Good, not great. I've never been too big a fan of Cristal, and that creamy, autolytic quality shows through here, despite the relatively high acidity of the vintage. Oddly sweet at the same time, with very clear advanced notes of roasted nuts and browned apple. Pleasant, but not my cup of tea.
I preferred the Roulot Meix Chavaux alongside, but this is certainly no slouch of a wine. Rounded, with more a ripe quality to it, and fruit that is a little more on the plush side. The minerality and zip of 2014 isn't on full display here, and on the palate, I found this just more easy-going and lacking the depth and complexity of the Roulot.
I preferred this to the Lafon Barre alongside -- it's more incisive and mineral driven, and the quality of the 2014 vintage really shines through here. It's bright, taut, and electric. Makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck kind of thing.
Honestly, this wine really suffered because it was poured next to the 2010. In any other scenario, this would be a splendid bottle to have with dinner. But that said, relative to its slightly older sibling, this is more of a red-fruited wine, with high acidity and a relatively light touch. Nascent tones of olive here, this feels almost ready to drink now, if you prefer your Hermitage with a good dose of primary fruit. Certainly the texture is silky and the tannins not too foreboding.
I maintain that this is the best Chave since 1991. Tonight's bottle felt a little ornery and less expressive than some other earlier bottles, so I wonder if this has just begun to shut down a little bit. This wine is clearly evolving at a glacial pace, but there is just so much incredible raw material here. The fruit comes off more black than red, there's a bit of spice and salinity, and plenty of firm tannins. This got better with air, and upon revisiting at the end of the evening, but now is probably a less profitable time to open this magnificent bottle of wine.
This isn't in a great spot right now. Best to let it rest. There's definitely plenty of good material here, but it's nowhere close to ready. Like 2005 Burgundy and Bordeaux, this is a stern and structural wine, missing lots of the fruit, but showing plenty of scaffolding. A slight hint of brett adds interest; I just wish that the palate and nose showed more fruit. That sort of austerity led this to show somewhat underwhelmingly tonight. I hope that time will yield a better result.
This bottle was absolutely stunning right at the beginning -- the nose was so perfumed, and showing plenty of sweet dark fruit and syrah spice notes. The palate also had fruit that belied its age, and ditto the tannins, which came off surprisingly youthful and grainy. With a bit of air, this seemed to clamp down and didn't ever reemerge from that shell. It became more structural and the fruit less effusive. At the end of the day though, it's clear that this is still a wine of incredible potential -- great bottles of this (like the one tonight) still have easily a decade or two to go.
Effusive and stunning. This didn't have quite the same explosive intensity as the 1990 right when the 1990 was poured, but this was a slow and steady sort of bottle that seemed to grow in intensity over the course of the night. The nose is smoky and a mix of red and black fruit, in contrast to the darker 1990. Silkier and more resolved as well, this is drinking in an absolutely incredible spot right now. While the 1990 has decades ahead, this is absolutely enjoyable now already.
Pretty consistent with my previous bottle of this. There's a relatively lighter touch here, and the nose is perfumed with more olive and salinity. Less meaty and smoke, and certainly less ripe fruit. High acid and bright, with fully resolved tannins already. Clearly not a bottle for much more aging, but still unmistakably of the high quality that Chave has.
A new vintage of Chave for me. I'm lucky to say that these are just getting rarer and rarer for me. I didn't like this as much as the 1987 -- while it possessed many of the same traits, this just didn't feel as focussed and bright. There's a weird plasticky note on the back end that I didn't like, but overall it didn't detract too much from the wine. But with so many finer vintages on the table, it's no surprise that this falls by the wayside, and rightfully so.
I don't think this bottle (of the same provenance) lived up to the previous bottle last year. It was relatively lighter, but just felt a little tired and didn't have the same explosive aromaticity, even with the few hours of air. It's definitely similar in style to the 1975 alongside, but just didn't have the same complexity and expressiveness. All that said, this is still an impressive syrah, with plenty of the beautiful savoury aromatics here, and with plenty of tart red fruit. Still vibrant and alive.
