jamesdlandis
Member #54,372 signed up 6/10/2008
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berko
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Tim Heaton
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Member #54,372 signed up 6/10/2008
52 Tasting Notes
9,893 Tasting Notes
This member's profile is not public.
NV Les Caves du Sieur d'Arques Crémant de Limoux Aimery 1531 Cremant Brut Rosé
6/24/2021 - jamesdlandis Likes this wine: 90 Points
One person's "sweet" (as below) is another person's "bone dry" (as below).
Ain't wine tasting just great.
I've long concluded as a wine-writer and perhaps excessive -drinker, that one can--and people do--say absolutely anything concerning an impression of/opinion about a particular wine and be, basically, unchallengeable.
Subjectivity is tyranny (except when it's one's own).
As for this wine, what a surprise it was last night, with a slightly spicy shrimp and rice dish. I have a friend who serves only the best (vintage and -non) Champagnes, and I (for perhaps obvious, at least to me, reasons) serve mostly Cavas, good ones, too (speaking subjectively). But this wine surpassed almost all of them.
I'd go with "fruity," by the way. (And rich, for a sparkling wine. And, as it were, filling.)
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2009 Navarro Vineyards Syrah
11/30/2020 - jamesdlandis Likes this wine: 88 Points
Am a big fan of Navarro wines, especially their whites.
I would have given this wine a higher rating had I not, by coincidence, opened it while still drinking a Baker Hill 2007 Sonoma Coast Syrah, which was its superior (let's say a 90 on day 1, 91 on day 2, 93 on day 3, when it went happily --for me; I can't speak for the wine--away).
This Navarro was also better on its day 2, but I still think it's ready to be opened. The smoky fruit on its nose becomes a muted fruit on the tongue, wholly delightful but lacking depth.
Nonetheless, this is a fine cool climate California Syrah. Should I encounter another vintage at least 10 years old, I'll hope to open it, or to have it opened, for me to try.
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1988 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert
10/30/2020 - jamesdlandis wrote: 95 Points
Drunk two nights ago (Oct. 28, 2020) accompanying lamb shoulder cooked in Syrah.
The two other Syrahs served that night were the 1998 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle and the Guigal 1990 Hermitage.
To me and my wine-collector friend (and his Burgundy-exclusively-loving-wife), this was by far the wine of the night.
It exploded in the mouth with fruit and perfect acidity/letting go of tannins, and it produced in the eyes (mine, at least) a misting of pleasure.
The other (highly regarded) two wines were shy and withdrawn when opened, but with two hours in a large Riedel Syrah glass, they began to show much greater forthcomingness and depth.
So I would not bet against them besting the Crozes, but in a decade or two.
In the meantime, if you can find this Thalabert (or perhaps others from highly regarded vintages), give it/them a try. I would guess they are great bargains.
My wife tweeted a photo of the Thalabert bottle with its original $9.99 price tag. Her two tweets received over 100,000 impressions.
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