4 bottles between November 2021 and July 2022. Everyone a winner and always the red wine of the evening for me. Colour was deep dark purple tending black. More aged colour at the rim. Aroma was pronounced and complex. Flowers, black olives, black fruit. Some pepperiness. The age gave it a soft enveloping warmth, if a wine could give one a cuddle... A very versatile food pairing wine and delicious on its own. Had with casseroles and bbq.
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Crouch End Crew (Crouch End Cellars): A little 'modern' (in style, if not age), still drinking well. Quite smooth and gave the impression of being very young and fresh, although the tannin was fully resolved. Tasty, but lacked character compared to the Cote Rotie we drank alongside it.
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Blinded against a '06 JLC which granted isn't the hardest task, but the difference was immediate. Much older pigeon blood color, more dusty, in my view clearly better made technically with more finely integrated tannins, with fruit that is clearly moving into tertiary but still available. As an aged Hermitage should be. Finish was slightly short which is my main critique - time to drink up.
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3rd bottle tasted this year - Drank from magnum tonight: Red fruits, black fruits, berries, herbs, earth, with some meat funk tertiaries. Nice eucalyptus / mint leaf finish. Some metallic notes. Tight at first but improved a lot over the night. Open sooner than later
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The typical dust, iron and heavy smokiness of classic Hermitage. That and blood, bacon, black cherries, all well delineated. Good acidity, broad and dense palate, tannins are bit dry but overall harmonious. This nose is just excellent. No hurry to drink, it will stay like this for some time.
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Le Pavillon Vertical (89, 92, 94, 99, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08): 2nd bottle tasted this year - Tasted cassis, blue berries, mint, herbs, peppers. Nice eucalyptus and earthy finish. However, similar to the ‘92, developed a metallic finish after a couple of hours. Close to the end of its drinking window.
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Medium expressive nose displaying concentrated blue and black fruit, blueberry, black plum, charred steak, a hint of ash, garrigue, molasses, a hint of oak and earth. Excellent concentrated nicely layered concentrated blue fruit, dense and rich, good acidity and mineral, a hint of tannins and a long concentrated blue fruit driven finish. IMO, Le Pavillon is Leoville Las Case of Hermitage, i.e. developing at a glacial pace. It is rich and youthful but a bit monolithic. If Jamet is your thing, stay far away.
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Initial funk, Chinese herbs, spices, earthy bouquet. Tasted cassis, mint, reminded me of L’Ermite. Once it opened up, tasted salted caramel, tinge of burnt brown sugar, eucalyptus, forest floor. Complex, wow. Long menthol, barnyard aftertaste. Best bottle for the night. Open now
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More muted than the '96 we had by its side. Enjoyable but the bottle was a bit shut down. On the palate, there's a good amount of fruit and acid, tannins are well integrated but there is almost no development. It needs time. I would hold this another 5 years and pop again.
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WineBid Tasting Event (Mandarin Oriental): In the top five of the tasting for sure for me (perhaps even second favorite behind the Petrus). This is more of the barnyard and funk style of wine, but with some nice red fruits and hints of coffee bean and cigar smoke. It is lighter bodied in style than some others from the area and comes across as quite well made and elegant.
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Had at a spectacular WINEBID.com tasting event. Total of 39 wines tasted with an unbelievable lineup ! Bravo to Sterling Roig.
Just a wonderful follow up to the 09 usseglio chateauneauf "mon aieul". This is no second fiddle. It is equally huge and berry driven wine with loads of black pepper spice and vegetables. Tremendous mid pallete of forest floor. This is mushroom and earthy and just so sweet to counter the mushrooms.
It is. Long long finish of almost 1 minute. Frankly would not cease !
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Drack från Magnum. Ett strålande vin med mörk mogen frukt, kryddiga och rökiga toner, violer och tjära. Upplevs förvånansvärt ungt. Kan ligga i källaren ytterligare många år.
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Classic Hermitage. A bottle taken from a natural cellar, perfect fill. No sign of bricking, dark ruby, nose of violets and pepper. Smooth entry, then intense syrah fruit. Tannins still present but in balance with richness of the fruit. Two minute finish. A great bottle if you like Old World syrah.
