Double decanted to remove sediments, lots of black fruits, char, bacon fat, quite full bodied, still big & bold but balanced & very good now, just lacked bit of precision
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Another good (thought not great) showing from old guigals. Didn’t appear that old at all but the sentiments in the wine gave it away. Some pepper, red fruits, tobacco notes.
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Boxing day at Caroline's: Unlike my previous experience, this was an obvious northern Rhone with smoky bacon, leathery notes. Not my bottle but managed to guess this as a late ‘80s / early ‘90s Hermitage because of all the Guigals that I have opened. Dark red fruit with a blue tinge. Good, but not as epic as the previous bottle.
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Translucent garnet with light bricking. Blackberry, licorice, olive, and worn leather. The aroma list reads like classic N Rhone Syrah, and in a way it has those classic smells, but there is a difficult to describe perfume-y quality that feels very much like Burgundy. Many commenters here mention calling this as Burgundy and I completely understand where they are coming from.
The body is light, acidity is medium, still a bit of fine powdery tannins. The flavors are balanced between fruit (red and black), olives, garrigue, salted licorice, and tertiary notes of turned earth, worn leather, and saddle soap. Again, there is a delicacy in the presentation of flavor that I don't really associated with the Rhone or Syrah. It has the esthetic of an aged Gevrey.
Though delicate, this did open nicely over the course of several hours. I poured it very gently into a narrow necked decanter so as not to blast it with oxygen, and I think that was a the right approach. I wouldn't say it put on weight exactly, but it did shed some of the thin acidic characteristics that aged wine can have.
This is not a powerful burly Hermitage. It is light, subtle, and though probably best 5-8 yrs ago, is beautiful now. Drink this if you have it; it'll hold for a while but I think it's on a long slow decline. Really beatiful now, but treat it delicately and pair it with a roast chicken or mushrooms as opposed to a big beef roast. Enjoy!
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4th Saturday Brown Bagger (EBCC): Blind. Faded mature color with some bricking- clearly older and easy to pick out as our bottle in this flight. Aromas of red berry fruit, roasted game meats, pine resin and something a bit wild/feral as well. With air a bit of funky earth emerges as well. Flavors of red fruit, white pepper, tar, pine sap and olives. Started to fade by the time we started dinner, but for a good hour and change this was drinking beautifully. This bottle had been double decanted off its sediment 90 minutes before the flight was poured.
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A wonderful treat! Second time in about a month thought an aged Northern Rhone was a Burgundy. Although Jamet had some signs of Syrah, this with age is so perfumed, delicate, and red-fruited that I would have never moved away from Burgundy as a guess. Given the price point currently, these are a steal, buy as much as you can.
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Grand Crus > 20 years CT gathering at IT-SPDP. Tasted blind. Drank in Grassl Cru. Appearance sediments, medium intensity, ruby colour with thin garnet rim. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ becoming pronounced intensity, with aromas of fragrant spcies, leathery meat, earth, dried cherries. Developed. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13%), fine integrated high tnanins, full body. Medium+ almost pronounced flavour intensity, with flavours of black cherries, dark red cherries, strong animal meat, earth, chalky stones minerality, dark spice, some olive herbs on hindsight. Big long finish. Excellent quality. Haha sure feels like a powerful aged Grand Cru Burg. Lovely nose and flavourful palate. Drink and enjoy.
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Grand Crus > 20 years: Brought as an extra, nobody managed to guess this as a ringer. Had an incredible perfumed and seductive nose. Layers of dark red fruit on the palate, with a hint of blueberry being the only sign of its Syrah roots. What I loved most about this wine was the silky, enveloping texture that carried the underlying tannic structure so well. These old, basic Guigals are stunning bargains. One of my most memorable wines that I’ve opened.
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Double blind. Ringer in Grand Cru Burgundy tasting. Fantastic showing tonight. Floral and clean nose, I thought this was a Charmes Chambertin, sadly I have a palate of yak. Tannins mostly resolved, good length and complexity, elegant and good balance.
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4 years since we had this last ( Papies 92) and this time jumped in our face at St Swithins Wine Shippers, London. Smoky classic Syrah from Guigal, light and well matured , soft Wine and full of charm and a joy. Definitely lacks the presence on the palate but the nose on this would make a classic hermitage lover smile. 93
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An absolute pointe with impeccable balance. Red and dark fruits with the leather and herbs you want in N Rhone. These older Guigal wines are so reliable.
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A flight of two vintages, 1983 and 1990. Was blown away by ‘83 longevity, but ‘90 is just another level. Exceptional vintage & extraordinary winemaking. It is rich, smoky, earthy, peppery even slightly jammy and absolutely harmonious. Medium+ red colour. Medium intensity aroma of dried strawberries, smoked meat, tobacco, cherries, black pepper, delicate jamminess. Full body, concentrated, deep and multilayered with spiced and dry fruits, smoky edges, bright acidity and finely grained rich and structured tannins.
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Friday Night Brown Bagger (R&R): Double blind. A bit darker than wine B, but not by much. Opens with a smoky, meaty note, almost like beef jerky. There's also a teriyaki-like sweetness to the perfume. Lovely red berry fruit overtones. Medium-bodied and fully-integrated. Red fruit with hints of game and spice. Guessed syrah. Very nice. 92-93 pts. (J&J)
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Quick double decant two hours before service. Color red with some browning. A fabulous meaty, barnyard sort of nose that just screams Syrah, and classic wine production. Still has some nice tannins and acid that are in balance. It's certainly in a tertiary state, but will provide great drinking for another few years. Love it.
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The wine is in the tertiary stage. Nose is so complex and intoxicating, brick color and nice acidity. Flavors include saddle leather, tobacco and earthiness. Should really think of drinking up.
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Part of a Horizontal tasting of 1990 red Hermitage. A blend of Syrah from Beaume, Méal and les Bessards vineyards, and an incredible price compared to others in this tasting. This bottle was decanted for 30 minutes and poured into Spiegelau burg glasses for this Horizontal 90 Hermitage tasting. Medium ruby with some browning at the rim. Savage nose of tobacco and morels flowing into a viscous medium bodied palate of BBQ moose meat and dried bing cherries. Long finish of mocha and saddle leather and punching way above its price point. Best now-2040.
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48x 1990 (37x Bdx, 6x Napa, 5x others): This is a lovely aged Syrah, drinking in its absolute prime. The fruit is still fresh, the tertiary complexity has nicely kicked-in and the structure melted beautifully together. On the palate, however, the promises made with the expressive and layered nose are not kept. A step down from the best Syrahs and Guigal’s LaLaLas but I would still drink it every day. 92/93 pts.
TN: Very intense nose with loads of black pepper and meaty notes, a strong herbal component, tobacco and anise and a black fruit core in the background. This is so archetype Syrah. And with very good precision. On the palate this is so fresh, with melted tannins, superb round freshness, so creamy, no excess weight. Quite perfect structure. The aromas are not as clean and nice as on the nose. And the complexity is medium- only but still good.
Decanting: Quick double decant roughly 4 hours before the tasting which seemed about right. The wine was open and singing from the go.
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Tasted blind. Green pepper, mushrooms, some red fruit, bell pepper, along with smokey and gamey flavors on the nose. Nice acidity with red fruit flavors and good structure on the palate. There seems to be more fruit left on the palate compared to the nose. Very good finish.
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Very nice bottle condition with cork fresh as a daisy and high fill. The wine was immediately approachable and gained in pepperiness with more air developing a thoroughly enjoyable mature Northern Rhone experience with quite a lush fruit underneath. Compared to the stellar 1978 tasted a few times recently this was touch less animal / typical and little more "whitewashed" but a terrific wine nonetheless!
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Dry cork, but excellent fill. Beautiful color, with slight browning at edges, but robust dark purple . Multilayered nose with secondary notes over dark fruit. Saddle leather and spice box. Smoth, tannins resolved but minimally present. Long finish. Very enjoyable.
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Second Sunday Group: 1999 Napa cabernets (Our house): Red berry fruit, iron and barnyard aromas. Balanced. Integrated tannins with abundant red fruit, pepper and earth. Finishes with good length. Shows more depth and nuance than the Jaboulet on this night.
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Came across this at the gem that is The Drapper Arms, London. The little things that they do well about wine , from the well priced full of gems list to the Zaalto glasses gave us the confidence to go for it. The cork was dry and brittle but kept the seal and the level was high. Took an effort to remove it but got there. The wine was very healthy and classic Hermitage with good age. Smoky, roast meat, still a lot of dark fruits. Very enjoyable, old and nowhere near the energy of his La LAs (which are very young still) but super solid wine and a gem for classic & aged Hermitage lovers like us. Very good 92
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Northern Rhone Dinner at Marc's (DC/Silver Spring MD): Sweet black fruit on the nose. Black fruit, some light earth notes, olive, blood. Sharp acid with modest tannins that still have structure. Still pretty young, long life ahead of this.
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Ready to go from the start. Faded a bit over 3 hours. Really nice. My last bottle, but if I had any remaining bottles, I would drink them in the next 12-18 months. I don’t see this getting any better and only declining. Pretty impressive bottle of nearly 30 year old wine.
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Stood up for 5-6 hours as I was afraid of a decant which was the right call. A bit of funk blew off and revealed a intense nose of mushroom, leather, and nutmeg. Still full of red fruit, smoky meat, and tanning oil. After 2 hours it started to fall off so I would not recommend opening early or decanting. Wonderful wine, drink up.
