March 16, 2024 - Dark ripe cherries, leather, coffee, black olives, christmas cake, tobacco, iron, and wet soil. This was rather tertiary but very well alive with soft tannins and good balance. Very delicious and easy to drink
January 26, 2024 - Medium deep brick red
Aromas of cassis, coffee, blackberry jam, animal fur, baked earth and scorched wood.
Vital and firm tannins. Blackcurrant acids and walnut bitterness.
Medium body.
Aromas of juniper wood, pine needle, sloe, medicinal herbs, black pepper, plum jam, cassis and stock cube.
A lively, structure-driven yet fruity rather young wine with dark berries, typical spicy and earthy aromas and a long finish that has resemblance of blood and iron. Drink within 10 years.
Tasted alongside, Opus One 1997, and the matched wine is mature and has slightly sweeter fruit. The present wine is yummy and beautifully balanced but not as good in comparison.
February 1, 2022 - PNP. Amber rim developing, nice ruby colour at its core. Red fruits in the nose with a little perfume, which was a nice surprise. Sweet entry, nice fruits, medium body and tannins were surprisingly soft. Wine gained some weight and depth in the glass. Good length on the finish. Exceeded expectation
July 16, 2021 - Peut-être pas à son apogée. Très long en bouche. Très complexe. Encore pas mal de fruit et de tannins. Avec Magrets de canard sur feu de bois avec Dominic et Marie Claire
March 21, 2021 - Some mild bricking on the edges. Interesting nose with some off fruit flavors (slight smoke and savory herbs). Notes of blackberry and dark cherry with some saddle leather, bacon fat, and tapenade. Still plenty of dark fruit on the open, with oak that had resolved over time. Nice acid profile with some interesting minerality. Wine seems to be at or just past peak.
February 14, 2021 - Opened 3 hours ahead, elected not to decant. Some slight brown on edge, otherwise dark red/violet. Mostly dark fruits with some smoky earthiness on nose. Balance on palate leans towards round fruit with edge of acidity and pretty much resolved tannins. Lacked precision and complexity. Good, unlikely to develop further - should hold.
June 14, 2019 - shared with pat at selkirk manor to celebrate the end of the work week. have been clearing the cellar of dusties lately. no quite sure why i hung on to this one so long except for wine spectator projected longevity to 2020. also have some sentimental attachment to hermitage as the most memorable tasting experience of my life was a 1967 chierpe hermitage cuvee des moines that had been destined for lutece but which wound up in retail channels. in any event, glad to have opened this now as it was in a good place and probably will not get any better. i opened this bottle with great anticipation and expectations. the wine was quite enjoyable but did not offer the exceptional experience that i had hoped for. the '89 and '90 vintages of this wine which i have tasted in the past showed some bottle variation, but the best of them offered greater pleasure. this bottle showed ample dark fruits with the addition of some smokiness. just wish that it had offered more of the sultry seductiveness that i associate with the wine from this region.
December 16, 2017 - Still drinking well, opens up after time in glass. Herbal character on the nose, still good fruits tending more towards dried fruits now. Good length and nicely balanced. Not at all past it, but doubt will improve further from here.
November 11, 2017 - 3rd of 12. Still quite youthful with peppery black berry fruit. Nicely balanced. 4/5
April 1, 2017 - Decanted two hours. Opened up after about an hour. Intense brambly cherries and eucalyptus on the nose. Red cherries and leather in the mouth. A touch primary but acid and fruit are in very good balance. Like a walk in the forest when you can smell chimney smoke. Fine now but short-term hold might coax out a bit more complexity. Critical to pair this with the right food. Roasted rack of lamb with a cornmeal, mustard, and rosemary crust did the trick.