances with age although based on this I have my doubts. Not one I am going to chase as I for the style I can easily find better value.
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Crikey? Hard to score but hard to disagree with previous review. This is really really good but huge and very young. Beautiful now but it will put hairs on your chest but i could drink another bottle tomorrow. Could be absolutely stunning but needs a few years yet. Lovely. Maybe worth buying another six. Score represents drinking today score; high hopes it should will score higher in future. Really very very good. Real treat and rare praise from me
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Nose: Absolutely massive nose of Sweet Cherry, Currant Jam, Olive, Pepper and some smoke notes. Cherry fruit roll-up was noted by a member of our party. Palate: The palate feel on this was astonishing. Silky/velvety with bombastic fruit and earth all over it. Cherry, Blackberry, Raspberry, Pepper, Saline and nice glycerin. Finish: Long finish that demonstrates how much complexity lies below the surface here. Definitely popped on the young side, but so good it would be hard to keep your hands off of it.
Celebration for BCharlieG
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Deep almost stewed prune aroma in the glass. Deep purple color, almost black. Excellent balance with deep dark fruits, leather, blood and little fresh game taste on the palate. Big complex wine with the fruit in check. Drinnking well right now with food but only getting better. With self control I will wait another year or two to drink another.
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- Garnet color with medium forming legs and aromas of black pepper. It's in total harmony and has flavours of black pepper and licorice anise with a medium/full body. Bright texture - An incredible Syrah with a long life ahead of it
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10/7/2022 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Pompette (Chicago, IL): Wow, that's some serious bottle variation from the last time I had it. This bottle is clean, with nary a hint of brett, and features a generous amount of red (surprisingly, given the vintage) fruit coupled with intense saline and meat notes that don't show up until this wine has been exposed to a good amount of air. Very elegant and light, especially in the context of syrah, but impressive complexity here. A very nice bottle that reaffirms my love of Sorrel. One of the very few Hermitage producers worth a damn.
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1/31/2022 - acyso wrote: 83 Points
January Rhônes (Chicago, IL): Sweet and porty, and not pleasantly so. A distinct lack of acid and lift here; this is really plodding and difficult to drink. A big whiff here.
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11/20/2021 - WST Likes this wine:
Hospice Auction Wine Night (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): We weren't planning to serve any reds until later in the night. However, some of the guests looked daunted by all the champagne, whites and sauternes, so down to the cellar we went. This is a forward, flavorful Northern Rhone, mostly dominated by dark berries, but some fun cured meat and herbs. It did the trick.
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2/27/2021 - phynes wrote: 95 Points
My wife and I are normally aligned but I loved this and she hated it. I found it beautifully fragrant and very powerful. Still felt very young and its best days are ahead of it.
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1/19/2021 - pbaek wrote:
Interestingly, this opened up tight and subdued, but with air this unfolds to show blueberry fruit, lots of blueberry fruit, if not blueberry pie, flowers and spices. If I was served this blind, I would have guessed Barossa Shiraz. Big and dense, ripe, edgy tannins and a ton of blue fruit, 15% alc. This is young, way to young, but I still wonder if this will ever show true Hermitage character. ‘Bon Vivant’ is spot on btw.
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10/15/2020 - Skip4wine wrote: 96 Points
6 years later and how it has changed. Bloody game, leather, complex, fruit totally integrated into the secondary flavors. Loved it in 2004 but now at the next level. At its absolute peak and will last but never better than now.
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7/26/2019 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose of dark fruits, soil, herbs, espresso. Tasted dark fruits, soil, earth. Slightly acidic initially. But after breathing, the acidity receded and the flavours and structure came forth - black fruits, dark cherries, espresso bitterness and peppers. Ok to open now but this should get better with a few more years.
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1/5/2019 - bon vivant wrote: 92 Points
A friend brought this over to have with a leg of lamb and it was purchased under a merchant description as a classic Hermitage. That was only the case when we removed the cork and were greeted with black olive tapanade aromas. Went into decanter and we started to follow it after an hour. Olive notes gone and what we got was massive ripe red fruit with nice full texture and some nice layering. This is obviously young and seemed primary and surprisingly heady. The more it set in the decanter the more new world it seemed and definitely not in the classic Hermitage style, Seriously at 3-4 hr mark this could have been mistaken for a decent Ausi Shiraz. Checking the label 15% and that tells you a lot. So if you are looking for a classic Northern Rhone this is not your wine, but as a hedonistic Syrah- a nice bottle of wine which is what my score indicates. Will be interesting to see if it develops more classic Hermitage nuances with age although based on this I have my doubts. Not one I am going to chase as I for the style I can easily find better value.
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1/8/2016 - HENNO1 wrote: 94 Points
Crikey? Hard to score but hard to disagree with previous review. This is really really good but huge and very young. Beautiful now but it will put hairs on your chest but i could drink another bottle tomorrow. Could be absolutely stunning but needs a few years yet. Lovely. Maybe worth buying another six. Score represents drinking today score; high hopes it should will score higher in future. Really very very good. Real treat and rare praise from me
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10/24/2014 - RockinCabs wrote: 95 Points
Nose: Absolutely massive nose of Sweet Cherry, Currant Jam, Olive, Pepper and some smoke notes. Cherry fruit roll-up was noted by a member of our party. Palate: The palate feel on this was astonishing. Silky/velvety with bombastic fruit and earth all over it. Cherry, Blackberry, Raspberry, Pepper, Saline and nice glycerin. Finish: Long finish that demonstrates how much complexity lies below the surface here. Definitely popped on the young side, but so good it would be hard to keep your hands off of it.
Celebration for BCharlieG
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2/3/2014 - Skip4wine wrote: 94 Points
Deep almost stewed prune aroma in the glass. Deep purple color, almost black. Excellent balance with deep dark fruits, leather, blood and little fresh game taste on the palate. Big complex wine with the fruit in check. Drinnking well right now with food but only getting better. With self control I will wait another year or two to drink another.
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9/29/2013 - Drzero55 wrote: 96 Points
- Garnet color with medium forming legs and aromas of black pepper. It's in total harmony and has flavours of black pepper and licorice anise with a medium/full body. Bright texture - An incredible Syrah with a long life ahead of it
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3/10/2010 - BigRed1000 wrote: 88 Points
Good wine but smells and tastes like Zinfandel from California. Not what I want in my Hermitage.
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