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Small Rhone Tasting w/Aussie Ringer (R&D's): Single blind, courtesy of our hosts. A bit lighter and color with some bricking, this is likely one of the Guigals or Grange based on appearance alone. Starts off with just a hint of a vegetal note which fades into tobacco, currants, rose and herbs. Medium-bodied, with flavors of currants, plum, pepper and red berry fruit. Develops additional aromas of lavender, floral spice and strawberry. Lovely. 93-94 pts. I guessed this was the Cote Rotie.
My #4, Domino’s #4 Group #5, 25 pts
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Tasted after Chapoutier’s 1998 Hermitage La Sizeranne, this was more evolved in colour and on the nose - dark fruit, leather, cured meat, spices. Really dense with good fruit on the palate, soft tannins, good acidity, fine length. No rush drinking up. 91-93
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Dinner with Dan H (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): [Pop n pour.] Tar, licorice, blackberry nose. Long and delicious. Spicy black fruit. At the beginning of its peak drinking window. Rich and expansive. Has no issue following all these good Burgs.
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Cork in good condition though saturated. Brief decant; nosey opened up to pleasant mature barnyard. Not a lot of other complexity on the nose. Lively and still quite vibrant fruit on the palate; though somewhat linear profile per other reviews. Overall, very pleasing mature Hermitage that is in the prime drinking window. No need to wait further in my view. Served with Cote d'boeuf.
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Ruby core with maturing rim. Clearly a more mature and ready for action than the 1999. Nose of sweet cherry fruit with hints of smoke and earth. The palate was more dark cherries, pepper and earthly complexity. Great texture, good acidity and persistence, lush finish. This is a notch better than the last bottle a few years ago. Hitting on all cylinders
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Always a bit afraid when opening wines this age, but this time there was no reason to be afraid. Deep red with a clearly brown rim. Wonderful and intense aromas of sweet black cherries and prunes with a dusty, earthy tone in addition to smoke, all adding up to great aromatic complexity. Full bodied, velvety attack in the mouth, coats the mouth with sweet cherry fruit, surprisingly high acidity, sweet tannins, long and fresh aftertaste with tones of warm earth, slate under the sweet fruit. A very positive surprise.
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This was an amazing bottle. I disagree with most of the recent tasting notes, but I do admit that I don't have much experience drinking aged Northern Rhones. If they are better than this, then I can't wait to have those experiences.
This was showing no signs of age in it's color. The nose was full of dark fruit and spices with some Tabaco and motor oil. The palate was powerful and delicious with smoke and lush dark fruit and a very long finish. Bravo!
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This wine was for English tastes. Fully mature and with leather and some loss of fruit it was nonetheless appealing with the chicken liver appetizer. This was my last bottle and I should have consumes several years ago.
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Almost no signs of aging, dark red to brick red, tastes almost by blood and forest grouse breast. Highly concentrated, yet elegant Hermitage, dark berries, pepper and a little touch of smoke and oak, fresh and balanced. A perfect wine now for deer, elk, or a bloody beef steak
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Is this a little too perfect?, A little too smooth ?, but do not misunderstand, an excellent wine, everything is done correctly, a textbook wine, perfect color, smell, and taste for a 1990 Rhone, but is it a little boring?. Is it old or young, we somehow disagreed. Someone said, probably from a big manufacturer that provides solid quality, and that's right. But it gets a little boring after a while, almost like drinking coca cola. If you still have some bottles in the cellar, put it away for a few more years, let it be a bit older, then it might get a little more personality
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Double decanted a couple of hours before service. This is still a big and young wine. Classic barnyard nose with good cassis fruit and good acidity. Paired pretty well with slow roasted pork shoulder with hoisin sauce. At least 15 years of good drinking left.
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Rhone Tasting: A bit stewy on the nose, but plenty alive with dark berries and earth. Still going strong with medium tannins, medium-low acid, the fig, plum cake, and dried black cherries mix with peppery-spice, loam and dusty soil. A bit hesitant at times but plenty of structure.
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Bright ruby red core, beautiful nose of dark red fruits, pepper and tar. Initially quite youthful and engaging on the palate. Balanced, nice texture with a med finish. After and hour in the glass the texture became more velvety, the palate revealed secondary elements of smoked meat, spice and violets. At maturity, drinking very well
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Fading color. The nose shows aromas of smoke, earth, dark berries, flowers and iron. This is fairly full bodied on the palate, with good concentration and decent finesse. The tannins are a bit drying now and it seems this may be past its best. Medium plus length on the finish.
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Another final, lovely bottle. Medium red, lighter rim. Deep, rich, red cherry syrup. Slight brett, which blew off quickly. Tobacco, cedar, earth. So sad to drink the last one, but it was very good.
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Earthy bouquet. This bottle seemed more complex than the last time I tasted it, showing flavors of roasted meat, iron, minerals, and briar. Exceptional depth. In beautiful condition, although in my opinion it is now at or slightly past its peak.
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Tremendous nose of dark fruit, camphor, smoke and some flowers. Full bodied with plenty of tannins left and the fruit starting to fade just a bit. A little out of synch with the fruit and tannins. Long long finish. Very pleasing wine.
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Wow blood iron wet oak fruit good still intact crispy acid a bit rough on tannins finish is deep mineraly. A little more advanced than other big names.
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Second Sunday Group: Older California Pinots (Barb's): My first tatse, poured just a couple of minutes after the bottle was opened, was uninspiring to say the least. It displayed a dominant ash overtone, with weedy red fruit underneath. About thirty minutes later, Domino poured a glass- meat, red fruit, pepper, spice and dark fruit aromas. Red fruit, roasted game and pepper flavors on the palate. Long finish with plenty of fruit. Give this a brief decant or some time in the glass to open. Drinking extremely well with a bit of air.
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Garnet color, aromas of dark fruit with secondary notes. Medium-full bodied, tannins resolved. Palate reinforced the nose. Long finish. Beautiful wine.
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Very impressive. Mature nose of dark fruit, meats, spice, earth and iron. Full and rich on the palate. Covers your tongue with a complete mix of flavors that match the nose. Nice sweetness. Long finish. Smooth. Probably at its peak.
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Beautiful example of a mature medium weight Hermitage. Now an elegant wine with no single aspect dominating. Indeed the pieces are harmonious to the point that it barely resembles the previous bottles I've drunk in the last few years.
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Still showing very good fruit especially plums. A little rustic in the finish now. And considerably faded (showing more brown in the rim) and past its peak.
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Beautiful wine Bright red color. Looks like there is a lot of life left in this. Nose of cigar, cedar, dark cherries. Nice red fruit on the palate, with secondary notes of tobacco and leather. Quite delicious.
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robe d'un rouge profond et intrigant. Le nez est magnifique, des arômes de fraises des bois, cerises rouges et des pointes végétales et de vanille. En bouche, c'est un vin superbe, les tannins sont encore présents, des épices fines, des fraises, une raisonnance enrobante... De la réglisse et une légère touche de poivre blanc. Très beau vin auquel il reste encore plusieurs années. Belle évolution dans le verre.
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Another outstanding bottle of this wine. This may be one of the best I have had so far. Medium red, no sign of age. Smells of cherries, leather, tobacco and cedar. Fine flavors of bitter Amarena cherry, along with blueberries and tar. Not a hint of the slight rancio flavors I had in the last bottle - this one is perfectly mature, but not at all old. Lovely acid balance. Wonderful with food. I do believe that this wine will hold up for a few years, so I am in no rush to drink it up. Silky, elegant, and everything you could ask for in an aged Hermitage. This bottle was decanted for only 1-2 hours, it gets better and better as it remains open.
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I'd say acidqueen hit it on the head with her note. This wine really opens up after about 2-3 hours decanted. Lovely fruit and spice complexity. At about 3 hours a nice meatiness begins to develop, which make this more interesting. Good stuff! (91 -92).
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Another beautiful bottle of this wine. Garnet w slight bricking at edge. Showing slightly mature notes, but it is not old. It drinks like a Burgundy in style and elegance. Peppery, wth dark cassis flavors, as well as earthy, mushroom flavors. Still with some dusty dry tannins on the finish. Needs decanting for sure. Wonderfully mature and at its peak, but it seems to be holding at this level and probably for a few years.
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Clear medium brick red, mature but not old. Black fruits, orange peel, good acid. Bitter sweet cherries in syrup. Some tannins left but smoothed out with food. Elegant, silky wine. I really love this wine - so flavorful, so smooth, great balance. So easy to drink.
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Out of 375cc. Very different than the wine I drank 3 years ago (also from a 375). Now more subdued with less depth, but still great ripe red fruit, tar, and quite a bit of acid. I really liked this wine which has now turned rather burgundian (sort of Maranges-like). As a burgundy guy I really dug that, but was much more characteristic 3 years ago. I dont see this improving with time but it is drinking well at the moment. Still nice the next night with more smoke and meat coming through.
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Dark rich berry nose with some earth but very composed. Wood and earth were there but subdued and in harmony with the medium full intensity fruit. Developed slowly with airing but always delightful. Good amount of sediment, should have decanted it.
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Un petit bijou arrivé à maturité avec encore du fruit, des arômes secondaires subtils et fins, une belle longueur et une finale toute en fraicheur. Pas le plus ample mais une petite merveille.
