This wine should have been in the old Cordier stable from the 70’s and 80’s. Fantastic Ferrel funky nose . Doesn’t seem reductive, but is part of the personality. This does integrate over a few hours , integrates into a cool blue and black berry thyme infused gift. Good structure , displays class Love this wine, can’t wait for some more development , and should improve. Could use just a bit more weight
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Lots of sediment. I opened this -- my first of the 2012 vintage -- because of a recent tasting note (thank you, ACYSO) that emphasized the silky drinkability. That is exactly right. We gave this a short decant, and it was completely approachable, much less tannic than the 2009, not as wild as the 2007, but smooth and complex and intense and delicious. Nothing here to shake my conviction that this is one of the world's great wines.
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Flickinger dinner at avec River North (Chicago, IL): A deeply different wine than a recent 2013, but not in quality. This is far more resolved and silkier, with a much more gentle and sedate quality about it. The fruit is red and delicate, and the tannins almost fully resolved. This lacks the ferocity of some "bigger" vintages of Levet, but I think the hallmarks of a rustic Côte-Rôtie are still prominently on display. I'd drink this while I age the 2013.
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Tasted over 3 hrs -saturated med dark red minimal clearing -first whiff was like getting whacked in the face with a big slab of salami then it settles down to other savory goodness dominated by black pepper accented with mint and herbal notes -med acidity pokes in late, med weight earthy dark berry with a return of some of the pepper and herb, med/med+ coarse tannins -as is usually the case this is a brilliant old school wine, probably near or on its plateau, just about perfect to fulfill funky-savory-rustic cravings
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Dark, almost brooding nose with lots of savory flavors, meat, dark cherries, game, leather, violets, and black pepper. Very well balanced with good acidity and grippy tannins, more dark fruit flavors, blackberries, and tart cherries on the palate. Nice finish. This will clearly continue to evolve and get better over time, but it was quite drinkable with a short decant. Still, I’d try opening the next one in 5-7 years… 93+
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A medium-bodied, gorgeous vintage for this wine with a great savory/silky texture and classic flavors of roasted meats, baconfat and char. Finishes smooth and refined with a lingering note of smoky violets. Awesome Cote Rotie!
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A brilliant vintage for this authentic and perennially underrated Cote Rotie. The texture is the thing with layers of silky dark fruits that caress the palate in a savory way with firm underlying acidity. The finish is concentrated and crisp with notes of violet flowers, smoked meats and minerals. No crime to drink this now but there is more to come here when the tertiaries set in. 94+
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Such a pure and beautiful nose of violet flowers and smoky blue fruits. On the palate, it’s still quite structured but the floral perfume is so overwhelming that it’s lovely to experience now. There are deep flavors of purple and blue fruits along with a crisp yet velvety texture and wonderful notes of black olives, smoked meats and fragrant violet spice. The finish is still tannic but also smooth with a building underlying complexity sporting amazing hints of stony minerals, black pepper and charred wood. An awesome expression of Cote Rotie. 94+
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Drank at a dinner, didn't get full notes. Generally speaking, this was nicely expressive on the nose with saddle leather, plum, tapenade, flowers and cured meats. Surprisingly supple and open (for a young Levet) on the palate with dark savory fruit and depth along ample structure that was forgiving and rounded. Very young but entering approachability. Excellent and enjoyed by my group, all fans of Northern Rhône Syrah.
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(from magnum). This wine divided the group into lovers and haters, no one was in between. Very nice classic Cote Rotie, in a relatively ripe style, with leather, gamey meat, etc. There is a lot of brett in this wine and it became more and more pronounced as the wine aerated to the point of dominating. I like a bit of brett and enjoyed it at first for the complexity, but ultimately it dominated the wine and seemed like a fault.
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This is in a lovely spot. I have to say I'm a bit surprised it was so easy to enjoy on the PnP. A translucent ruby, with scents of smoke, dehydrated beef, lavender, and black pepper this is exactly what I wanted with our steaks tonight. This is light-medium bodied, with bright and vivid black and red fruits, a solid dose of tannin, and high acidity. Just a lovely wine...really something special. Outstanding!!!
