September 21, 2023 - Drank over two nights. This is a dark, meaty wine, blue-black fruits and nice depth and length and with a classic dusty stoniness on the nose and finish. The shape is cool, sculpted marble, impressive in its rigor and purity. This is pretty straight up, not especially wild, just a hint of savoy smokiness and a wee trace of Brett but no iron, olive, etc., and there's a lightly grainy veil of tannins closes off the finish. Almost no change from day one to two. This makes for nice drinking now and should continue to do so for quite a while longer. (“It is very Cornas in style, very structured, has a spinal column, just a little astringency from the use of whole bunches, no destemming. It is persistent, the balance good,” Ludovic Izérable)
September 13, 2022 - PnP. Very dark red. Classic Syrah nose of white pepper and dark fruits. Smoother on the palate than last bottle but still on the young side of maturity. Very good.
April 23, 2022 - Fine. Surprisingly dead on night two. 13.5%
February 28, 2022 - Opened/poured hour ahead. Thought this drank great, with good NR characteristics, lively fruit. Seems to have years to go.
January 20, 2021 - Pleasant. Wish I had decanted it. Lots of dark fruit and tannins.
July 23, 2020 - Exquisite! Deep, dark, alluring, smoky, earthy, rich, deep and powerful, yet not overpowering.
July 6, 2019 - PnP . Almost black in color. Intense nose of white pepper and black fruit. Thick and rich on the palate very ripe but with significant tannins still present . This is a baby but has great promise. 5+ years in the cellar.
March 2, 2018 - Dark berries, meat drippings, & smoke characterized the nose here. The palate showed the vintage's balance with a nice combination of dark and red fruit, earthy, & meaty tones. Great balance and length. Will really be something special in 5-7 years.
April 10, 2017 - Less than impressive for what it purports to be, lacking lift and depth. Not noticeably flawed, though it could be in a really, really dumb phase. It might have needed much more air than it got. 88-89.
February 11, 2017 - The wine is either closed or just dead. Very disappointing. All the other Lionnet's I have had have been spectacular.