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Drank this wine with a filet mignon pan-sauted in the same wine (crazy!), shallots, Spanish paprika and lavendar. Both before dinner and with dinner this wine was outstanding. Although now 21 years old, this wine is a medium red with no brown at the edge, and has fine, dusty tannins on the finish. It really does need decanting. On first opening, there were notes of barnyard, leather, tobacco and a whiff of camphor. After time in the glass, the leather stayed, but added kumquat, plum and dark jammy fruits in the nose and mouth. It continued to evolve in a very nice way through and after dinner. Nice balance and acidity. This wine is silky smooth - one of those wines that makes you want to open a second and probably won't give you a hangover the next day. Although this wine drinks beautifully now, I don't see any reason that this won't hold for awhile given the tannin, fruit and acid balance here. It continued to develop from opening through dinner and 3 hours later - I suspect it will be good tomorrow as well, but won't have any left to try out. Superb, and why I love good Hermitage. Glad I have another 11 bottles left.
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Xmas Eve Dinner: Alcohol :: 13% Despite decanted for 5hrs, this 20yrs old hermitage show youthful dark ruby colour with expressive pure sweet dark fig, plum Provencal herb and spices with some secondary note of earthy, mushroom aromas and wild game tones that's very seductive and complex. Still posses good weight and dense, lush sweet dark fruits, some dusty element that distract a bit but this quickly rescued by the sweet fig, peppery and round mineral that form a very smooth texture showing good harmonious, depth and sense of elegance, mineral long finish with touch of roasted herbs. At its peak, very enjoyable with this should have no problem to hold for another 10yrs. Buy - Maybe.
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Rhone Varietal Tasting (Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia)): Funk on the nose blows off. Gamey, earthy and secondary on the nose, but there is a bit of more delicate red fruit peeking through as well. Nice structure with great secondary notes. Black pepper, bell pepper, leather. Nice finish. 20 years on, this is still in a good spot and while I do not see it lasting in this spot for many more years, it is really nice right now.
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Syrahs and other Rhone varietals (Roberts House): funky nose, but it blows off a bit. looking through that is a wonderfully secondary and fully evolved palate. stewed meat, black fruit, and sweet spice. nice acidic structure keeps it fresh. the finish is med(-) and a little bit watery.
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Amazing wine. Nose of leather, dark fruit, herbs and smoke. Taste was full of dark cherries, cinnamon and cardamon. Still some tannin and some wonderful acidity. Beautiful long finish. Fully mature but not showing any signs of deteriorating. Perfect with a cassoulet with duck confit.
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Starts immediately with a solid serving of tapenade. Black olive and oil on nose and palate. Then a strong barnyard component steps up, but this is the venue for it. Leather, blood, tart fruit, and always olives. Even a slight hint of cream on the nose at some points. Very nice wine in a really good place. Tannins resolved but you can still sense them on the finish. No bricking, very youthful in color. Very lightly done compared with more modern Syrahs, but very flavorful. I enjoyed this very much.
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very nice, good color, nose of herbs and pepper, well integrated tannins , spice and undelying mouth coating cherries - went with mushrooms so well. This wine is ready ready to drink and is not likely to get better - drink up
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Let me tell you something, when you open a bottle of red after midnight, you really don’t need it…. I’m glad we did open this though. This was a fresh, energetic bottle that had a big heart of sweet cassis is blood plum and was tinged with tar and earth. There’s a bit of horsey bret and some camphor and mint notes.
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Garnet with a brick rim. Lovely soft nose with jammy raspberry fruits, smoke and a hint of vanilla. Medium body with good acidity and rich smooth tannins. Intense deep flavours, long into the throat. Sweet red fruits, mixed nuts, smoky tobacco, leather and pepper. Sweet vanilla coated almonds in the long finish. Superb.
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(90-93) Drank with Paul at Brasserie Beck, alongside Paul’s 1989 Chateneauf-de-Pape Pegau. We liked it better than the Pegau! While the Pegau was fuller, meatier, and more masculine, this wine tasted like a Pomerol. Very fine, indeed.
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Great dark color still. Drinking beautifully with a lovely complexity of smoky black fruits with yummy lavendar/violet notes. Still full and powerful and capable of aging much longer. Still, this sang with Osso Buco.
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Tasting Group Dinner - Northern Rhône (Fugaise, Minneapolis): Amazingly bretty nose -- I believe Brad's term was "1990 Montrose squared." Accompanying the barnyard smells and flavors are layers of iron, dried herbs, dark fruit, smoke, and leather. This is medium-bodied, complex, and quite delicious if you don't mind a bit of horse in your glass. Not sure if this bottle was 100% representative?
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Mpls does Northern Rhone (Chave, Guigal, Jaboulet, Chapoutier, Clape, more): Another great bottle of wine. The nose features red fruit and a bit of barnyard/brett. I found this to be complimentary, but others found it off-putting. On the palate this is very structured, very tannic and very drying but with a good cherry and spice flavor that balanced this out pretty well. I had a slight preference for this 1990 over the 1978, but I don't think that was the consensus pick.
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Vibrant ruby color. Powerful bouquet of dark fruit, spice, and just a hint of earth. Poured carefully from a tipped-up bottle; fair amount of sediment. Delicious, classic Hermitage: bluberry/cherry, maybe a little prune, spice, and earth. Somewhat lacking in complexity, but thoroughly enjoyale. Both the nose and flavors faded considerably after about 2 hours; agree with others that it's getting time to drink this up. If decanting, keep the air time fairly short before serving.
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Seriously disappointing. This well-stored bottle had no real life and only vague varietal/terroir characteristics. Dominated by what one taster described as a "stalky" or vegetal quality, it tasted to me oddly like a tomato. It did not taste "old", just strange, as though possessed by an alien. We did not finish more than half the bottle.
After posting my note and reading the other reviews, it seems this wine is subject to pretty severe bottle variation. Mine wasn't very good, but clearly others had memorably positive experiences. Caveat emptor.
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Much better than the last bottle I had (from same purchase and cellar). The color was perhpas a tad darker and more youuthful. The nose was extremely complex that just grew deeper and bolder as it sat it the glass. Notes of dirt and forest floor, sauteed pepper steak with sauted mushrooms, some plum, overripe cherry, and spices-eventually some hints at orange peel and shoe polish/rubber. The mouthfeel shows its age where it is a bit lean and acidic. The finish is pleasant but dominated by a black pepper taste. I think this bottle was an example of as good as this wine can get at this age. Fully mature and won't get any better, but still highly enjoyable. Also very old world in style.
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taste: wonderful resolved tannins and acidity with well balanced flavors of black pepper, dark spices, black cherry, and roasted meats
overall: an excellent hermitage. It got lost a bit in the burg fireworks and the montrose, but this is an outstanding wine that is drinking great with a nice full and resolved attack of black pepper and dark spices with a good medium finish of black cherry
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IWFSC 736th Dinner (The Racquet Club): Well, what a difference a bottle makes. From the same purchase and same cellar as the bottle from 4 months ago, this didn't show anywhere near as well - lacking all the classic Hermitage character of smokey bacon and black pepper that the previous bottle(s) had. This was full deep red in color with big bright briar red fruit on the nose. Nice round red fruit with just a hint of sweet left on the palate along with decent structure and acidity. Actually a very nice wine itself, it just wasn't the pleasant surprise the past bottles have been. Maybe it was a root day!
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IWFSC 732nd Dinner (Primehouse): Another really strong showing for this wine - well above my expectations. Full deep purple red color. Huge nose of ripe black boysenberry with bacon notes. Lovely big ripe black fruit on the palate with clear coffee notes. 94+ pts.
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Still going strong, with lots of bacon fat, grilled meat, and roasted blackberry aromas and flavors. It needed about an hour of air before it put on enough weight to truly strut its stuff. Interesting white pepper and licorice snap nuances on the finish. Drink now through 2011.
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not the best bottle i've had over the years. This one exhibited slightly clunky character and some rustic tannins. Very different from previous couple of cases. hmm?
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Wine battle 2 (Niels' place): Dark brown with some sediment. Another mature and great nose of tobacco, leather, barnyard, some herbal notes. Very intense and with a long aftertaste. The Guigal 1990's are performing very well indeed tonight. Rating: 93-94.
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Needed 60 minutes of air to start comming around. At peak or slightly past.
Notes of tobacco, earth and meat are pronounced, but still plenty of fruit hanging around to make this wine interesting. A short finish (with a slight metalic aftertaste) keep this from scoring higher.
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Better than I remembered, well integrated and ready to drink with nice tertiary aromas (leather, tobacco) but still lacking a bit in terms of complexity and length. In short a very good and satisfying Hermitage, but not a mind-boggling experience for this vintage.
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solid core of fruit joined by earth and leather notes. Opened a couple of hours before consuming and decanted. The wine opened up and got better and better. Very good if not excellent.
