What a stunningly pretty wine (but what does Domaine des Lambrays make that isn't pretty?). Salmon colour. There's still a bit of that new wine smell that I associate with candied fruit on the nose. The palate is very bright and pleasant, and has a very slight touch of sweetness. Almost gamay-like in its cheerfulness, but a few hours gave this much more heft. I think this would do well with about a year's age on them.
This has a very tropical and fruity nose, with a slight bit of pineapple character. The palate seems like it has a bit of residual sugar (despite the label saying this is trocken). If you've had those Kasugai muscat gummy candies, you'll understand what I mean when I say that this had a little bit of a Japanese grape candy flavour on the palate. Nonetheless, this was very light and tasty, but also fatter, richer, and with less acidic cut than wines made from the grape for which Dönnhoff is so rightly famous.
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
There was a slight bit of banana on the nose at first. I found that a bit offputting. But that aired out and we were all good. The palate on this bottle was very light from the acidity and mineral qualities, but the rich texture gives this a lot of weight at the same time. Slightly oily texture and a bit sweet, this had a good balance of everything.
I hear this one is a bit of a unicorn these days. The nose was dominated by smokiness, but the palate was one of sweet fruit, almost to the point where you could accuse it of being overripe (in 2004 no less). This was smoky, floral, gentle, and very, very feminine. Ready now.
Another revelation wine. The nose is quite ripe and spicy, with a lot of dark fruit character showing -- this is almost grapey on the nose. But to be honest, the freshness there would have had me thinking this was maybe 10 years old. The palate is jam-packed with sweet black fruit, and comes across quite ripe, though there's a leanness to it from a firm acidic backbone. There's also a very lovely meat juice character on the palate that gives this added interest. What a fantastic bottle.
The nose is clearly stemmy, with a very prominent green olive character. The palate is all olives and meat -- it's a charcuterie tray in a bottle! Tons of acidity keeps things fresh. This is at its apogee now. It definitely faded over the three or four hours that it had been open. Drink up and enjoy now. Unless you think this kind of stuff sucks (and therefore are wrong).
Double-decanted three hours before serving. A good whiff of funk on the nose (light brett? I'm pretty sensitive to it these days). This is one that is clearly way too young to enjoy right now, and should be resting in a cool and dark place. There's a very prominent dark plum character. Big structure right now, and hard to approach with all the tannins too...
Double-decanted 12 hours before serving. Perhaps there was a touch of heat damage on this bottle. There was a sulphur-y rubbery smell, but that did seem to blow off after a while... but then what did the decanting do...? There's a bigger whiff of the same funk from the 2011 Chaillot I had alongside. This was quite ripe and fruity, but there was a very prevalent animale quality to it on the palate. Still, quite good, and definitely ready now.
Slow-oxed four hours before serving. Goosebump-inducing wine. A true testament to the greatness of the syrah grape, this is what all makers of syrah should be aiming to make. An immense structure (with a very prominent stem quality) is coiled underneath a mound of ripe black fruit and roasted meats. Mineral and very, very acidic. However, we all know that this has not yet reached its final form. Revisiting this in 10 years will likely bump my score of 95 up a notch. But in honour of Chomsky, with whom I shared a glass of this, 96 points.
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc
How's this for something you don't see everyday? This is a 90% syrah, 10% grenache blend. A very, very floral and aromatic character on the nose -- almost reminds me of honey. The palate had a lot of that same floral character, and a slight bit of sweetness that was never distracting. And in case I hadn't yet made my point, this was floral. Very different from the other syrahs at the table tonight, but it held its own just the same.
2013 Domaine des Lambrays La Rose Du Clos Rosé 88 Points
France, Burgundy
What a stunningly pretty wine (but what does Domaine des Lambrays make that isn't pretty?). Salmon colour. There's still a bit of that new wine smell that I associate with candied fruit on the nose. The palate is very bright and pleasant, and has a very slight touch of sweetness. Almost gamay-like in its cheerfulness, but a few hours gave this much more heft. I think this would do well with about a year's age on them.