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On Thursday, we drank a few wines from the North Rhone blindly. Well made wines, but with very different styles. The WOTN was the E. Guigal Cotie Rotie La Mouline 2002. Classic and consistent. Amazing. The second wine was the Thierry Alemand Cornas Chaillot 2011. Great wine. For some it was the WOTN. The third wine was the Clusel Roch Cote Rotie 2006. Modern style. Good. The 4th wine was a huge disappointment. Bernard Levet's Cotie Rotie La Chavaroche 2012 looked like a Chilean wine with excess of guava.
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The 2012 La Chavaroche Cote Rotie from Levet is earth, mineral and stone personified. The nose was dark yet remarkably fresh, showing black currant and blackberry with crushed stone, moist soil, smoke and wild herbs verging on olive. On the palate, I found silky textures contrasted by tart black and red fruits with brisk acids, as hints of dried orange peel, herbs and minerals cascaded across the senses. It finished long yet fresh with saturating dark fruits, and a mix of mineral and chewy tannin. This is great now with a good decant, but has many years of evolution in store for us.
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Funky, earthy, iron and mineral, very red fruit, chewy, herbs and spice, some brett here for sure but very well balanced, violets. This is simply excellent.
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Agree with previous notes about the incredible nose of pepper, grilled meat, and raspberry fruit. Tart and savory palate which works for old world palates and will probably show more nuance with time in bottle. Got better with air until it was gone at six hours. A clear buy at this price point.
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Thursday nights are for Rhoning with the pals. (Kinjiro): Served blind next to the 12 Journaries. The nose is INCREDIBLE on this wine. Crunchy bright raspberry and mint on the nose sprinkled with black pepper and crushed over some rare steak. In a lineup with a lot of amazing rhones, this nose soared. The palate was clipped and very lean and lacking in fruit. Needs to build on that body, but that nose is ssick.
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Surprisingly open for a chavaroche. Old school syrah right from the start. Tons of floral aromatics, then on the palate you have so much crunchy peppercorn goodness. Light in color and body and won't please people looking for anything remotely resembling new world. Lots of perfume, though i think there is no viognier. On the herbaceous and savory side. I would prefer a bit more body, but I am finding 2011, 2012, and 2013 to be that way.
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Syrah Blind Taste-off: 2012 Rhone vs. 2013 California (My Place): Poured blind, as part of our '12 Rhone vs. '13 Calif syrah event. My rank 2nd place, group rank 1st place. Decanted 6-8 hours before event, then returned to bottle. I dug this wine, as it had a balance and complexity that made it stand out. A cool, whole cluster florality, with light pepper and some blood. The aromatics reminded me of the '13 Drew Valenti which was in the previous flight. Tight palate, a rocky, ferrous/iron quality yet with terrific intensity and depth. This was terrific.
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Vindredi (Hermitage vs Cote Rotie, and friends) (Bellevue, WA): Tasted blind. Sweet fruit, plum, violets, cherry, and spice on the nose. Round and soft, with a mild bitterness. Some barnyard notes. Nice nose, but seemed a little thin on the palate in comparison.
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Deep ruby. Similar aromatics to the '13 with black fruit but mostly stalkiness and pepper. Not terribly different in the mouth either with little fruit, lean feel. Lighter weight and lower acidity than the younger vintage. I just didn't appreciate either of these wines.
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Ruby color, nose full of spices, red and black berries, flowers, very dry palate, medium plus finish. Big wine, just needs couple of more years in cellar of couple of extra hours in decanter...
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A great vintage of this great wine. Had this open for about 24 hours and the wine was lithe and earthy with beautiful dark fruits. The mouthfeel was gorgeous - silky & airy. I like the potential to age this for 10-12. Old school syrah.
