Cote Rotie / Hermitage vs CDP

Peach Garden @ OCBC Building
Tasted Friday, July 1, 2011 by Sleepy Dave with 1,130 views

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2006 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Alcohol ::
    This was very tight, with both nose and palate dominated by loads of vanilla oak and structure, quite heavy too when served in the beginning of the dinner. But the wine started to come out from its shell toward the end of the dinner. Lovely nose that resemblance to the top end of a Puligny Montrachet, vanilla, lemon custard, yellow fruits and high tone of yellow floral. This possessed remarkable richness and concentration on the palate that is almost oily in texture. Stunning purity of sweet yellow fruits that is seductive and lush that coated the palate with care, opulent and powerful but the acidity started to kick in with loads of mineral that giving a very good lift to the wine. Very long, juicy finish with traces of new wood undertone. Already impressive at this stage but at the moment the wine is on the heavy side due to the oak that has yet integrated, but once it did, it will be one of the very stunning CDP Blanc. Patience is required, 5-7yrs? Buy - Maybe - Yes.

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Flight 2 (5 Notes)

  • 1970 Barrièr Côte-Rôtie

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Alcohol :: NA.
    Light brick red color that display mature bouquet, lots of funk, secondary note of barnyard, wet earth, intermixed with alcohol spices, dried flower and sweet raspberry, red cherry fruits that added better complexity to the aromas spectrum. Entry was smooth with high, lively acidity that mark the freshness for such old bottle and offered some complexity with its sour plum, red cherry, some meatiness and earth. Surprisingly there were still some tannin exist for better grip and leads to the long, slightly warm finish with sweet fig and dried tea leaves nuanced. Not necessary complex nor good depth but I very much like the liveliness and completeness of this bottle. Drinking very well now and I would suggest to drink this sooner than later. Buy - Maybe.

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  • 1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Alcohol :: 13%
    Deep ruby red with light rim. Tight, gentle aromas of meatiness, peppery spice, some herb and alcohol tone. The palate too is tight, or perhaps unyielding as the flavors are somewhat buried under the tannin and alcohol, but showing good depth in it. Finish is long, but quite alcoholic. The wine opened up more with more red cherry sweetness when tasted together with the fish in black bean sauce. After all, this is rather underwhelming, prefer the 1989. Buy - No.

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  • 1989 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Alcohol :: 13%
    Decanted for 8hrs. Bright, beautiful ruby red. Highly focus and precise, if not broad shoulder. Lots of attractive dark fruits, fig intermixed with roasted meat, dried herb and dash of pepper in the core. I really like the focus and precision here. While still a little tight, the palate already offers good depth and complexity. Fresh, linear and smooth. Very rich on the mid palate with impeccable balance and focus that lending lightness to the wine. I especially like the long finish that lingers effortlessly with spices and sweet dark fruits with good persistent. The wine showed more sweetness on the palate after sometime in the glass. Seriously, this definitely tasted much younger than it is and will continue to evolve for the next 5-7yrs. Nothing much to nail, except I found this lack of the finesse and class for a 89 La Chapelle. Buy - Maybe.

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  • 2000 Giaconda Shiraz Warner Vineyard

    Australia, Victoria, North East, Beechworth

    Alcohol :: 13%
    Opened for 4hrs. This tasted younger and more like a Cote Rotie instead of CDP compared to the previous bottle. Lovely color, dark core with light rim. The nose display plenty of licorice, kirsch, white pepper and bunches of perfume violet at the background. Complex with perfume and most importantly this has remarkable freshness and bright red fruits, obviously this is a cold climate wine. Very fresh on the palate too, intense, rich but not heavy. Sweetness comes at the end that blended perfectly with the very fine tannin which formed a very firm backbone with the concentrated red fruits and dry extract. Still pretty young, but this already display certain level of complexity. Polished and refine with detail, juicy finish. Very good indeed. Everyone of us guessing this was a Cote Rotie, well deceiving! Buy - Maybe - Yes.

