The red cherry fruit is bright and pretty and supported by floral and peppery notes that show noticeable stem influence. At first very right and structured, but with air it integrates to show a nice balance between the round midpalate flesh and the tannic backbone. I thought it was still keeping something in reserve, but clearly a good wine and the group's favorite by a big margin.
The fruit here is black and ripe with a sweeter edge, framed by a touch of mint chocolate and pepper. Suave and rich in the midpalate with a nice stony character, but it's just a touch light and hollow and lacking depth in the midpalate. This didn't do much for me.
The fruit here is black and ripe, but takes a back seat to an intense, wild, stony and savory character that I really enjoyed. Distinctive in this lineup for being so savory and mineral. Good value at $26.
Maybe the hardest wine to get a read on. At first this was extremely tannic and drying, to the point where the tannins overwhelemd the smokey black fruit and it was hard to drink and seemed overextracted. With time in the glass it started to come together. Still tannic and backward, but the midpalate fleshed out, showing a nice balance between fruit and savory. The wine most clearly in need of cellaring, it would probably be the best wine if we retasted these in 15 years, but it's not tonight. Did not seem to justify its $110+ price tag.
Expressive, soft red fruit, but lacking complexity to me. Juicy and concentrated, a bit easy, but it lacks concentration and depth in the midpalate and the tannins are poking through. This is okay but I don't see what all the fuss is about.
I think my glass was not clean on this one, so I found it hard to evaluate. But this was surprisingly light and airy and lacked the stuffing I would have expected from Cornas.
Lovely nose, with purple fruit, lots of florals and herbs and earth. Showed a little oak with air, but not enough to bother me. Concentrated and sappy with refined tannin, a bit round but with good acidity and length. This was perhaps more modern than some of the other wines but I thought it worked.
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône-Brézème
Served separately and after the others. I guessed Edmunds St John syrah. The fruit profile here is black cherries, oddly ripe and sweet for a Rhone syrah (hence my guess of CA), but the sweet fruit is complemented by surprisingly formidable tannic structure and plenty of acid. Good and has potential but perhaps not representative.
2012 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
The red cherry fruit is bright and pretty and supported by floral and peppery notes that show noticeable stem influence. At first very right and structured, but with air it integrates to show a nice balance between the round midpalate flesh and the tannic backbone. I thought it was still keeping something in reserve, but clearly a good wine and the group's favorite by a big margin.
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2012 Domaine Faury Côte-Rôtie 86 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
The fruit here is black and ripe with a sweeter edge, framed by a touch of mint chocolate and pepper. Suave and rich in the midpalate with a nice stony character, but it's just a touch light and hollow and lacking depth in the midpalate. This didn't do much for me.
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2012 Domaine Rousset Crozes-Hermitage Les Picaudières 89 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
The fruit here is black and ripe, but takes a back seat to an intense, wild, stony and savory character that I really enjoyed. Distinctive in this lineup for being so savory and mineral. Good value at $26.
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2012 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Maybe the hardest wine to get a read on. At first this was extremely tannic and drying, to the point where the tannins overwhelemd the smokey black fruit and it was hard to drink and seemed overextracted. With time in the glass it started to come together. Still tannic and backward, but the midpalate fleshed out, showing a nice balance between fruit and savory. The wine most clearly in need of cellaring, it would probably be the best wine if we retasted these in 15 years, but it's not tonight. Did not seem to justify its $110+ price tag.
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2012 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph 87 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph
Expressive, soft red fruit, but lacking complexity to me. Juicy and concentrated, a bit easy, but it lacks concentration and depth in the midpalate and the tannins are poking through. This is okay but I don't see what all the fuss is about.
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2012 Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
I think my glass was not clean on this one, so I found it hard to evaluate. But this was surprisingly light and airy and lacked the stuffing I would have expected from Cornas.
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2012 Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet (Hervé Souhaut) Saint-Joseph
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph
Overwhelmingly reductive with a strong metallic-flinty-pepper character, to the point where it was hard for me to get anything from the wine.
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2012 André Perret Saint-Joseph 89 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph
Lovely nose, with purple fruit, lots of florals and herbs and earth. Showed a little oak with air, but not enough to bother me. Concentrated and sappy with refined tannin, a bit round but with good acidity and length. This was perhaps more modern than some of the other wines but I thought it worked.
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