Dinner at Pompette (Chicago, IL): Wow, that's some serious bottle variation from the last time I had it. This bottle is clean, with nary a hint of brett, and features a generous amount of red (surprisingly, given the vintage) fruit coupled with intense saline and meat notes that don't show up until this wine has been exposed to a good amount of air. Very elegant and light, especially in the context of syrah, but impressive complexity here. A very nice bottle that reaffirms my love of Sorrel. One of the very few Hermitage producers worth a damn.
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January Rhônes (Chicago, IL): Sweet and porty, and not pleasantly so. A distinct lack of acid and lift here; this is really plodding and difficult to drink. A big whiff here.
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Hospice Auction Wine Night (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): We weren't planning to serve any reds until later in the night. However, some of the guests looked daunted by all the champagne, whites and sauternes, so down to the cellar we went. This is a forward, flavorful Northern Rhone, mostly dominated by dark berries, but some fun cured meat and herbs. It did the trick.
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My wife and I are normally aligned but I loved this and she hated it. I found it beautifully fragrant and very powerful. Still felt very young and its best days are ahead of it.
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Interestingly, this opened up tight and subdued, but with air this unfolds to show blueberry fruit, lots of blueberry fruit, if not blueberry pie, flowers and spices. If I was served this blind, I would have guessed Barossa Shiraz. Big and dense, ripe, edgy tannins and a ton of blue fruit, 15% alc. This is young, way to young, but I still wonder if this will ever show true Hermitage character. ‘Bon Vivant’ is spot on btw.
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10/7/2022 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Pompette (Chicago, IL): Wow, that's some serious bottle variation from the last time I had it. This bottle is clean, with nary a hint of brett, and features a generous amount of red (surprisingly, given the vintage) fruit coupled with intense saline and meat notes that don't show up until this wine has been exposed to a good amount of air. Very elegant and light, especially in the context of syrah, but impressive complexity here. A very nice bottle that reaffirms my love of Sorrel. One of the very few Hermitage producers worth a damn.
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1/31/2022 - acyso wrote: 83 Points
January Rhônes (Chicago, IL): Sweet and porty, and not pleasantly so. A distinct lack of acid and lift here; this is really plodding and difficult to drink. A big whiff here.
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11/20/2021 - WST Likes this wine:
Hospice Auction Wine Night (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): We weren't planning to serve any reds until later in the night. However, some of the guests looked daunted by all the champagne, whites and sauternes, so down to the cellar we went. This is a forward, flavorful Northern Rhone, mostly dominated by dark berries, but some fun cured meat and herbs. It did the trick.
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2/27/2021 - phynes wrote: 95 Points
My wife and I are normally aligned but I loved this and she hated it. I found it beautifully fragrant and very powerful. Still felt very young and its best days are ahead of it.
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1/19/2021 - pbaek wrote:
Interestingly, this opened up tight and subdued, but with air this unfolds to show blueberry fruit, lots of blueberry fruit, if not blueberry pie, flowers and spices. If I was served this blind, I would have guessed Barossa Shiraz. Big and dense, ripe, edgy tannins and a ton of blue fruit, 15% alc. This is young, way to young, but I still wonder if this will ever show true Hermitage character. ‘Bon Vivant’ is spot on btw.
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