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Very fine wine. On the upslope toward maturity. Concentrated, Structured. Lots of wild, gamy sryrah aromaitcs around dark broodig fruit. Still seems young
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Bernard Antony Ceremonie des Fromages with Steve & Barb. Garnet in color, this wine seemed to me to be at peak, though in no danger of falling off quickly. Beautiful sweet nose followed by a medium to medium+ bodied palate that was rich and glyceral. 50+13+12+8+8 = 91
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First mature bottle, after a rather vigorous double decant with substantial deposits, the wine had about an hour or so to the restaurant. Tasted with a nice flight of N Rhones, this was showing maturity, but was still dense and dark red on the rim. The aromatics were very cool lavender, sweet violets and some saddle leather. The wine was medium bodied, was very elegant and smooth as it carressed the palate. Soy sauce, smoke, black fruit, hints of rhone herbs and precise balance were all melded toghther in a package where nothing sticks out. Tannins resolved, but still ample acidity. Well done, and no hurry on the remaining bottles (10 years i am sure). But I did store them well from release in 1995.
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Steak Diane w B&R. Dark young color, Good syrah gaminess w/o brett. Very good intensity. Good wine. Last bottle , though could certainly last and perhaps improve
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Older Rhones - Group #6, My #4 - Full deep purple. Forward round purple fruit with anise hints and leather. Rich red fruit wit hpepper notes and a long finish. Well-balanced. 3/06
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Opened two bottles for an informal gettogether. There was notable bottle variation. The first was more rustic with smoke and earth on the nose. On the palate, it was a little tired with earthiness, black pepper and meaty flavors and just a hint of fruit. It was stll very enjoyable.
The second bottle had a more prominent nose with floral scents and berry fruit. It filled the mouth with fruit and spice against a backround of earthiness and a hint of the meaty flavors. The fruit finish seemed to go on forever.
The first bottle tasted like it was just past it's peak. The second had many years left. I would give the first bottle a 89 and the second a 93.
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Needed about an hour after decanting to open up. Feminine like mouthfeel with black fruits and pepper being prominent. The wine was delicious paired with rare venison, polenta, mushrooms and kale.
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Very dark color with some browning on the rim and a little into the glass. Decanted 2 hours with quite a lot of sediment being thrown. Not much on the nose initially, but 3 hours after decanting this opened up and was all about meat and dark cherries. There were some other things going on but this was a wine you almost wanted to chew it was so 'solid'. Nice finish too. Still with good structure to last a few more years. Not sure where this is going, however. Will plan on consuming the final bottle in the next year.
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Nice hermitage with lots of funk on the nose at first but then the fruit comes back and shines through. It showed according to expectations but didn't particularly impress me. Good wine but nothing special. Probably at peak and to be drunk in the next couple of years.
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$30 retail in 1996. I should have loaded up as this is really impressive stuff. Although it is showing well now, it still has much life ahead of it in a decent cellar. Dark color. Old-school aromas of black fruit, tar and tobacco. Well structured. Less perfumed than a '91 Jamet Cote-Rotie (see TN) drunk earlier in the evening. Unfortunately, my last bottle.
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This bottle was slightly past it's prime. Still some fruit and structure but slightly bricked and began to fall apart an hour or two after opening. Definitely drink these up soon.
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Definitely not over the hill as previously thhought. Still has beautiful bouquet and drk ruby color delivers full mouthfulls of flavor. Doesn't taste like rasberrys, cinamon, etc. Tastes like a great Syrah.
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Seattle Tasting Group does older Northern Rhône reds (Bellevue, WA, USA): A slightly odd nose with putty, mineral, clove, and then some leathery, bretty smells which added a lot of intrigue to the wine. Much lighter in complexion than some of the other wines and offering less sweetness, this was still gorgeous in a more Burgundian vein, pretty and feminine. The palate showed loads of salty minerals with very little sweetness. To me this actually still seems pretty tightly wound, although perhaps it will dry out long before the tannin is resolved. I enjoyed this more than most of the other tasters.
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Dark purple color, with hardly any signs of age. Explosive blackberry nose that you could smell several feet away right from the first pour. Some interesting tea and cardamom nuances. No brett or Rhone stink, whatsoever. On the palate, there is a core of intense black raspberry fruit and razor sharp black pepper, with some bacon fat lurking in the background. Still full of vibrant acidity and sturdy tannins, this wine is probably at its peak and will probably hold there for another 2-3 years. A terrific match with my meal (a duck-breast and leg-confit composition with a green peppercorn sauce).
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Tasting six Rhones, sixth place. Brilliant, red, rich color in the glass. Lovely rich fruity nose with cedar and tobacco on the nose and palate, medium amount of very soft tannins present, short finish.
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1/10/2024 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 93 Points
Double decanted to remove sediments, lots of black fruits, char, bacon fat, quite full bodied, still big & bold but balanced & very good now, just lacked bit of precision
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12/28/2023 - wineton.mee wrote: 92 Points
Another good (thought not great) showing from old guigals. Didn’t appear that old at all but the sentiments in the wine gave it away. Some pepper, red fruits, tobacco notes.
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12/26/2023 - melvinyeowq wrote: 91 Points
Boxing day at Caroline's: Unlike my previous experience, this was an obvious northern Rhone with smoky bacon, leathery notes. Not my bottle but managed to guess this as a late ‘80s / early ‘90s Hermitage because of all the Guigals that I have opened. Dark red fruit with a blue tinge. Good, but not as epic as the previous bottle.
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12/22/2023 - NoahCap wrote:
An excellent bottle- high fill, perfect cork.
Translucent garnet with light bricking. Blackberry, licorice, olive, and worn leather. The aroma list reads like classic N Rhone Syrah, and in a way it has those classic smells, but there is a difficult to describe perfume-y quality that feels very much like Burgundy. Many commenters here mention calling this as Burgundy and I completely understand where they are coming from.
The body is light, acidity is medium, still a bit of fine powdery tannins. The flavors are balanced between fruit (red and black), olives, garrigue, salted licorice, and tertiary notes of turned earth, worn leather, and saddle soap. Again, there is a delicacy in the presentation of flavor that I don't really associated with the Rhone or Syrah. It has the esthetic of an aged Gevrey.
Though delicate, this did open nicely over the course of several hours. I poured it very gently into a narrow necked decanter so as not to blast it with oxygen, and I think that was a the right approach. I wouldn't say it put on weight exactly, but it did shed some of the thin acidic characteristics that aged wine can have.
This is not a powerful burly Hermitage. It is light, subtle, and though probably best 5-8 yrs ago, is beautiful now. Drink this if you have it; it'll hold for a while but I think it's on a long slow decline. Really beatiful now, but treat it delicately and pair it with a roast chicken or mushrooms as opposed to a big beef roast. Enjoy!
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10/28/2023 - Border Boss Likes this wine:
A very good bottle. Brick red with browning. Definitely tertiary, but a nice wine to drink with lamb.
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9/23/2023 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
4th Saturday Brown Bagger (EBCC): Blind. Faded mature color with some bricking- clearly older and easy to pick out as our bottle in this flight. Aromas of red berry fruit, roasted game meats, pine resin and something a bit wild/feral as well. With air a bit of funky earth emerges as well. Flavors of red fruit, white pepper, tar, pine sap and olives. Started to fade by the time we started dinner, but for a good hour and change this was drinking beautifully. This bottle had been double decanted off its sediment 90 minutes before the flight was poured.
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8/27/2023 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
Lovely red cherry nose, very spicy and peppery; not layered per se, but fine and sapid simultaneously.
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7/11/2023 - Dibbs Likes this wine: 93 Points
A wonderful treat! Second time in about a month thought an aged Northern Rhone was a Burgundy. Although Jamet had some signs of Syrah, this with age is so perfumed, delicate, and red-fruited that I would have never moved away from Burgundy as a guess. Given the price point currently, these are a steal, buy as much as you can.
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7/7/2023 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 95 Points
Grand Crus > 20 years CT gathering at IT-SPDP. Tasted blind. Drank in Grassl Cru.
Appearance sediments, medium intensity, ruby colour with thin garnet rim. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ becoming pronounced intensity, with aromas of fragrant spcies, leathery meat, earth, dried cherries. Developed.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13%), fine integrated high tnanins, full body. Medium+ almost pronounced flavour intensity, with flavours of black cherries, dark red cherries, strong animal meat, earth, chalky stones minerality, dark spice, some olive herbs on hindsight. Big long finish.
Excellent quality. Haha sure feels like a powerful aged Grand Cru Burg. Lovely nose and flavourful palate. Drink and enjoy.
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7/7/2023 - melvinyeowq wrote: 95 Points
Grand Crus > 20 years: Brought as an extra, nobody managed to guess this as a ringer. Had an incredible perfumed and seductive nose. Layers of dark red fruit on the palate, with a hint of blueberry being the only sign of its Syrah roots. What I loved most about this wine was the silky, enveloping texture that carried the underlying tannic structure so well. These old, basic Guigals are stunning bargains. One of my most memorable wines that I’ve opened.
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7/7/2023 - pclin wrote: 95 Points
Double blind. Ringer in Grand Cru Burgundy tasting. Fantastic showing tonight. Floral and clean nose, I thought this was a Charmes Chambertin, sadly I have a palate of yak. Tannins mostly resolved, good length and complexity, elegant and good balance.
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6/27/2023 - Papies wrote: 93 Points
4 years since we had this last ( Papies 92) and this time jumped in our face at St Swithins Wine Shippers, London. Smoky classic Syrah from Guigal, light and well matured , soft Wine and full of charm and a joy. Definitely lacks the presence on the palate but the nose on this would make a classic hermitage lover smile. 93
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4/17/2023 - rc@ughey wrote: 94 Points
An absolute pointe with impeccable balance. Red and dark fruits with the leather and herbs you want in N Rhone. These older Guigal wines are so reliable.
