Community Tasting Note

• Hodby wrote: 93 points

  November 25, 2014 - Medium-dark red color. An unusual mineral-laden nose, something I can't quite identify other than olive brine and squid ink,but that's not quite it either. Much wood fire smoke, floral elements (esp violets), raw beef. On arrival, steady medium tannin and lifted acidity (vivacious). Flavors strong of olives and brine, smoked beef, hint of menthol. Finishes long, dry, herbal and floral notes strongest at the end. My wife said this reminds her of winemaker's take on a Talisker Scotch whiskey, as a wine. She may be on to something. It's exciting at any rate. Bottle #7 of twelve.

  2,619 views

3 Comments

• Pknut commented:

  11/25/14, 2:05 PM - Thank you for this note. How much air/decant time did you give? I'm opening the same wine tonight.
  
  And I've often compared Vieux Telegraphe to Lagavulin.

• Hodby commented:

  11/26/14, 11:44 AM - Decanted to eliminate sediment, poured the four glasses immediately, which sat untouched for about 30 minutes while we all busied the last steps of dinner prep. The wine was shining right away, which runs a little contrary to the overall '99 vintage pattern in Cornas that I've experienced. And yeah, there's a minerality, sweetness and smoky element to the best long-aged vintages of Vieux-T. Hadn't thought of that before.

• Hodby commented:

  12/1/14, 5:09 PM - Finally, one of our dinner guests suggested a name for that mysterious mineral aroma that we couldn't describe earlier: Mercurochrome. Some older folks may remember this (Tincture of Iodine substitute) having a distinctive smell to it. I wonder if the main component is perhaps Iodine, which is extracted industrially from kelp.

Add a Comment