This was somewhat mediocre right at the beginning, but with more air, this just became stunning. The nose is what all old syrah is all about -- the salinity and olive brine, the blood, meat, and smoke, and all those good things. An interesting green note here -- pyrazines, even. A nose that you could go on smelling for days after this got a few hours of air. On the palate, this is certainly a weaker wine; it doesn't have the same weight and concentration as some younger ones -- clearly the age is wearing on this, but with this magnificent showing tonight I'm still thinking that this bottle ought to have a good few more years left in the tank.
I liked the 1975 more for its aromatics, but like its slightly older sibling this shows probably a good two decades younger. The fruit here is more intense, with a slight minty quality, but plenty of that leathery, dark Grange fruit. It's really interesting to see how different syrah can be. This is sternly structured like a young Bordeaux, but on top of that structure is multiple layers of sweet, intense black cherry note. A bit heart-on-its-sleeve in the sheer enjoyment factor, whereas the 1975 showed more complexity and depth.
Absolutely stunning stuff, with this minty, beautiful nose that has so much black fruit, leather, spice, and floral perfume all at the same time. The ample American oak also gives this an aromatic profile that I find very alluring. More lifted and brighter than the heavyset 1976, but with many of the same profile qualities, just in a more elegant sort of way. Resolved and very enjoyable to drink now, this is definitely up there with the more compelling vintages of Grange that I've had.
From half-bottle. Honeysuckle, roasted pineapple, and bitter almond on the nose. A really intriguing profile that I would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else (read: I wouldn't be able to figure out what this was if I had it blind). Not too sweet, with a burnt citrus note on the palate that is also really interesting. A bitter quality on the palate to make up for the relative lack of acidity here; I somehow felt that the palate texture came off a little lean for what I expected this to be. From my recollection, I likely would prefer the 1996 I had maybe two years ago to this.
1988 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
Good, not great. I've never been too big a fan of Cristal, and that creamy, autolytic quality shows through here, despite the relatively high acidity of the vintage. Oddly sweet at the same time, with very clear advanced notes of roasted nuts and browned apple. Pleasant, but not my cup of tea.
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2014 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
I preferred the Roulot Meix Chavaux alongside, but this is certainly no slouch of a wine. Rounded, with more a ripe quality to it, and fruit that is a little more on the plush side. The minerality and zip of 2014 isn't on full display here, and on the palate, I found this just more easy-going and lacking the depth and complexity of the Roulot.
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2014 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Meix Chavaux 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
I preferred this to the Lafon Barre alongside -- it's more incisive and mineral driven, and the quality of the 2014 vintage really shines through here. It's bright, taut, and electric. Makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck kind of thing.
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2012 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Honestly, this wine really suffered because it was poured next to the 2010. In any other scenario, this would be a splendid bottle to have with dinner. But that said, relative to its slightly older sibling, this is more of a red-fruited wine, with high acidity and a relatively light touch. Nascent tones of olive here, this feels almost ready to drink now, if you prefer your Hermitage with a good dose of primary fruit. Certainly the texture is silky and the tannins not too foreboding.
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2010 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
I maintain that this is the best Chave since 1991. Tonight's bottle felt a little ornery and less expressive than some other earlier bottles, so I wonder if this has just begun to shut down a little bit. This wine is clearly evolving at a glacial pace, but there is just so much incredible raw material here. The fruit comes off more black than red, there's a bit of spice and salinity, and plenty of firm tannins. This got better with air, and upon revisiting at the end of the evening, but now is probably a less profitable time to open this magnificent bottle of wine.
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2005 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This isn't in a great spot right now. Best to let it rest. There's definitely plenty of good material here, but it's nowhere close to ready. Like 2005 Burgundy and Bordeaux, this is a stern and structural wine, missing lots of the fruit, but showing plenty of scaffolding. A slight hint of brett adds interest; I just wish that the palate and nose showed more fruit. That sort of austerity led this to show somewhat underwhelmingly tonight. I hope that time will yield a better result.