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3/11/2023 - Ernestas Likes this wine: 94 Points
A flight of two vintages, 1983 and 1990. Was blown away by ‘83 longevity, but ‘90 is just another level. Exceptional vintage & extraordinary winemaking. It is rich, smoky, earthy, peppery even slightly jammy and absolutely harmonious. Medium+ red colour. Medium intensity aroma of dried strawberries, smoked meat, tobacco, cherries, black pepper, delicate jamminess. Full body, concentrated, deep and multilayered with spiced and dry fruits, smoky edges, bright acidity and finely grained rich and structured tannins.
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3/11/2023 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rich, complex, and spicy. WOTN tonight.
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2/10/2023 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Friday Night Brown Bagger (R&R): Double blind. A bit darker than wine B, but not by much. Opens with a smoky, meaty note, almost like beef jerky. There's also a teriyaki-like sweetness to the perfume. Lovely red berry fruit overtones. Medium-bodied and fully-integrated. Red fruit with hints of game and spice. Guessed syrah. Very nice. 92-93 pts. (J&J)
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2/10/2023 - Border Boss Likes this wine: 92 Points
Quick double decant two hours before service. Color red with some browning. A fabulous meaty, barnyard sort of nose that just screams Syrah, and classic wine production. Still has some nice tannins and acid that are in balance. It's certainly in a tertiary state, but will provide great drinking for another few years. Love it.
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12/8/2022 - Dine&Vine Likes this wine: 93 Points
The wine is in the tertiary stage. Nose is so complex and intoxicating, brick color and nice acidity. Flavors include saddle leather, tobacco and earthiness. Should really think of drinking up.
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9/4/2022 - Bruce 1er wrote: 97 Points
Classic. Rich fruit and minerals. Roasted meat. Aging beautifully.
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5/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine: 95 Points
Part of a Horizontal tasting of 1990 red Hermitage. A blend of Syrah from Beaume, Méal and les Bessards vineyards, and an incredible price compared to others in this tasting. This bottle was decanted for 30 minutes and poured into Spiegelau burg glasses for this Horizontal 90 Hermitage tasting. Medium ruby with some browning at the rim. Savage nose of tobacco and morels flowing into a viscous medium bodied palate of BBQ moose meat and dried bing cherries. Long finish of mocha and saddle leather and punching way above its price point. Best now-2040.
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4/24/2022 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
48x 1990 (37x Bdx, 6x Napa, 5x others): This is a lovely aged Syrah, drinking in its absolute prime. The fruit is still fresh, the tertiary complexity has nicely kicked-in and the structure melted beautifully together. On the palate, however, the promises made with the expressive and layered nose are not kept. A step down from the best Syrahs and Guigal’s LaLaLas but I would still drink it every day. 92/93 pts.
TN: Very intense nose with loads of black pepper and meaty notes, a strong herbal component, tobacco and anise and a black fruit core in the background. This is so archetype Syrah. And with very good precision. On the palate this is so fresh, with melted tannins, superb round freshness, so creamy, no excess weight. Quite perfect structure. The aromas are not as clean and nice as on the nose. And the complexity is medium- only but still good.
Decanting: Quick double decant roughly 4 hours before the tasting which seemed about right. The wine was open and singing from the go.
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10/19/2020 - glou.sf wrote: 93 Points
Tasted blind. Green pepper, mushrooms, some red fruit, bell pepper, along with smokey and gamey flavors on the nose. Nice acidity with red fruit flavors and good structure on the palate. There seems to be more fruit left on the palate compared to the nose. Very good finish.
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10/2/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Fruit was rich and complex, elegant and nuanced, really enjoyed this a lot. Drank on the Parcelle Patio.
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9/27/2020 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very nice bottle condition with cork fresh as a daisy and high fill. The wine was immediately approachable and gained in pepperiness with more air developing a thoroughly enjoyable mature Northern Rhone experience with quite a lush fruit underneath. Compared to the stellar 1978 tasted a few times recently this was touch less animal / typical and little more "whitewashed" but a terrific wine nonetheless!
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9/2/2020 - LB88 wrote: 91 Points
Smelly but quite appealing
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8/19/2020 - bm522 Likes this wine: 91 Points
blueberries with some red fruits as well, irony with smoky, typical well-aged Northern experience.
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8/15/2020 - Pinard222 wrote:
still needed decanting had good colour and good taste
Shame it was the last one
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5/24/2020 - Geoff Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dry cork, but excellent fill. Beautiful color, with slight browning at edges, but robust dark purple . Multilayered nose with secondary notes over dark fruit. Saddle leather and spice box. Smoth, tannins resolved but minimally present. Long finish. Very enjoyable.
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11/10/2019 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Second Sunday Group: 1999 Napa cabernets (Our house): Red berry fruit, iron and barnyard aromas. Balanced. Integrated tannins with abundant red fruit, pepper and earth. Finishes with good length. Shows more depth and nuance than the Jaboulet on this night.
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7/20/2019 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Came across this at the gem that is The Drapper Arms, London. The little things that they do well about wine , from the well priced full of gems list to the Zaalto glasses gave us the confidence to go for it.
The cork was dry and brittle but kept the seal and the level was high. Took an effort to remove it but got there. The wine was very healthy and classic Hermitage with good age. Smoky, roast meat, still a lot of dark fruits. Very enjoyable, old and nowhere near the energy of his La LAs (which are very young still) but super solid wine and a gem for classic & aged Hermitage lovers like us. Very good 92
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4/27/2019 - ericindc Likes this wine: 92 Points
Northern Rhone Dinner at Marc's (DC/Silver Spring MD): Sweet black fruit on the nose. Black fruit, some light earth notes, olive, blood. Sharp acid with modest tannins that still have structure. Still pretty young, long life ahead of this.
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2/1/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
La Tablee: Legends Dinner w E. Guigal & after party (Daniel & SommTime): Appreciate what age can do for the wine. This is a bit more animal. A bit more feral. Slightly disjointed - something is missing - and yet it's still tasty.
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2/1/2019 - MWes Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ready to go from the start. Faded a bit over 3 hours. Really nice. My last bottle, but if I had any remaining bottles, I would drink them in the next 12-18 months. I don’t see this getting any better and only declining. Pretty impressive bottle of nearly 30 year old wine.
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1/29/2019 - Redline325 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Stood up for 5-6 hours as I was afraid of a decant which was the right call. A bit of funk blew off and revealed a intense nose of mushroom, leather, and nutmeg. Still full of red fruit, smoky meat, and tanning oil. After 2 hours it started to fall off so I would not recommend opening early or decanting. Wonderful wine, drink up.
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11/2/2018 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Small Rhone Tasting w/Aussie Ringer (R&D's): Single blind, courtesy of our hosts. A bit lighter and color with some bricking, this is likely one of the Guigals or Grange based on appearance alone. Starts off with just a hint of a vegetal note which fades into tobacco, currants, rose and herbs. Medium-bodied, with flavors of currants, plum, pepper and red berry fruit. Develops additional aromas of lavender, floral spice and strawberry. Lovely. 93-94 pts. I guessed this was the Cote Rotie.
My #4, Domino’s #4
Group #5, 25 pts
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10/8/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
Tasted after Chapoutier’s 1998 Hermitage La Sizeranne, this was more evolved in colour and on the nose - dark fruit, leather, cured meat, spices. Really dense with good fruit on the palate, soft tannins, good acidity, fine length. No rush drinking up. 91-93
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3/14/2018 - kenv Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dinner with Dan H (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): [Pop n pour.] Tar, licorice, blackberry nose. Long and delicious. Spicy black fruit. At the beginning of its peak drinking window. Rich and expansive. Has no issue following all these good Burgs.
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1/28/2018 - yinha Likes this wine: 88 Points
Cork in good condition though saturated. Brief decant; nosey opened up to pleasant mature barnyard. Not a lot of other complexity on the nose. Lively and still quite vibrant fruit on the palate; though somewhat linear profile per other reviews. Overall, very pleasing mature Hermitage that is in the prime drinking window. No need to wait further in my view. Served with Cote d'boeuf.
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9/8/2017 - paul195 wrote: 87 Points
Paired with the 1999
Ruby core with maturing rim. Clearly a more mature and ready for action than the 1999. Nose of sweet cherry fruit with hints of smoke and earth. The palate was more dark cherries, pepper and earthly complexity. Great texture, good acidity and persistence, lush finish. This is a notch better than the last bottle a few years ago. Hitting on all cylinders
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4/2/2017 - dagij Likes this wine: 94 Points
Always a bit afraid when opening wines this age, but this time there was no reason to be afraid. Deep red with a clearly brown rim. Wonderful and intense aromas of sweet black cherries and prunes with a dusty, earthy tone in addition to smoke, all adding up to great aromatic complexity. Full bodied, velvety attack in the mouth, coats the mouth with sweet cherry fruit, surprisingly high acidity, sweet tannins, long and fresh aftertaste with tones of warm earth, slate under the sweet fruit. A very positive surprise.
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11/25/2016 - DBenke wrote: 91 Points
Menthol, great fruit. Still has time. Nose is leather, Menthol, clean bright red fruit. Earth.
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8/31/2016 - bablues wrote: 94 Points
This was an amazing bottle. I disagree with most of the recent tasting notes, but I do admit that I don't have much experience drinking aged Northern Rhones. If they are better than this, then I can't wait to have those experiences.