This was tight...even with a 4+ hour decant it gave little accept olive, black pepper, and dark fruits on the nose. The palate was dry & tannic. I will check back in around 2020. I would wait a minimum of 5+ years.
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Pretty nose, rock, olives, games and blue fruits, smooth palate on the attack and the fine tannins show themselves on the mid palate, these should integrate with time, will leave my others for 5 or so years
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Beautiful wine: the blue and black berry fruit is multilayered and liqueur-like, it's loaded with spice and smoke/incense aromatics, the tannins are refined and snappy, it's long on the palate and intoxicating to smell. Can't get enough.
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Nice iteration of this wine, slighter in body than some vintages and more reticent with the fruit -- it has taken a couple of hours in the decanter for a little bit of reddish Syrah fruit to come forward through the high-toned stemminess. Very, very classic, understated, this may not be one of the great vintages of Chavaroche but it's a winner nonetheless.
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3/26/2023 - pilot360 wrote: 91 Points
This wine should have been in the old Cordier stable from the 70’s and 80’s.
Fantastic Ferrel funky nose . Doesn’t seem reductive, but is part of the personality. This does integrate over a few hours , integrates into a cool blue and black berry thyme infused gift. Good structure , displays class
Love this wine, can’t wait for some more development , and should improve.
Could use just a bit more weight
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3/18/2023 - talbot61 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lots of sediment. I opened this -- my first of the 2012 vintage -- because of a recent tasting note (thank you, ACYSO) that emphasized the silky drinkability. That is exactly right. We gave this a short decant, and it was completely approachable, much less tannic than the 2009, not as wild as the 2007, but smooth and complex and intense and delicious. Nothing here to shake my conviction that this is one of the world's great wines.
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3/15/2023 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Flickinger dinner at avec River North (Chicago, IL): A deeply different wine than a recent 2013, but not in quality. This is far more resolved and silkier, with a much more gentle and sedate quality about it. The fruit is red and delicate, and the tannins almost fully resolved. This lacks the ferocity of some "bigger" vintages of Levet, but I think the hallmarks of a rustic Côte-Rôtie are still prominently on display. I'd drink this while I age the 2013.
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12/12/2022 - Cote d'Or Likes this wine:
Tasted over 3 hrs
-saturated med dark red minimal clearing
-first whiff was like getting whacked in the face with a big slab of salami then it settles down to other savory goodness dominated by black pepper accented with mint and herbal notes
-med acidity pokes in late, med weight earthy dark berry with a return of some of the pepper and herb, med/med+ coarse tannins
-as is usually the case this is a brilliant old school wine, probably near or on its plateau, just about perfect to fulfill funky-savory-rustic cravings
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11/13/2022 - dream wrote:
skunked
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8/4/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark, almost brooding nose with lots of savory flavors, meat, dark cherries, game, leather, violets, and black pepper. Very well balanced with good acidity and grippy tannins, more dark fruit flavors, blackberries, and tart cherries on the palate. Nice finish. This will clearly continue to evolve and get better over time, but it was quite drinkable with a short decant. Still, I’d try opening the next one in 5-7 years… 93+
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10/26/2021 - dream Likes this wine: 93 Points
A medium-bodied, gorgeous vintage for this wine with a great savory/silky texture and classic flavors of roasted meats, baconfat and char. Finishes smooth and refined with a lingering note of smoky violets. Awesome Cote Rotie!