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1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 98 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This bottle was absolutely stunning right at the beginning -- the nose was so perfumed, and showing plenty of sweet dark fruit and syrah spice notes. The palate also had fruit that belied its age, and ditto the tannins, which came off surprisingly youthful and grainy. With a bit of air, this seemed to clamp down and didn't ever reemerge from that shell. It became more structural and the fruit less effusive. At the end of the day though, it's clear that this is still a wine of incredible potential -- great bottles of this (like the one tonight) still have easily a decade or two to go.
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1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 98 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Effusive and stunning. This didn't have quite the same explosive intensity as the 1990 right when the 1990 was poured, but this was a slow and steady sort of bottle that seemed to grow in intensity over the course of the night. The nose is smoky and a mix of red and black fruit, in contrast to the darker 1990. Silkier and more resolved as well, this is drinking in an absolutely incredible spot right now. While the 1990 has decades ahead, this is absolutely enjoyable now already.
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1987 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Pretty consistent with my previous bottle of this. There's a relatively lighter touch here, and the nose is perfumed with more olive and salinity. Less meaty and smoke, and certainly less ripe fruit. High acid and bright, with fully resolved tannins already. Clearly not a bottle for much more aging, but still unmistakably of the high quality that Chave has.
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1986 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
A new vintage of Chave for me. I'm lucky to say that these are just getting rarer and rarer for me. I didn't like this as much as the 1987 -- while it possessed many of the same traits, this just didn't feel as focussed and bright. There's a weird plasticky note on the back end that I didn't like, but overall it didn't detract too much from the wine. But with so many finer vintages on the table, it's no surprise that this falls by the wayside, and rightfully so.
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1976 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
I don't think this bottle (of the same provenance) lived up to the previous bottle last year. It was relatively lighter, but just felt a little tired and didn't have the same explosive aromaticity, even with the few hours of air. It's definitely similar in style to the 1975 alongside, but just didn't have the same complexity and expressiveness. All that said, this is still an impressive syrah, with plenty of the beautiful savoury aromatics here, and with plenty of tart red fruit. Still vibrant and alive.
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1975 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 98 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This was somewhat mediocre right at the beginning, but with more air, this just became stunning. The nose is what all old syrah is all about -- the salinity and olive brine, the blood, meat, and smoke, and all those good things. An interesting green note here -- pyrazines, even. A nose that you could go on smelling for days after this got a few hours of air. On the palate, this is certainly a weaker wine; it doesn't have the same weight and concentration as some younger ones -- clearly the age is wearing on this, but with this magnificent showing tonight I'm still thinking that this bottle ought to have a good few more years left in the tank.
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1976 Penfolds Grange 95 Points
Australia, South Australia
I liked the 1975 more for its aromatics, but like its slightly older sibling this shows probably a good two decades younger. The fruit here is more intense, with a slight minty quality, but plenty of that leathery, dark Grange fruit. It's really interesting to see how different syrah can be. This is sternly structured like a young Bordeaux, but on top of that structure is multiple layers of sweet, intense black cherry note. A bit heart-on-its-sleeve in the sheer enjoyment factor, whereas the 1975 showed more complexity and depth.
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1975 Penfolds Grange 95 Points
Australia, South Australia
Absolutely stunning stuff, with this minty, beautiful nose that has so much black fruit, leather, spice, and floral perfume all at the same time. The ample American oak also gives this an aromatic profile that I find very alluring. More lifted and brighter than the heavyset 1976, but with many of the same profile qualities, just in a more elegant sort of way. Resolved and very enjoyable to drink now, this is definitely up there with the more compelling vintages of Grange that I've had.
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1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Vin de Paille 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
From half-bottle. Honeysuckle, roasted pineapple, and bitter almond on the nose. A really intriguing profile that I would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else (read: I wouldn't be able to figure out what this was if I had it blind). Not too sweet, with a burnt citrus note on the palate that is also really interesting. A bitter quality on the palate to make up for the relative lack of acidity here; I somehow felt that the palate texture came off a little lean for what I expected this to be. From my recollection, I likely would prefer the 1996 I had maybe two years ago to this.
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