This was showing no signs of age in it's color. The nose was full of dark fruit and spices with some Tabaco and motor oil. The palate was powerful and delicious with smoke and lush dark fruit and a very long finish. Bravo!
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5/28/2016 - nbrue wrote:
This wine was for English tastes. Fully mature and with leather and some loss of fruit it was nonetheless appealing with the chicken liver appetizer. This was my last bottle and I should have consumes several years ago.
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2/22/2016 - ledwards wrote: 91 Points
Pleasant but sterile in style- nothing out of place but doesn't jump out at you either.
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2/11/2016 - Per-Harald Likes this wine: 92 Points
Almost no signs of aging, dark red to brick red, tastes almost by blood and forest grouse breast. Highly concentrated, yet elegant Hermitage, dark berries, pepper and a little touch of smoke and oak, fresh and balanced. A perfect wine now for deer, elk, or a bloody beef steak
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11/19/2015 - Per-Harald wrote: 92 Points
Is this a little too perfect?, A little too smooth ?, but do not misunderstand, an excellent wine, everything is done correctly, a textbook wine, perfect color, smell, and taste for a 1990 Rhone, but is it a little boring?. Is it old or young, we somehow disagreed. Someone said, probably from a big manufacturer that provides solid quality, and that's right. But it gets a little boring after a while, almost like drinking coca cola. If you still have some bottles in the cellar, put it away for a few more years, let it be a bit older, then it might get a little more personality
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9/9/2015 - Border Boss Likes this wine: 92 Points
Double decanted a couple of hours before service. This is still a big and young wine. Classic barnyard nose with good cassis fruit and good acidity. Paired pretty well with slow roasted pork shoulder with hoisin sauce. At least 15 years of good drinking left.
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7/19/2015 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 89 Points
Rhone Tasting: A bit stewy on the nose, but plenty alive with dark berries and earth. Still going strong with medium tannins, medium-low acid, the fig, plum cake, and dried black cherries mix with peppery-spice, loam and dusty soil. A bit hesitant at times but plenty of structure.
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6/17/2015 - paul195 wrote: 92 Points
Bright ruby red core, beautiful nose of dark red fruits, pepper and tar. Initially quite youthful and engaging on the palate. Balanced, nice texture with a med finish. After and hour in the glass the texture became more velvety, the palate revealed secondary elements of smoked meat, spice and violets. At maturity, drinking very well
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6/8/2015 - aajder wrote: 88 Points
Fading color. The nose shows aromas of smoke, earth, dark berries, flowers and iron. This is fairly full bodied on the palate, with good concentration and decent finesse. The tannins are a bit drying now and it seems this may be past its best. Medium plus length on the finish.
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5/24/2015 - Tpmess wrote: 90 Points
not tired at all, rich cherry with smokiness and tobacco and spice
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4/15/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
International Wine and Food Society Dinner (goosefoot - Chicago IL): Open several hours before serving with a quick double decant. Lots of maturing black fruit with great black pepper and licorice. Very good now. Tasted from several bottles, consistent notes.
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3/25/2015 - acidqueen wrote: 93 Points
Another final, lovely bottle. Medium red, lighter rim. Deep, rich, red cherry syrup. Slight brett, which blew off quickly. Tobacco, cedar, earth. So sad to drink the last one, but it was very good.
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2/14/2015 - LW31 wrote: 89 Points
On the decline. Nose was still earthy, bloody and mineral, but finish was short and dry. Should have drunk 3-4 years back.
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11/27/2014 - BklynNeophyte wrote: 94 Points
Great. 24 years old
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10/29/2014 - Bruce 1er Likes this wine: 95 Points
Earthy bouquet. This bottle seemed more complex than the last time I tasted it, showing flavors of roasted meat, iron, minerals, and briar. Exceptional depth. In beautiful condition, although in my opinion it is now at or slightly past its peak.
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8/9/2014 - Geoff Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tremendous nose of dark fruit, camphor, smoke and some flowers. Full bodied with plenty of tannins left and the fruit starting to fade just a bit. A little out of synch with the fruit and tannins. Long long finish. Very pleasing wine.
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3/24/2014 - jhngo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Wow blood iron wet oak fruit good still intact crispy acid a bit rough on tannins finish is deep mineraly. A little more advanced than other big names.
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2/9/2014 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Second Sunday Group: Older California Pinots (Barb's): My first tatse, poured just a couple of minutes after the bottle was opened, was uninspiring to say the least. It displayed a dominant ash overtone, with weedy red fruit underneath. About thirty minutes later, Domino poured a glass- meat, red fruit, pepper, spice and dark fruit aromas. Red fruit, roasted game and pepper flavors on the palate. Long finish with plenty of fruit. Give this a brief decant or some time in the glass to open. Drinking extremely well with a bit of air.
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1/30/2014 - Geoff Likes this wine: 94 Points
Garnet color, aromas of dark fruit with secondary notes. Medium-full bodied, tannins resolved. Palate reinforced the nose. Long finish. Beautiful wine.
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12/21/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Very impressive. Mature nose of dark fruit, meats, spice, earth and iron. Full and rich on the palate. Covers your tongue with a complete mix of flavors that match the nose. Nice sweetness. Long finish. Smooth. Probably at its peak.
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11/8/2013 - Tantamnt wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful example of a mature medium weight Hermitage. Now an elegant wine with no single aspect dominating. Indeed the pieces are harmonious to the point that it barely resembles the previous bottles I've drunk in the last few years.
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10/22/2013 - Druidh wrote: 94 Points
Flat out delicious. Perfect maturity. Dark fruit, earth and leather in proper proportions.
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10/15/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Double Blind Wine Dinner @ Le Provençal (266 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL): The wine looks Purple colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Blackberry, Blueberry, and Forest floor. The body is Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Long. Pablo's wine.
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9/3/2013 - Bruce 1er Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still showing very good fruit especially plums. A little rustic in the finish now. And considerably faded (showing more brown in the rim) and past its peak.
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7/7/2013 - Ron Slye wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful wine Bright red color. Looks like there is a lot of life left in this. Nose of cigar, cedar, dark cherries. Nice red fruit on the palate, with secondary notes of tobacco and leather. Quite delicious.
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2/1/2013 - Vmaster007 wrote: 93 Points
robe d'un rouge profond et intrigant. Le nez est magnifique, des arômes de fraises des bois, cerises rouges et des pointes végétales et de vanille. En bouche, c'est un vin superbe, les tannins sont encore présents, des épices fines, des fraises, une raisonnance enrobante... De la réglisse et une légère touche de poivre blanc. Très beau vin auquel il reste encore plusieurs années. Belle évolution dans le verre.
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7/1/2012 - acidqueen wrote: 94 Points
Another outstanding bottle of this wine. This may be one of the best I have had so far. Medium red, no sign of age. Smells of cherries, leather, tobacco and cedar. Fine flavors of bitter Amarena cherry, along with blueberries and tar. Not a hint of the slight rancio flavors I had in the last bottle - this one is perfectly mature, but not at all old. Lovely acid balance. Wonderful with food. I do believe that this wine will hold up for a few years, so I am in no rush to drink it up. Silky, elegant, and everything you could ask for in an aged Hermitage. This bottle was decanted for only 1-2 hours, it gets better and better as it remains open.
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4/7/2012 - mdvino63 wrote: 91 Points
I'd say acidqueen hit it on the head with her note. This wine really opens up after about 2-3 hours decanted. Lovely fruit and spice complexity. At about 3 hours a nice meatiness begins to develop, which make this more interesting. Good stuff! (91 -92).
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3/3/2012 - acidqueen wrote: 92 Points
Another beautiful bottle of this wine. Garnet w slight bricking at edge. Showing slightly mature notes, but it is not old. It drinks like a Burgundy in style and elegance. Peppery, wth dark cassis flavors, as well as earthy, mushroom flavors. Still with some dusty dry tannins on the finish. Needs decanting for sure. Wonderfully mature and at its peak, but it seems to be holding at this level and probably for a few years.
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2/23/2012 - LMK wrote: 91 Points
At its peak, very enjoyable. Decanted for 3hours.
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1/29/2012 - acidqueen wrote: 93 Points
Clear medium brick red, mature but not old. Black fruits, orange peel, good acid. Bitter sweet cherries in syrup. Some tannins left but smoothed out with food. Elegant, silky wine. I really love this wine - so flavorful, so smooth, great balance. So easy to drink.
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1/2/2012 - Neurowine1 wrote: 86 Points
Out of 375cc. Very different than the wine I drank 3 years ago (also from a 375). Now more subdued with less depth, but still great ripe red fruit, tar, and quite a bit of acid. I really liked this wine which has now turned rather burgundian (sort of Maranges-like). As a burgundy guy I really dug that, but was much more characteristic 3 years ago. I dont see this improving with time but it is drinking well at the moment. Still nice the next night with more smoke and meat coming through.
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9/17/2011 - Tantamnt wrote: 91 Points
Dark rich berry nose with some earth but very composed. Wood and earth were there but subdued and in harmony with the medium full intensity fruit. Developed slowly with airing but always delightful. Good amount of sediment, should have decanted it.
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6/16/2011 - d'Artagnan wrote: 93 Points
Un petit bijou arrivé à maturité avec encore du fruit, des arômes secondaires subtils et fins, une belle longueur et une finale toute en fraicheur. Pas le plus ample mais une petite merveille.
