Served double blind as an apertif to a flight of Cornas and Cote Rotie. High-toned on the nose, with some almonds and apple juice. There's also a fair bit of floral tones. The palate has quite a bit of density, and as far as I can tell, there's a nice bit of acidity as well. The waxiness on the palate also helps confirm for me that this is probably viognier (apart from the strong thematic hint). But at the end of the day, thankfully this has a good bit of acidity and freshness to go with the riper, thicker texture.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. A little bit of black fruit on the nose here, as well as some cough syrup aromas, although it's not so high-toned to be unpleasant. The palate seems to show a little bit of brown spice, which seems to indicate a touch of oak use. The tannins are still a little coarse, but I don't seem to get too much black fruit here. I'm inclined to think that this is a moderately modern Cote-Rotie done in a really judicious way. My 3rd, group's 4th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. There seems to be a little bit of woodiness on the nose here, but it's more of that old leathery type of oak than modernist polish. Nice aromatics here, with a slight bit of earth and black fruit. The palate shows good acidity and more red than black fruit, and the tannins are pretty bracing here. I'm picking up more rusticity, so I would guess that this is a Cornas, despite the fruit profile. The acidity is bright, with some red cherry overtones. My 2nd, group's 10th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Corked. My 12th, group's 12th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. There's a slight bit of wood and char on the nose here. The black fruit here has some more tart aromas. This seems to carry through onto the palate, which shows black fruit and tons of acidity. I'm guessing this is a bit lighter in terms of the vintage, but this is almost certainly a heavier, coarser wine (making me think Cornas). The tannins are chewy still, so it's an interesting question with respect to further aging. My 7th, group's 5th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Fairly nice nose, showing some classic aromas. There's a good amount of red fruit, some black pepper, and a touch of earth. The palate seems to come across as a little bit too horsey and earthy, and there's a lot of gaminess in the palate. This doesn't come across as too oaky, and I'm guessing this is probably a fairly classical producer -- perhaps Levet? On the other hand, there isn't enough darkness here to make me confident that this is Cornas, despite the more rustic nature of this wine. My 4th, group's 8th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. This is a darker wine, but despite its more brooding nature, there's still a certain openness here. Extremely aromatic, with a polish that doesn't seem to have any oak to it. Silky black fruit and olives as well on the nose. The palate shows some really dense tannins and black fruit, which leads me straight to Cornas. Powerful and intense. Allemand? My 1st, group's 2nd.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Extremely signficant signs of bricking here, which makes it clear that this is one of the oldest wines of the tasting. A little mulchy and funky, with lots of earth and some dried fig notes. This is mostly a secondary expression at this point. Extremely ripe fruit, but there's almost some oxidation here. I'm not totally sure that this is a perfectly sound bottle. Strikes me as incredibly advanced. Somehow, despite the decaying fruit, there's still lots of tannin too. Weird, and while not wholly unpleasant, certainly not very good either. I'm still guessing based on the more polished fruit that this is a Cote Rotie. My 9th, group's 11th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Fresh roasted coffee on the nose here. A little bit of tomato as well. On the nose alone, I'm thinking this is a modernist Cote-Rotie with about 15-20 years on it. Exceedingly astringent. Where's the fruit here? Lots and lots of acid as well. Quite unpleasant and unbalanced. My 11th, group's 9th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. New oak and Sharpie markers on the nose here. This is high-toned and slightly chemically, and shows a lot of wood. The palate, on the other hand, shows a little less offensively as the nose, though there are clearly some drying and bitter oak tannins on the finish here. There's not as much coffee on the nose, but there is definitely some on the palate. Perhaps not quite as offensive as the 1999 Tardieu-Laurent, but still not a pleasant bottle of syrah. Thing is, I'm having trouble pinpointing this one, because the palate's character is a little obscured by the oak. But given that there are more modernists on the roasted slope, I'm guessing this is a Cote-Rotie. My 10th, group's 6th.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Slightly earthy and funky on the nose, this shows a good touch of brett alongside the mix of red and black fruit. Spicy and saline, both of which are pretty nice attributes. The oak here shows in the form of some pleasant brown spices. The palate is quite dense and powerful, and the tannins quite firm. The black fruit also leads me to Cornas. My 5th, group's 1st.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Bright cherries on the nose with a moderate amount of brown spice as well. Some floral tones on the nose here. Quite clean on the palate, without too much oak interference. There's some nice liqueur qualities here that make me think this is from an older vintage, and the slightly toned-down colour here leads me to Cote-Rotie. Really nice acidity here as well. My 6th, group's 2nd.

Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Clearly a bit of modernist touch here on the nose. There's a lot of acidity here, but the oak tannins pop out a little bit too much for me. As far as modernist Cote-Rotie goes (I'm guessing that based on the redder fruit and less ornery demeanor), this isn't the worst, but it's also not the sort of syrah I'd want to see when I opened a bottle. This is one of the more primary wines of the tasting. My 8th, group's 7th.

Hideously oxidized.