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2012 Dönnhoff Weissburgunder Trocken 88 Points
Germany, Nahe
This has a very tropical and fruity nose, with a slight bit of pineapple character. The palate seems like it has a bit of residual sugar (despite the label saying this is trocken). If you've had those Kasugai muscat gummy candies, you'll understand what I mean when I say that this had a little bit of a Japanese grape candy flavour on the palate. Nonetheless, this was very light and tasty, but also fatter, richer, and with less acidic cut than wines made from the grape for which Dönnhoff is so rightly famous.
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1999 Domaine Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie "L" d’Or 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
There was a slight bit of banana on the nose at first. I found that a bit offputting. But that aired out and we were all good. The palate on this bottle was very light from the acidity and mineral qualities, but the rich texture gives this a lot of weight at the same time. Slightly oily texture and a bit sweet, this had a good balance of everything.
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2004 Domaine Gallet (Henri et Philippe) Côte-Rôtie 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
I hear this one is a bit of a unicorn these days. The nose was dominated by smokiness, but the palate was one of sweet fruit, almost to the point where you could accuse it of being overripe (in 2004 no less). This was smoky, floral, gentle, and very, very feminine. Ready now.
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1992 Edmunds St. John Syrah Grand Heritage 95 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Another revelation wine. The nose is quite ripe and spicy, with a lot of dark fruit character showing -- this is almost grapey on the nose. But to be honest, the freshness there would have had me thinking this was maybe 10 years old. The palate is jam-packed with sweet black fruit, and comes across quite ripe, though there's a leanness to it from a firm acidic backbone. There's also a very lovely meat juice character on the palate that gives this added interest. What a fantastic bottle.
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2000 Eric Texier Côte-Rôtie Vieilles Vignes 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
The nose is clearly stemmy, with a very prominent green olive character. The palate is all olives and meat -- it's a charcuterie tray in a bottle! Tons of acidity keeps things fresh. This is at its apogee now. It definitely faded over the three or four hours that it had been open. Drink up and enjoy now. Unless you think this kind of stuff sucks (and therefore are wrong).
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2011 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Double-decanted three hours before serving. A good whiff of funk on the nose (light brett? I'm pretty sensitive to it these days). This is one that is clearly way too young to enjoy right now, and should be resting in a cool and dark place. There's a very prominent dark plum character. Big structure right now, and hard to approach with all the tannins too...
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1997 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Double-decanted 12 hours before serving. Perhaps there was a touch of heat damage on this bottle. There was a sulphur-y rubbery smell, but that did seem to blow off after a while... but then what did the decanting do...? There's a bigger whiff of the same funk from the 2011 Chaillot I had alongside. This was quite ripe and fruity, but there was a very prevalent animale quality to it on the palate. Still, quite good, and definitely ready now.
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2006 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes 96 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Slow-oxed four hours before serving. Goosebump-inducing wine. A true testament to the greatness of the syrah grape, this is what all makers of syrah should be aiming to make. An immense structure (with a very prominent stem quality) is coiled underneath a mound of ripe black fruit and roasted meats. Mineral and very, very acidic. However, we all know that this has not yet reached its final form. Revisiting this in 10 years will likely bump my score of 95 up a notch. But in honour of Chomsky, with whom I shared a glass of this, 96 points.
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2002 Domaine de Peyre Rose Coteaux du Languedoc Clos des Cistes 93 Points
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc
How's this for something you don't see everyday? This is a 90% syrah, 10% grenache blend. A very, very floral and aromatic character on the nose -- almost reminds me of honey. The palate had a lot of that same floral character, and a slight bit of sweetness that was never distracting. And in case I hadn't yet made my point, this was floral. Very different from the other syrahs at the table tonight, but it held its own just the same.
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