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5/27/2011 - acidqueen wrote: 94 Points
Drank this wine with a filet mignon pan-sauted in the same wine (crazy!), shallots, Spanish paprika and lavendar. Both before dinner and with dinner this wine was outstanding. Although now 21 years old, this wine is a medium red with no brown at the edge, and has fine, dusty tannins on the finish. It really does need decanting. On first opening, there were notes of barnyard, leather, tobacco and a whiff of camphor. After time in the glass, the leather stayed, but added kumquat, plum and dark jammy fruits in the nose and mouth. It continued to evolve in a very nice way through and after dinner. Nice balance and acidity. This wine is silky smooth - one of those wines that makes you want to open a second and probably won't give you a hangover the next day. Although this wine drinks beautifully now, I don't see any reason that this won't hold for awhile given the tannin, fruit and acid balance here. It continued to develop from opening through dinner and 3 hours later - I suspect it will be good tomorrow as well, but won't have any left to try out. Superb, and why I love good Hermitage. Glad I have another 11 bottles left.
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3/6/2011 - jsebiri wrote:
nice rhone wine , getting on....lacking fruit.....liked it
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2/26/2011 - pkatz wrote: 91 Points
Still pretty vibrant. Excellent.
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2/3/2011 - dream wrote: flawed
Corked. mofo as I love this wine and was so excited to taste my last bottle.
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12/24/2010 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
Xmas Eve Dinner: Alcohol :: 13%
Despite decanted for 5hrs, this 20yrs old hermitage show youthful dark ruby colour with expressive pure sweet dark fig, plum Provencal herb and spices with some secondary note of earthy, mushroom aromas and wild game tones that's very seductive and complex. Still posses good weight and dense, lush sweet dark fruits, some dusty element that distract a bit but this quickly rescued by the sweet fig, peppery and round mineral that form a very smooth texture showing good harmonious, depth and sense of elegance, mineral long finish with touch of roasted herbs. At its peak, very enjoyable with this should have no problem to hold for another 10yrs. Buy - Maybe.
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11/13/2010 - jrobs7777 wrote: 90 Points
Rhone Varietal Tasting (Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia)): Funk on the nose blows off. Gamey, earthy and secondary on the nose, but there is a bit of more delicate red fruit peeking through as well. Nice structure with great secondary notes. Black pepper, bell pepper, leather. Nice finish. 20 years on, this is still in a good spot and while I do not see it lasting in this spot for many more years, it is really nice right now.
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11/13/2010 - ews3 wrote: 89 Points
Syrahs and other Rhone varietals (Roberts House): funky nose, but it blows off a bit. looking through that is a wonderfully secondary and fully evolved palate. stewed meat, black fruit, and sweet spice. nice acidic structure keeps it fresh. the finish is med(-) and a little bit watery.
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5/12/2010 - Druidh wrote: 95 Points
Amazing wine. Nose of leather, dark fruit, herbs and smoke. Taste was full of dark cherries, cinnamon and cardamon. Still some tannin and some wonderful acidity. Beautiful long finish. Fully mature but not showing any signs of deteriorating. Perfect with a cassoulet with duck confit.
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4/30/2010 - chrisa23 wrote: 88 Points
red and black fruits, leather tobacco. Enjoyable but lacking in some ways
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3/19/2010 - astroman wrote:
Amazingly young with no indiication of it's age at all. Hints of barnyard and earth w sone chlorine. Suprising youthful. Great wine but not my kind
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1/15/2010 - sleepyhaus wrote:
Starts immediately with a solid serving of tapenade. Black olive and oil on nose and palate. Then a strong barnyard component steps up, but this is the venue for it. Leather, blood, tart fruit, and always olives. Even a slight hint of cream on the nose at some points.
Very nice wine in a really good place. Tannins resolved but you can still sense them on the finish. No bricking, very youthful in color. Very lightly done compared with more modern Syrahs, but very flavorful. I enjoyed this very much.
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12/13/2009 - Rick-again wrote: 93 Points
very nice, good color, nose of herbs and pepper, well integrated tannins , spice and undelying mouth coating cherries - went with mushrooms so well.
This wine is ready ready to drink and is not likely to get better - drink up
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9/19/2009 - Tantamnt wrote: 92 Points
Very nice bottle! Sl. Leather at first but opened to a symphony of black fruit and slightly toasty oak.
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9/8/2009 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Let me tell you something, when you open a bottle of red after midnight, you really don’t need it…. I’m glad we did open this though. This was a fresh, energetic bottle that had a big heart of sweet cassis is blood plum and was tinged with tar and earth. There’s a bit of horsey bret and some camphor and mint notes.
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8/1/2009 - Biggsy wrote: 94 Points
Garnet with a brick rim. Lovely soft nose with jammy raspberry fruits, smoke and a hint of vanilla. Medium body with good acidity and rich smooth tannins. Intense deep flavours, long into the throat. Sweet red fruits, mixed nuts, smoky tobacco, leather and pepper. Sweet vanilla coated almonds in the long finish. Superb.
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3/26/2009 - bpj87 wrote: 91 Points
From 375mL. Resolved tannins. Full profile of barnyard, dark fruits, blood, and decent acidity.
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2/6/2009 - Old Claret wrote: 90 Points
(90-93) Drank with Paul at Brasserie Beck, alongside Paul’s 1989 Chateneauf-de-Pape Pegau. We liked it better than the Pegau! While the Pegau was fuller, meatier, and more masculine, this wine tasted like a Pomerol. Very fine, indeed.
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12/2/2008 - dream wrote: 93 Points
Great dark color still. Drinking beautifully with a lovely complexity of smoky black fruits with yummy lavendar/violet notes. Still full and powerful and capable of aging much longer. Still, this sang with Osso Buco.
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11/25/2008 - Siggy wrote:
Tasting Group Dinner - Northern Rhône (Fugaise, Minneapolis): Amazingly bretty nose -- I believe Brad's term was "1990 Montrose squared." Accompanying the barnyard smells and flavors are layers of iron, dried herbs, dark fruit, smoke, and leather. This is medium-bodied, complex, and quite delicious if you don't mind a bit of horse in your glass. Not sure if this bottle was 100% representative?
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11/25/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Mpls does Northern Rhone (Chave, Guigal, Jaboulet, Chapoutier, Clape, more): Another great bottle of wine. The nose features red fruit and a bit of barnyard/brett. I found this to be complimentary, but others found it off-putting. On the palate this is very structured, very tannic and very drying but with a good cherry and spice flavor that balanced this out pretty well. I had a slight preference for this 1990 over the 1978, but I don't think that was the consensus pick.
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11/1/2008 - stoneb wrote: 90 Points
Vibrant ruby color. Powerful bouquet of dark fruit, spice, and just a hint of earth. Poured carefully from a tipped-up bottle; fair amount of sediment. Delicious, classic Hermitage: bluberry/cherry, maybe a little prune, spice, and earth. Somewhat lacking in complexity, but thoroughly enjoyale. Both the nose and flavors faded considerably after about 2 hours; agree with others that it's getting time to drink this up. If decanting, keep the air time fairly short before serving.
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10/15/2008 - bevetroppo wrote: 83 Points
Seriously disappointing. This well-stored bottle had no real life and only vague varietal/terroir characteristics. Dominated by what one taster described as a "stalky" or vegetal quality, it tasted to me oddly like a tomato. It did not taste "old", just strange, as though possessed by an alien. We did not finish more than half the bottle.
After posting my note and reading the other reviews, it seems this wine is subject to pretty severe bottle variation. Mine wasn't very good, but clearly others had memorably positive experiences. Caveat emptor.
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10/7/2008 - jordanj wrote: 92 Points
Much better than the last bottle I had (from same purchase and cellar). The color was perhpas a tad darker and more youuthful. The nose was extremely complex that just grew deeper and bolder as it sat it the glass. Notes of dirt and forest floor, sauteed pepper steak with sauted mushrooms, some plum, overripe cherry, and spices-eventually some hints at orange peel and shoe polish/rubber. The mouthfeel shows its age where it is a bit lean and acidic. The finish is pleasant but dominated by a black pepper taste. I think this bottle was an example of as good as this wine can get at this age. Fully mature and won't get any better, but still highly enjoyable. Also very old world in style.
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8/9/2008 - IAMVLAD wrote: 90 Points
plenty of life left. great fruit concentration and balance. very much a over ripe sensation but in a good way.
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7/7/2008 - jordanj wrote: 90 Points
Dinner at Carlos' (Carlos'-Highland Park, IL): tasty with still some life in it. May not hold on much longer but for simple wine it still has some charm left.
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7/7/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 90 Points
Dinner with Friends (Carlos' Resturaunt, Highwood IL): nose: great resolved and full nose of dark spices, black cherries, black pepper, roasted meats, and anise. Classic hermitage nose that is well balanced
taste: wonderful resolved tannins and acidity with well balanced flavors of black pepper, dark spices, black cherry, and roasted meats
overall: an excellent hermitage. It got lost a bit in the burg fireworks and the montrose, but this is an outstanding wine that is drinking great with a nice full and resolved attack of black pepper and dark spices with a good medium finish of black cherry
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6/10/2008 - winefool wrote: 91 Points
IWFSC 736th Dinner (The Racquet Club): Well, what a difference a bottle makes. From the same purchase and same cellar as the bottle from 4 months ago, this didn't show anywhere near as well - lacking all the classic Hermitage character of smokey bacon and black pepper that the previous bottle(s) had. This was full deep red in color with big bright briar red fruit on the nose. Nice round red fruit with just a hint of sweet left on the palate along with decent structure and acidity. Actually a very nice wine itself, it just wasn't the pleasant surprise the past bottles have been. Maybe it was a root day!
