Vertical w/2005. Decanted for 3 hours, served with lamb stew. Herbal nose, much lighter in color than expected with evident bricking, little to no fruit, medium bodied, short, slightly tannic finish. A bit over-the-hill, yet still somewhat enjoyable. Drink up.
2004 had the better nose; 2005 the better color, texture and finish.
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Final bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2010. Pristine condition (perfect level and cork) bottle, and the wine is in fine fettle too. Rich and concentrated but elegant and fresh, smoky and floral, crushed red berries and touches of forest floor and cedar, silky texture with the expected toasty, tannic grip on the finish, very good persistence. At peak, drinking beautifully.
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Eleventh bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2010. Pristine condition (perfect level and cork), but alas not a pristine bottle. The nose is very dull and a bit cardboardy without any terroir or varietal expression, the palate is supple but stripped of flavour and the finish has a rough edge. Not undrinkable but clearly faulty. Probably low-level TCA.
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New oak on the nose and new oak on the palate. It is like taking a bite out of a wood table. Dark soft concentrated very well mannered syrah fruit beneath. Silky tannin. I do not recall a wine that I have felt to be more manipulated by activity in the cellar. A generous interpretation would be to say this is a wine of its time, and such wines were necessary to bring focus and money to Cote Rotie. A less generous view would be to question why anyone would ever think a wine improved by so much unnecessary makeup. The critics' reviews when released as I recall did not caution how extraordinarily strong was the cellar imprint on this wine - a disservice in my view. Nor were their high scores qualified by the observation that they were appropriate only if you liked this very manipulated style, which probably explains why I bought it at the time. But just one bottle thank goodness.
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Tenth bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2011. Pristine condition, level < 0.5cm below the perfect cork. A blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier from seven vineyards, Le Clos, La Garde, and La Grande Plantée on the Côte Blonde, and La Pommière, Le Pavillon Rouge, Le Moulin, and La Viria on the Côte Brune, 38 months in 100% new oak. Opened three hours in advance. Very similar to my previous tasting note from March 2021. Wonderful aromatics on the nose (red berries, flowers, grilled red meat, apricot, nuts, smoke), very expressive for the vineyard, and supported by some oak spice; the cool and transparent palate is representative for the vintage, elegant weight (13% ABV), bright acifity, relatively light tannins; slightly sticky oak on the finish, very good resonance and length. Drink now and over the next few years.
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12/4/2023 - Eantnay wrote: 90 Points
Vertical w/2005. Decanted for 3 hours, served with lamb stew. Herbal nose, much lighter in color than expected with evident bricking, little to no fruit, medium bodied, short, slightly tannic finish. A bit over-the-hill, yet still somewhat enjoyable. Drink up.
2004 had the better nose; 2005 the better color, texture and finish.
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6/11/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 Points
Final bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2010. Pristine condition (perfect level and cork) bottle, and the wine is in fine fettle too. Rich and concentrated but elegant and fresh, smoky and floral, crushed red berries and touches of forest floor and cedar, silky texture with the expected toasty, tannic grip on the finish, very good persistence. At peak, drinking beautifully.
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5/29/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: flawed
Eleventh bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2010. Pristine condition (perfect level and cork), but alas not a pristine bottle. The nose is very dull and a bit cardboardy without any terroir or varietal expression, the palate is supple but stripped of flavour and the finish has a rough edge. Not undrinkable but clearly faulty. Probably low-level TCA.
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1/10/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:
New oak on the nose and new oak on the palate. It is like taking a bite out of a wood table. Dark soft concentrated very well mannered syrah fruit beneath. Silky tannin. I do not recall a wine that I have felt to be more manipulated by activity in the cellar. A generous interpretation would be to say this is a wine of its time, and such wines were necessary to bring focus and money to Cote Rotie. A less generous view would be to question why anyone would ever think a wine improved by so much unnecessary makeup. The critics' reviews when released as I recall did not caution how extraordinarily strong was the cellar imprint on this wine - a disservice in my view. Nor were their high scores qualified by the observation that they were appropriate only if you liked this very manipulated style, which probably explains why I bought it at the time. But just one bottle thank goodness.
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8/14/2022 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 Points
Tenth bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2011. Pristine condition, level < 0.5cm below the perfect cork. A blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier from seven vineyards, Le Clos, La Garde, and La Grande Plantée on the Côte Blonde, and La Pommière, Le Pavillon Rouge, Le Moulin, and La Viria on the Côte Brune, 38 months in 100% new oak. Opened three hours in advance. Very similar to my previous tasting note from March 2021. Wonderful aromatics on the nose (red berries, flowers, grilled red meat, apricot, nuts, smoke), very expressive for the vineyard, and supported by some oak spice; the cool and transparent palate is representative for the vintage, elegant weight (13% ABV), bright acifity, relatively light tannins; slightly sticky oak on the finish, very good resonance and length. Drink now and over the next few years.
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