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  • 2001 Jean-Michel Gerin Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Alcohol :: 13%
    Opened for 5hrs. I actually left out this bottle and only realize it when we disclose the wine. My bad. However, even served at the very end of the dinner, the wine remained terribly backward and tight. Nothing much on the nose, with the palate display very firm structure follow by almost palate staining of high level, but very fine tannin. This is quite simple today, but I believe when this getting mature, this will be a very delicious drink given the very good structure, fine, tannin, lively acid and underlying of fruits. If you have any of this wine, hand off for at least another 10yrs! Buy - No - Maybe.

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

  • 1998 Famille Gonnet Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Etienne Gonnet

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Alcohol :: 14.5%
    Opened for 60mins. A little cloudy, deep core but light rim with very expressive aromas of dried herb, red cherry fruits, licorice, earth and spiciness that is deep and focus. The palate showed even better, mature and drinking beautifully. Fresh and intense, lots of sweet, lush dark and red cherry fruits, very rich but everything remain well-balance and bright, with no sense of heaviness. Well focus with very good drive and mid palate depth too, if not on flavors complexity. The texture is creamy and round, sweet fig and some alcohol lifted spices and sweet tone that move toward to the long finish. Not the best CDP, perhaps will not last as long as the rest of the CDP tonight, but this was the most ready, complete for the night and obviously the wine of the night for many. Buy - Maybe - Yes.

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  • 2000 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Alcohol :: 15%
    Opened for 4hrs. Medium ruby, brown hue. A bit alcoholic, but this can’t cover the perfume aromas, lovely nose with roasted meat and herb, licorice, violet and high tone of kirsch liquor, clearly a CDP that display loads of depth and complexity despite the wine still being tightly coiled. Highly intense on the palate that coated with very rich and concentrated of sweet dark fruits that giving the very high level of fine grained tannin and oak a good buffer. This is still pretty young at this stage, muscular, structure and tannic. Stunning depth but not really expressive on the flavors with wild factor. Very well balance, with hoisin sauce, savory meatiness on the long, powerful finish with mineral undertone. This required many more years, say 7-10yrs to really show its potential. Buy - Maybe - Yes.

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  • 1999 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Alcohol :: 14.5%
    Compared to the 2000 VJ VV, this show better integration and readiness but by no mean it is mature and ready. The aromas are subtle, but intense. Expressive with its seductive sweet pure red cherry fruits, dried fig paste that complex with kirsch, dried herb and spices, expansive but remained highly focus. The palate is also intense and powerful, but with better integration of tannin and oak compared to the 2000 VJ VV hence the sense of harmonious and roundness. The inner core of complex dark fruits with seductive sweetness are tightly wrapped by loads of spices, dried tea leaves that move toward to the long, detail finish with depth, remarkable tension and touch of caramelize aftertaste. This is a powerful wine, but very fine with finesse and remained light on its feet thanks to the impeccable balance and acidity lift. A stunner that will benefit from the long haul. Will keep my last bottle for another 5yrs. Buy - Yes.

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  • 2003 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Alcohol :: 15.5%
    Opened for 8hrs then decanted for 2hrs. This wine has a very dark ruby core with purplish hue that display its youthfulness. Quite alcoholic on the nose, very tight and backward, with licorice and dark fruits buried underneath. The palate is more expressive but by no mean this is open for business. Powerful, muscular and almost voluptuous on the palate with highly concentrated of sweet dark fruits, opulent but all well-balance by the very solid backbone to avoid it being fleshy. Still very tannic but there is enough fruits concentration to counterbalance it and will only getting better with age. Flavors wise, this has a very unique taste of fresh milk and coconut candy which similar to the d’Yquem! Unlike some of the 2003 CDP, this has very bright fruits profile instead of over-ripe, burning tone. Finish is long and tight with very good drive. This is a blockbuster that required another yrs of bottle age to show. Buy - Maybe - Yes.

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