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9/6/2021 - jhw425 wrote: 92 Points
Much better on day 3. Meats and bacon fat with sauvage with more open fruit
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10/13/2020 - pren wrote: 90 Points
刚开瓶,有很充沛的香气。 接下来的两个小时都不太明显。口中有收敛的胡椒为主的味道,微涩。整体感觉,音量偏小。
第二天,主要是whole cluster的焦味下面的胡椒味。显得单调。
第三天,不太焦了,但其他的味道也所剩不多了。
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9/1/2020 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
A brilliant vintage for this authentic and perennially underrated Cote Rotie. The texture is the thing with layers of silky dark fruits that caress the palate in a savory way with firm underlying acidity. The finish is concentrated and crisp with notes of violet flowers, smoked meats and minerals. No crime to drink this now but there is more to come here when the tertiaries set in. 94+
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5/5/2020 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
Such a pure and beautiful nose of violet flowers and smoky blue fruits. On the palate, it’s still quite structured but the floral perfume is so overwhelming that it’s lovely to experience now. There are deep flavors of purple and blue fruits along with a crisp yet velvety texture and wonderful notes of black olives, smoked meats and fragrant violet spice. The finish is still tannic but also smooth with a building underlying complexity sporting amazing hints of stony minerals, black pepper and charred wood. An awesome expression of Cote Rotie. 94+
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4/12/2020 - jhw425 wrote: 92 Points
Really good traditional wine. Oupeformed a 2013 Gonon opened alongside. Feral with intense olives and black pepper and meats
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7/19/2019 - MattMauldin Likes this wine:
Drank at a dinner, didn't get full notes. Generally speaking, this was nicely expressive on the nose with saddle leather, plum, tapenade, flowers and cured meats. Surprisingly supple and open (for a young Levet) on the palate with dark savory fruit and depth along ample structure that was forgiving and rounded. Very young but entering approachability. Excellent and enjoyed by my group, all fans of Northern Rhône Syrah.
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7/12/2019 - ccn wrote: 88 Points
(from magnum). This wine divided the group into lovers and haters, no one was in between. Very nice classic Cote Rotie, in a relatively ripe style, with leather, gamey meat, etc. There is a lot of brett in this wine and it became more and more pronounced as the wine aerated to the point of dominating. I like a bit of brett and enjoyed it at first for the complexity, but ultimately it dominated the wine and seemed like a fault.
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5/20/2019 - Kirk Grant wrote:
This is in a lovely spot. I have to say I'm a bit surprised it was so easy to enjoy on the PnP. A translucent ruby, with scents of smoke, dehydrated beef, lavender, and black pepper this is exactly what I wanted with our steaks tonight. This is light-medium bodied, with bright and vivid black and red fruits, a solid dose of tannin, and high acidity. Just a lovely wine...really something special. Outstanding!!!
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8/23/2018 - LFCHALA Does not like this wine: 87 Points
On Thursday, we drank a few wines from the North Rhone blindly. Well made wines, but with very different styles. The WOTN was the E. Guigal Cotie Rotie La Mouline 2002. Classic and consistent. Amazing. The second wine was the Thierry Alemand Cornas Chaillot 2011. Great wine. For some it was the WOTN. The third wine was the Clusel Roch Cote Rotie 2006. Modern style. Good. The 4th wine was a huge disappointment. Bernard Levet's Cotie Rotie La Chavaroche 2012 looked like a Chilean wine with excess of guava.
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12/22/2017 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 93 Points
The 2012 La Chavaroche Cote Rotie from Levet is earth, mineral and stone personified. The nose was dark yet remarkably fresh, showing black currant and blackberry with crushed stone, moist soil, smoke and wild herbs verging on olive. On the palate, I found silky textures contrasted by tart black and red fruits with brisk acids, as hints of dried orange peel, herbs and minerals cascaded across the senses. It finished long yet fresh with saturating dark fruits, and a mix of mineral and chewy tannin. This is great now with a good decant, but has many years of evolution in store for us.
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12/22/2017 - Mlermontov wrote: 93 Points
Funky, earthy, iron and mineral, very red fruit, chewy, herbs and spice, some brett here for sure but very well balanced, violets. This is simply excellent.
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12/3/2017 - Sixchips600 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Agree with previous notes about the incredible nose of pepper, grilled meat, and raspberry fruit. Tart and savory palate which works for old world palates and will probably show more nuance with time in bottle. Got better with air until it was gone at six hours. A clear buy at this price point.
