Medium garnet. BlackBerry, plum, smoke, game, leather, tapenade, black pepper. Medium acidity, ripe tannins are noticeable but well integrated, the same for alcohol. Long finish. Drinking beautifully now but has the structure and fruit to age for many years. Very elegant.
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Dark ruby. Lovely suggestions of roasted meats, ground white pepper. Elegant, restrained. Beautifully in balance, and highly enjoyable over three nights.
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I've found it quite open after some decanting, also tasted 2nd half of the bottle overnight. Elegant and pure - blackberry, cassis, raspberry. griotte with hints of smoke, meat and pencil shavings, ash. Still plenty of tannings left, but overall balance is good. Crispy acidity (surprising for 2015) with mineral palate and great sense of pure fruits. I really like Clusel-Roch style - which aims for elegance. really burgundian in style.
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Deep red, clear edge. Black cherry, blackberry, pencil shavings, wood nose. Red cherry, wood, pencil shavings, oak. Subdued fruit, grippy tannins, plenty of structure. This is why I always wait for 10 years before drinking premium French wine, these things are often closed at 7 ...
Has great potential. Decant now, or wait a few years ...
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Fantastic stuff, already expressive and complex- although I could easily see it improving after a little cellar nap to coalesce the flavors, and add a sense of calm to the intense, bristling character.
Shared this with a group of friends, so my notes aren't super detailed, but still paid attention to it. This felt like a "textbook" definition of what syrah should be- maybe not standing out from other great examples in a dramatic way, but with nearly every classical syrah quality I can think of.
On both nose and palate, pure, fresh wild blackberry/mulberry/raspberry, salty charcuterie tones, brambly stems, subtle olive brine and even subtler smoky pepper. Even with all the savory nuance, the pure fruit takes center stage. It oscillates between deep black and bright red, especially with the powerful acidity on the palate. Truly reminds me of the mulberry bushes where I grew up north of Chicago, picking the red and black berries and enjoying the contrast of acidic energy between their varying levels of ripeness. Lots of sticky tannin, but it'll calm down before too long (not too harsh to enjoy now, even without food. It'll pair easily with meats, but even with the high expressivity, it feels delicate, and I wanted to really get the full detail/nuance.)
I was happy with the $80 I paid, although looking at wine-searcher, that might have been a fairly high price- if closer to $60, would be truly unreal. Would love to try one of these with age, wow.
Deep ruby colour. Medium aroma of blackberry, pepper, thyme, black plum, black cherry, clove, wet earth. Dry, medium acidity, medium tannin, medium alcohol. Full body. Medium intensity taste of black plum, cooking herbs, pepper, black cherry, clove. Long finish.
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Very nice, distinctly Cote Rotie Syrah. On the nose is black olive tapenade, bacon, dust, blue / black fruits, and some crushed rocks. Palate has similar notes, with a mix of dark red and blue fruits, herbs de Provence, cracked pepper, kalamata olives, and beef. Tannins still present of course but remain in the background and a really well balanced acidity carries the finish. Certainly may open up a bit more over the next few years, but quite pleasant today. This is a super easy drinker - my wife drank almost a full glass before she realized how fast she was drinking her wine.
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From a .375. This is still, expectedly, pretty tight at this point. Over the course of 2-3 hours, the first 15 minutes were probably the best, so this is all about potential at this point. Pretty classic, ripe blackberry and sweet red fruit, notes of bacon fat, olives, pepper, violets, iron and a general floral lift... just very tightly coiled. There's a rising tannic grip, but it's far from overwhelming and in the context of the wine's age, the integration is probably a bit ahead of the curve. Not flabby at all, but it isn't particularly acidic. Most surprisingly this is decidedly medium bodied, lending a refreshing elegance. At present, this is almost all potential, but I expect that this will blossom with time, although I think this will never be, or was intended to be, a blockbuster style wine.
