Tasted Thursday, November 3, 2011 by brooklynguy with 1,914 views
Amazing opportunity to drink many vintages of Verset with a great dinner prepared by Jaime Wolff. The wines were great as a whole. They showed no rusticity (i've had some rustic ones in the past), and were brilliantly clear and balanced. A great experience, and one that will be very difficult to repeat.
1988 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
The aromas are still youthful. This wine is drinking brilliantly now, with great clarity of aroma and flavor, vivid focus and striking grace. All class, absolutely delicious. So seamless that at times it's hard to separate any individual aroma or flavor from the total experience of the wine. A truly great bottle.
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1990 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Riper and richer than the 88, some autumnal character to the aromas, dried leaves? Again, great balance, good acidity, bloody, an with a prominent minerality, stone and iodine. This wine after a few hours became almost entirely savory - still lovely, but very tertiary.
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1993 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
gorgeous nose, brilliantly focused core of fruit and salty broth, wide open and generous, completely under control, fresh, vibrant, wet stone. The wine is a bit tannic still in the mouth, there is good acidity, the finish is very long. This is lovely wine, delicious and pleasing, not as complex as some of the other vintages, but in a great place for drinking now.
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1995 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
I didn't love this wine as much as the other tasters loved it, but I was almost alone in that feeling. I found a little alcohol on the nose, but this is picking nits. This is bigger and richer than many, with lots of iodine and blood on the nose, entirely young and still tight as a drum. The palate is very big, almost confusingly so, and I didn't find the harmony and grace that I typically find with Verset, but what's there is delicious. Loads of structure still, I would wait on this for another 10 years - literally.
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1997 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Black olives, tar, very mineral on the nose. This came across without the complexity of aroma that other vintages showed, but it is pure and clear, and I thought, delightful. A medium bodied wine that can surprise with its intensity of flavor, and the finish goes on and on.
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1998 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Gorgeous, gorgeous. One of my favorites of the night. Sweet fruit, iron, stone, blood on the nose with great focus and intensity. Structured and perfectly balanced, very supple. So very long and intense, and delicate. I loved this wine.
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1999 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Nose is almost impenetrable in its youth, but opened up somewhat over time. This seemed to be the most complete wine of all. It has everything - intensity, clarity, structure, balance, deliciousness, minerals, elegance, power...It is young and a shame to drink now, but it is immediately obvious how great this wine is. I would wait at least 10 years - literally.
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2000 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Perhaps because of the illustrious company, but this wine didn't show as well as any previous bottle of 2000 that I've had. Even the nose is structured, and shows mostly an umami tone. The mouth is very tight, although the fruit is lovely. I think this wine has potential and should be one of the good vintages, although not in the best group, but it is way to young. 10 years?
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2003 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
The only wine of the night that I honestly just didn't care for. Not in any way a bad wine, just stylistically so different from everything else in its opulence and exotic fruit profile - pomegranate, black tea, liqueur. Huge on the palate and without sufficient acidity (in my opinion) to balance the wine properly. Some tasters felt that it is good for drinking now, that it is delicious. I was distracted by its "other-ness," and simply did not enjoy it. I can say that if you are looking for classic Verset, this is most assuredly not it.
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2004 Noël Verset Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
A great surprise. Not that I wouldn't expect a Verset wine to be beautiful, but that it is so young, and so close to the end of Verset, I just figured it would not be a memorable wine within the context of Verset. I very well may be entirely wrong. The wine was delicious, balanced, classic with bloody iron minerality, ripe but controlled, entirely graceful and elegant, focused, pure. Still tannic of course, and will never be as great as the 99 and probably not the 98 either, but excellent wine, and could be one of the better ones with time.
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