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12/1/2017 - clayfu wrote:
Thursday nights are for Rhoning with the pals. (Kinjiro): Served blind next to the 12 Journaries. The nose is INCREDIBLE on this wine. Crunchy bright raspberry and mint on the nose sprinkled with black pepper and crushed over some rare steak. In a lineup with a lot of amazing rhones, this nose soared. The palate was clipped and very lean and lacking in fruit. Needs to build on that body, but that nose is ssick.
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11/12/2017 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Surprisingly open for a chavaroche. Old school syrah right from the start. Tons of floral aromatics, then on the palate you have so much crunchy peppercorn goodness. Light in color and body and won't please people looking for anything remotely resembling new world. Lots of perfume, though i think there is no viognier. On the herbaceous and savory side. I would prefer a bit more body, but I am finding 2011, 2012, and 2013 to be that way.
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11/4/2017 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Syrah Blind Taste-off: 2012 Rhone vs. 2013 California (My Place): Poured blind, as part of our '12 Rhone vs. '13 Calif syrah event. My rank 2nd place, group rank 1st place. Decanted 6-8 hours before event, then returned to bottle. I dug this wine, as it had a balance and complexity that made it stand out. A cool, whole cluster florality, with light pepper and some blood. The aromatics reminded me of the '13 Drew Valenti which was in the previous flight. Tight palate, a rocky, ferrous/iron quality yet with terrific intensity and depth. This was terrific.
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6/17/2017 - Susaninaustin Likes this wine: 90 Points
2.5
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2/10/2017 - dpolivy wrote: 90 Points
Vindredi (Hermitage vs Cote Rotie, and friends) (Bellevue, WA): Tasted blind. Sweet fruit, plum, violets, cherry, and spice on the nose. Round and soft, with a mild bitterness. Some barnyard notes. Nice nose, but seemed a little thin on the palate in comparison.
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12/20/2016 - Rob MacKay wrote:
Love the green pepper mixed with crushed peppercorns. Uniquely Northern Rhone from start to finish. Great wine.
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7/31/2016 - drwine2001 wrote:
Deep ruby. Similar aromatics to the '13 with black fruit but mostly stalkiness and pepper. Not terribly different in the mouth either with little fruit, lean feel. Lighter weight and lower acidity than the younger vintage. I just didn't appreciate either of these wines.
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6/18/2016 - greidy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ruby color, nose full of spices, red and black berries, flowers, very dry palate, medium plus finish. Big wine, just needs couple of more years in cellar of couple of extra hours in decanter...
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5/22/2016 - tooch wrote: 96 Points
A great vintage of this great wine. Had this open for about 24 hours and the wine was lithe and earthy with beautiful dark fruits. The mouthfeel was gorgeous - silky & airy. I like the potential to age this for 10-12. Old school syrah.
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1/11/2016 - Kirk Grant wrote:
This was tight...even with a 4+ hour decant it gave little accept olive, black pepper, and dark fruits on the nose. The palate was dry & tannic. I will check back in around 2020. I would wait a minimum of 5+ years.
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11/19/2015 - eoinhharkins wrote:
Pretty nose, rock, olives, games and blue fruits, smooth palate on the attack and the fine tannins show themselves on the mid palate, these should integrate with time, will leave my others for 5 or so years
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9/13/2015 - yofog wrote:
Beautiful wine: the blue and black berry fruit is multilayered and liqueur-like, it's loaded with spice and smoke/incense aromatics, the tannins are refined and snappy, it's long on the palate and intoxicating to smell. Can't get enough.
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9/11/2015 - Chomsky wrote:
Nice iteration of this wine, slighter in body than some vintages and more reticent with the fruit -- it has taken a couple of hours in the decanter for a little bit of reddish Syrah fruit to come forward through the high-toned stemminess. Very, very classic, understated, this may not be one of the great vintages of Chavaroche but it's a winner nonetheless.
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2/13/2015 - 560 B&W Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted. Took a little time to open, but delightful. 13%
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