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Earthy, stony, fresh and herbal, the wine pops with sweet, red berries, pepper and spice. Luscious, elegant and already charming, you can drink this young, or give it a decade for secondary nuances. This is the final vintage for the Classique. While the parcels will stay the same, the name was changed starting with the 2016 vintage to Les Schistes to coordinate with the terroir..
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Way, way too young - and actually difficult to evaluate at this point. Dark, tight, very concentrated with some wood presence; tasted over two days, remains closed. #Le Cerisier, Tain
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Elegant and refined for such a young cote rotie, lots of dark berries, hints of florals and spices, smooth mouth feel, with well integrated tannins and medium acidity and good length touch straightforward but delicious
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Pretty difficult to approach this wine at this stage. Rather exotic nose with herbal and floral notes. Dense in the mouth, completely dominated by tannins that will need at least a decade to be tamed and covering much any of the rather timid aromas. I give it the benefit of the doubt.
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Young for sure but had a somewhat of a new world feel to it in terms of the delicious ripe feel to the fruit some mild smoked game notes, dark mineral components and the tannins while not overwhelming have a somewhat bitter feel do need time to resolve
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Game, smoke, dark berries, black raspberry on the nose, traditional fruit feel on the palate, while interesting flavors jump out it, it is quite tannic and bitter and needs about a decade to resolve
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12/23/2023 - mzimberg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Super dark. Funky and gamy ripe aromas. Brett ? Rich black fruits and too young grippy tannis. Needs a lot more years.
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12/9/2023 - boston617 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very well rounded; hints of cherry; well balanced and pairs well with Mimolette
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12/9/2023 - Andrewbdc wrote: 92 Points
Medium garnet. BlackBerry, plum, smoke, game, leather, tapenade, black pepper. Medium acidity, ripe tannins are noticeable but well integrated, the same for alcohol. Long finish. Drinking beautifully now but has the structure and fruit to age for many years. Very elegant.
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5/5/2023 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Dark ruby. Lovely suggestions of roasted meats, ground white pepper. Elegant, restrained. Beautifully in balance, and highly enjoyable over three nights.
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7/11/2022 - Povilas wrote: 92 Points
I've found it quite open after some decanting, also tasted 2nd half of the bottle overnight. Elegant and pure - blackberry, cassis, raspberry. griotte with hints of smoke, meat and pencil shavings, ash.
Still plenty of tannings left, but overall balance is good. Crispy acidity (surprising for 2015) with mineral palate and great sense of pure fruits.
I really like Clusel-Roch style - which aims for elegance. really burgundian in style.
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2/4/2022 - pernod Likes this wine: 88 Points
Didn't decant. Should have.
Deep red, clear edge. Black cherry, blackberry, pencil shavings, wood nose. Red cherry, wood, pencil shavings, oak. Subdued fruit, grippy tannins, plenty of structure. This is why I always wait for 10 years before drinking premium French wine, these things are often closed at 7 ...
Has great potential. Decant now, or wait a few years ...
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7/12/2021 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic stuff, already expressive and complex- although I could easily see it improving after a little cellar nap to coalesce the flavors, and add a sense of calm to the intense, bristling character.
Shared this with a group of friends, so my notes aren't super detailed, but still paid attention to it. This felt like a "textbook" definition of what syrah should be- maybe not standing out from other great examples in a dramatic way, but with nearly every classical syrah quality I can think of.
On both nose and palate, pure, fresh wild blackberry/mulberry/raspberry, salty charcuterie tones, brambly stems, subtle olive brine and even subtler smoky pepper. Even with all the savory nuance, the pure fruit takes center stage. It oscillates between deep black and bright red, especially with the powerful acidity on the palate. Truly reminds me of the mulberry bushes where I grew up north of Chicago, picking the red and black berries and enjoying the contrast of acidic energy between their varying levels of ripeness. Lots of sticky tannin, but it'll calm down before too long (not too harsh to enjoy now, even without food. It'll pair easily with meats, but even with the high expressivity, it feels delicate, and I wanted to really get the full detail/nuance.)