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6/1/2008 - FakeAccount wrote: 92 Points
Currently at peak. Drink them if you got them.
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5/25/2008 - jmg1949 wrote: flawed
Cork in good shape. Good color. Not much on the nose. Sour taste. Suspect bad bottle. At least I hope so as I have 4 more left.
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5/10/2008 - cortoncharlie wrote: 90 Points
Lots of sediment. Dense cherry red color. Very ripe and floral on the nose. Somewhat simple old age syrah. Good but not great.
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5/4/2008 - cweiss wrote:
From 375 at Molana. A little VA at first that blew off, leaving pretty syrah fruit. Nice enough, but monolithic.
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2/21/2008 - jsebiri wrote: 92 Points
unreal nose , i like this v-much .....in the mouth this was good as well......maybe a bit flat on the palatte
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2/12/2008 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
IWFSC 732nd Dinner (Primehouse): Another really strong showing for this wine - well above my expectations. Full deep purple red color. Huge nose of ripe black boysenberry with bacon notes. Lovely big ripe black fruit on the palate with clear coffee notes. 94+ pts.
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10/28/2007 - Javs wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well...classic hermitage terroir.
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10/7/2007 - LeechDogg wrote:
Brett stands out, but good with food!
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6/15/2007 - otisabdul wrote: 93 Points
Still going strong, with lots of bacon fat, grilled meat, and roasted blackberry aromas and flavors. It needed about an hour of air before it put on enough weight to truly strut its stuff. Interesting white pepper and licorice snap nuances on the finish. Drink now through 2011.
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6/15/2007 - Milhous wrote:
not the best bottle i've had over the years. This one exhibited slightly clunky character and some rustic tannins. Very different from previous couple of cases. hmm?
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4/20/2007 - gorm wrote: 93 Points
Wine battle 2 (Niels' place): Dark brown with some sediment. Another mature and great nose of tobacco, leather, barnyard, some herbal notes. Very intense and with a long aftertaste. The Guigal 1990's are performing very well indeed tonight. Rating: 93-94.
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3/31/2007 - Quinn_cab wrote: 92 Points
Needed 60 minutes of air to start comming around. At peak or slightly past.
Notes of tobacco, earth and meat are pronounced, but still plenty of fruit hanging around to make this wine interesting. A short finish (with a slight metalic aftertaste) keep this from scoring higher.
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3/10/2007 - Will wrote:
Better than I remembered, well integrated and ready to drink with nice tertiary aromas (leather, tobacco) but still lacking a bit in terms of complexity and length. In short a very good and satisfying Hermitage, but not a mind-boggling experience for this vintage.
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3/10/2007 - RobK wrote: 92 Points
solid core of fruit joined by earth and leather notes. Opened a couple of hours before consuming and decanted. The wine opened up and got better and better. Very good if not excellent.
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12/3/2006 - baroloboy55 wrote: 92 Points
Very fine wine. On the upslope toward maturity. Concentrated, Structured. Lots of wild, gamy sryrah aromaitcs around dark broodig fruit. Still seems young
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5/13/2006 - JeffGMorris wrote: 91 Points
Bernard Antony Ceremonie des Fromages with Steve & Barb. Garnet in color, this wine seemed to me to be at peak, though in no danger of falling off quickly. Beautiful sweet nose followed by a medium to medium+ bodied palate that was rich and glyceral. 50+13+12+8+8 = 91
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4/7/2006 - beachbum wrote: 94 Points
First mature bottle, after a rather vigorous double decant with substantial deposits, the wine had about an hour or so to the restaurant. Tasted with a nice flight of N Rhones, this was showing maturity, but was still dense and dark red on the rim. The aromatics were very cool lavender, sweet violets and some saddle leather. The wine was medium bodied, was very elegant and smooth as it carressed the palate. Soy sauce, smoke, black fruit, hints of rhone herbs and precise balance were all melded toghther in a package where nothing sticks out. Tannins resolved, but still ample acidity. Well done, and no hurry on the remaining bottles (10 years i am sure). But I did store them well from release in 1995.
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3/4/2006 - cweiss wrote:
Steak Diane w B&R. Dark young color, Good syrah gaminess w/o brett. Very good intensity. Good wine. Last bottle , though could certainly last and perhaps improve
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3/1/2006 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Older Rhones - Group #6, My #4 - Full deep purple. Forward round purple fruit with anise hints and leather. Rich red fruit wit hpepper notes and a long finish. Well-balanced. 3/06
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12/2/2005 - shine wrote: 91 Points
Opened two bottles for an informal gettogether. There was notable bottle variation. The first was more rustic with smoke and earth on the nose. On the palate, it was a little tired with earthiness, black pepper and meaty flavors and just a hint of fruit. It was stll very enjoyable.
The second bottle had a more prominent nose with floral scents and berry fruit. It filled the mouth with fruit and spice against a backround of earthiness and a hint of the meaty flavors. The fruit finish seemed to go on forever.
The first bottle tasted like it was just past it's peak. The second had many years left. I would give the first bottle a 89 and the second a 93.
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11/13/2005 - johnleeper wrote: 93 Points
Needed about an hour after decanting to open up. Feminine like mouthfeel with black fruits and pepper being prominent. The wine was delicious paired with rare venison, polenta, mushrooms and kale.
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10/20/2005 - cweiss wrote:
Still quite youthful in color, very good syrah fruit with just enough funk; no hurry to drink full bottles.
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7/10/2005 - JasonD wrote: 89 Points
Northern Rhones with Guillaume Deschamps and Richard Beeken in Seattle (Kaspar's): Dark ruby color. Lots of Barnyard, evergreen, black pepper and blackberry aromas. The palate was nicely balanced but the finish ended a bit to quickly.
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6/4/2005 - thomaskeil wrote: 89 Points
Very dark color with some browning on the rim and a little into the glass. Decanted 2 hours with quite a lot of sediment being thrown. Not much on the nose initially, but 3 hours after decanting this opened up and was all about meat and dark cherries. There were some other things going on but this was a wine you almost wanted to chew it was so 'solid'. Nice finish too. Still with good structure to last a few more years. Not sure where this is going, however. Will plan on consuming the final bottle in the next year.
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4/23/2005 - Will wrote:
Nice hermitage with lots of funk on the nose at first but then the fruit comes back and shines through. It showed according to expectations but didn't particularly impress me. Good wine but nothing special. Probably at peak and to be drunk in the next couple of years.
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1/29/2005 - Ben Andersen wrote:
$30 retail in 1996. I should have loaded up as this is really impressive stuff. Although it is showing well now, it still has much life ahead of it in a decent cellar. Dark color. Old-school aromas of black fruit, tar and tobacco. Well structured. Less perfumed than a '91 Jamet Cote-Rotie (see TN) drunk earlier in the evening. Unfortunately, my last bottle.
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12/26/2004 - Topper wrote: 89 Points
This bottle was slightly past it's prime. Still some fruit and structure but slightly bricked and began to fall apart an hour or two after opening. Definitely drink these up soon.
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12/15/2004 - jdl wrote: 92 Points
Definitely not over the hill as previously thhought. Still has beautiful bouquet and drk ruby color delivers full mouthfulls of flavor. Doesn't taste like rasberrys, cinamon, etc. Tastes like a great Syrah.
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11/29/2004 - jdl wrote: 88 Points
Slightly cloudy. Has definitely reached its peak. Consume within the year
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10/1/2004 - Eric wrote: 91 Points
Seattle Tasting Group does older Northern Rhône reds (Bellevue, WA, USA): A slightly odd nose with putty, mineral, clove, and then some leathery, bretty smells which added a lot of intrigue to the wine. Much lighter in complexion than some of the other wines and offering less sweetness, this was still gorgeous in a more Burgundian vein, pretty and feminine. The palate showed loads of salty minerals with very little sweetness. To me this actually still seems pretty tightly wound, although perhaps it will dry out long before the tannin is resolved. I enjoyed this more than most of the other tasters.
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6/5/2004 - otisabdul wrote: 94 Points
Dark purple color, with hardly any signs of age. Explosive blackberry nose that you could smell several feet away right from the first pour. Some interesting tea and cardamom nuances. No brett or Rhone stink, whatsoever. On the palate, there is a core of intense black raspberry fruit and razor sharp black pepper, with some bacon fat lurking in the background. Still full of vibrant acidity and sturdy tannins, this wine is probably at its peak and will probably hold there for another 2-3 years. A terrific match with my meal (a duck-breast and leg-confit composition with a green peppercorn sauce).
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5/17/2004 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 88 Points
Tasting six Rhones, sixth place. Brilliant, red, rich color in the glass. Lovely rich fruity nose with cedar and tobacco on the nose and palate, medium amount of very soft tannins present, short finish.
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2/17/2002 - JeffGMorris wrote:
Bacon and dark fruit on the nose. Resolved tannins with ripe bosenberry and some pepper. Very enjoyable.
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