Vinous

• By Josh Raynolds
  January/February 2010, IWC Issue #148 (link)

  (Chateau Simian Chateauneuf du Pape Les Grandes Grenachieres d'Hippolyte) Subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  12/22/2009 (link)

  (GRANDS GRUENCHERES HYP Simian CdP) Wine of the Year Dear Friends, I've been putting this off for a few weeks as it's always such a loaded proclamation but... It's time for my Wine of the Year. How does one measure this accolade? An individual bottle of wine can be such a subjective moment in time - a wisp in one's life. The company that wine is shared with, the context of its consumption and the quality of the bottle all affect/effect the perception of its "greatness". Were you able to enjoy it over an entire evening? Over 2-3 days? Was it merely a sip that lasted in your memory like the glimpse of a beautiful scene as the cog-wheel train passes too quickly through a tunnel? For me, I like to throw rules aside and let each year come to me - my finest wine may be a terrific price/value star or the opposite. One thing is for sure, it's the wine that made the biggest impression on me - what impression it left is the amorphous question. In 2009, the finest wine I smelled regardless of price is easy. That accolade goes to the 1969 DRC La Tache tasted at Blue Hill a few nights ago - from what was unquestionably one of the most pristine examples of The Domaine from the 1960's left in existence. The aromatics after 4-5 hours open are something that I am certain to never experience again in my wine career and I'm certain most in attendance will agree with me. Haunting, beyond complex and surreal, the 1969 La Tache was an aromatic anyone could appreciate but it meant so much more to me at this point in my career. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to share it. My price/value star this year could go to so many wines and, in 2009, there was more reason to celebrate life's lower priced treasures than in the past. Any wine that delivered far beyond its modest price was universally praised in 2009 as the economy took its toll on the vast majority of us. I narrowed this choice to twenty wines but I continually returned to a red that has become a calling card for Garagiste and our co-op mentality - the 2007 Domaine La Blaque. Synthetic cork aside, for $12-13 this Northern Rhone-a-like from the undiscovered Pierrevert was tough to top...and it's only getting better. While my memory bank is full of a myriad of touching moments and nights spent enjoying the passion of our mutual hobby, If forced into a corner to choose only one wine that made the single most profound impression on me regardless of price, price/value, rarity or any other caveat, it would be this: The 2007 Chateau Simian Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Les Grandes Grenachi_res d'Hippolyte". In 2009, the wine that stood out for me above all others was a 2007 Southern Rhone. That would not be surprising from any number of sources but, from me, it probably is. I've maligned the vintage ad nauseum but (when the year hit it just right), the results were profound. The Les Grandes Grenachi_res d'Hippolyte is a 2007 Southern Rhone that deserves every speck of attention it has earned. This wine gave me the same impression twice in 2009 - once in July and again in October. It scales that rare height reserved for only the very top-tier of the wine world (the above 1969 DRC comes to mind) and it should give layers of lasting memories for decades. It is rare, almost impossible to obtain and not really available in the US (except for a 10-20 case parcel that has been split among a handful of retailers). A micro-production wine that will almost certainly increase in value as the years tick away but, on this day, it's simply about the memory - the special impression it gave me that now sits like a tucked away photo, to be retrieved when I lack the motivation to put two feet forward on the wine road of discovery that has been my pledge to you for over a decade. In 2009, this wine was the top of the mountain: This parcel is directly from the winery cellar with the finest provenance available. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as the finest wine of 2009: 2007 Chateau Simian Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Les Grandes Grenachi_res d'Hippolyte" Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Rhone4367