I was happy with the $80 I paid, although looking at wine-searcher, that might have been a fairly high price- if closer to $60, would be truly unreal. Would love to try one of these with age, wow.
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3/15/2021 - mayakacz Likes this wine:
Deep ruby colour.
Medium aroma of blackberry, pepper, thyme, black plum, black cherry, clove, wet earth.
Dry, medium acidity, medium tannin, medium alcohol. Full body. Medium intensity taste of black plum, cooking herbs, pepper, black cherry, clove. Long finish.
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2/5/2021 - HFLED Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very nice, distinctly Cote Rotie Syrah. On the nose is black olive tapenade, bacon, dust, blue / black fruits, and some crushed rocks. Palate has similar notes, with a mix of dark red and blue fruits, herbs de Provence, cracked pepper, kalamata olives, and beef. Tannins still present of course but remain in the background and a really well balanced acidity carries the finish. Certainly may open up a bit more over the next few years, but quite pleasant today. This is a super easy drinker - my wife drank almost a full glass before she realized how fast she was drinking her wine.
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7/29/2020 - Mid Palate Tingle wrote:
Grippy but open for business
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1/26/2020 - Seafoam Manor wrote:
From a .375. This is still, expectedly, pretty tight at this point. Over the course of 2-3 hours, the first 15 minutes were probably the best, so this is all about potential at this point. Pretty classic, ripe blackberry and sweet red fruit, notes of bacon fat, olives, pepper, violets, iron and a general floral lift... just very tightly coiled. There's a rising tannic grip, but it's far from overwhelming and in the context of the wine's age, the integration is probably a bit ahead of the curve. Not flabby at all, but it isn't particularly acidic. Most surprisingly this is decidedly medium bodied, lending a refreshing elegance. At present, this is almost all potential, but I expect that this will blossom with time, although I think this will never be, or was intended to be, a blockbuster style wine.
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11/11/2019 - Tubulus wrote:
Very good but without the brightness of the 16.
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2/10/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Earthy, stony, fresh and herbal, the wine pops with sweet, red berries, pepper and spice. Luscious, elegant and already charming, you can drink this young, or give it a decade for secondary nuances. This is the final vintage for the Classique. While the parcels will stay the same, the name was changed starting with the 2016 vintage to Les Schistes to coordinate with the terroir..
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9/18/2018 - beatles wrote: 91 Points
Way, way too young - and actually difficult to evaluate at this point. Dark, tight, very concentrated with some wood presence; tasted over two days, remains closed.
#Le Cerisier, Tain
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7/4/2018 - eoinhharkins wrote: 91 Points
Elegant and refined for such a young cote rotie, lots of dark berries, hints of florals and spices, smooth mouth feel, with well integrated tannins and medium acidity and good length touch straightforward but delicious
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5/19/2018 - CarpeDiem! wrote:
Pretty difficult to approach this wine at this stage. Rather exotic nose with herbal and floral notes. Dense in the mouth, completely dominated by tannins that will need at least a decade to be tamed and covering much any of the rather timid aromas. I give it the benefit of the doubt.
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3/11/2018 - Rani Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tasted blind. Very elegant, notes of bacon and strawberry jam on the nose. Silky, still young proudly but will age gracefully.
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2/17/2018 - eoinhharkins wrote: 91 Points
Young for sure but had a somewhat of a new world feel to it in terms of the delicious ripe feel to the fruit some mild smoked game notes, dark mineral components and the tannins while not overwhelming have a somewhat bitter feel do need time to resolve
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2/4/2018 - eoinhharkins wrote: 91 Points
Game, smoke, dark berries, black raspberry on the nose, traditional fruit feel on the palate, while interesting flavors jump out it, it is quite tannic and bitter and needs about a decade to resolve
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