Syrah - Rhone vs SA - Cabotte with the NLWTS

Fantastic evening - Food was incredible (the *sauces*!!!), as were the wines. Both continents showed very well, with only one or two wines failing to live up to their respective hype.

• 2005 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Really fruit forward nose. Brambles and blackberries on the nose; still some noticeable fruit/sweetness. Hint of Jamminess? Not much of that classic cote-rotie ‘meatiness’. On the palate, noticeably high acidity; pretty austere. No jamminess to speak of. At nearly 20 years old the fruit isn’t exactly exuberant, but it doesn’t seem to have yet been replaced by many lovely tertiary notes either. Really fresh and direct, but needs more time for me. 91++

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• 1996 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Funny nose; generously tertiary with some sweet redder fruit still showing. Again quite austere on the palate; tennis still present but lovely and integrated. Plenty of fruit and life left, albeit not ‘generous’. Still feels like it could do with a bit of time, amazingly.

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• 2010 Sadie Family Columella 90 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  Dark fruited, v fresh nose. Bit of leather. Palate is a tiny bit hot; doesn’t feel particularly well balanced. Some primary fruit but not enough to stop if feeling a little bit sharp/spikey; the pretty racy acidity doesn’t feel in line with the rest of it.

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• 2007 Domaine du Colombier Hermitage 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Incredible nose; massively fragrant and earthy. Palate doesn’t live up to the nose (it would be miraculous if it did!); middling in terms of development, structure, fruit etc.. Not brilliantly long. 90% of pleasure is from the nose… but it’s an amazing nose!!

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• 2009 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Bessards-Le Méal 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Super peppery, brambley nose. Very pronounced. Really delicious; totally dark fruited, moreish acidity and just enough tertiary/complexity to round it all off. Still super youthful. Fantastically harmonious.

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• 2011 Mullineux Syrah Granite Jakkalsfontein 91 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  Totally ‘northern rhone’ nose. Really savoury, meaty. Slightly thinner on the palate than the nose would suggest; underripe black fruit spectrum. Very concentrated and savoury.

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• 2009 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Tiny bit of heat on the nose. Restrained nose. Really earthy. Palate is much more muted; in a slightly awkward ‘neither here nor there’ phase? Obviously a surprise considering its pedigree. But for me just slightly out of balance… and noticeably hot.

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• 2010 Mullineux Syrah Schist 93 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  “A whiff of the gates of hell” was the quote of the evening. Really pure lack fruit; super peppery. Medium bodied palate; bit of sweetness, and something herbal. Doesn’t quite live up to the nose but still lovely and balanced. Very polite; anything but exuberant.

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