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At the Aberdeen Marina Club Rhone Lunch in Hong Kong from Magnum - Probably the most controversial wine of the lunch and certainly up against some tough competition. Descriptors such as "rustic" and "rough round the edges" bounced around the table. It definitely improved with food - a dish of chicken, chick peas and chorizo - whose spice it was certainly up to. I suspect the magnum factor, together with a shorter decanting time than was needed probably contributed to the lack of love for this wine on the day.
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Decanted ~ not long enough. Initally, the nose was a bit off putting after 2000 Janasse VV owing, I think to the southern wine's warmth and this northern wine's...... cooler nature. Initial aromas of damp forest floor were alarmingly close to potentially corked Bordeaux. We swirled. After about an hour... then the black-blue berry cured game and slightly fat nose began to emerge. Acid, fruit, and structure are all in balance.... and tho 20+ years old, this wine demands.... time. Recommend 2+ hours decant.
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Pnp, garnet with bricking edge, nose of burgundy red fruit, floral and spice. Mouth was leathery, earthy and eucalyptus, medium acidity but tannin was dry and rough. After 2hrs, it become more rustic, some licorice some floral aroma at end of palate. Complex but lack harmony.
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Very earthy with some rot and red berries. The palate is medium in weight with flowers and raspberries. I liked it a lot and actually thought it might be rayas blind.
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Deep garnet color. Nose of medium intensity and almost fully mature. Aromas of leather, coffee and spice on the nose, not very impressive though. Palate fares better with plummy fruit and tart red berry. Resolved tannins and smooth texture with refreshing acidity. Medium finish. Can keep for a few more years and possibly show better.
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Bottle No 2 had a perfect cork, but a bit funky nose when popped and poured. Even on the palate it didn't perform as well as bottle No 1. It felt a bit flat in comparison. At first I gave this bottle of Le Pavillon 1994 90 points. But today, the day after, when I write my notes I sip on the leftovers of this wine from bottle No 2 and it is just lovely! So this wine needs to be decanted for at least 12 h to be able to show its best. Yet I still believe bottle No 1 was a bit better. I wish I had leftovers from bottle No 1.
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Good bottle. Opened two bottles of this wine the same day. Carmine red, deep, dark. At first the nose was shut down and closed. It took 3 h for the wine to open up. Cherries and plums, menthol ("toothpaste menthe"), camphor, bacon, meat, blood, white peppar, tobacco.
Full bodied, "meaty", the tannins are a bit dry and chewy. Good acidity. Mature red fruit, mushrooms, bacon, blood, salt. Quite complex. Long finish. Leaves a lovely meaty taste.
I really like this wine
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Tasted blind: Intensive garnet. Nose of leather, coffee and sweet berries. Not your typical Sirah. Acidity is quite dominant yet still a wonderful sweetness which makes this wine 'easy drinking'. All on the dry side. Red berries are present. Drink now.
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don't know if this wine is partially shut down or just doesn't have the goods, found it big/modern/extracted but the nose was modest - bacon fat at first, then some red fruit / oak, but never really enticing or significant, palate was low acid, low grip, and felt heavy without any really interesting flavors / layers, pretty consistent across five hours in the decanter... update, same on nite two and three, then a hint of improvement / fruit / acid on nite four... i think if you have them wait five years
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Dark cloudy core with good amount of bricking; nose of dark tart fruit, ash, some vegetal, dark chocolate covered cherries with the liqueur on the inside; broader, denser more expansive mouthfeel more stuffing and holding up better than Jaboulet La Chapelle from same year, lower acid, still some tannin, good liqueur like red fruit on the persistent finish; good not great.
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CT Texas V - North Dallas Forty and then some; 5/3/2013-5/5/2013 (McKinney, North Dallas, TX): Great nose of rich red and black fruit, cracked pepper, florals, hints of bacon, and camphor (thanks wiml). On the palate rich with red raspberry, blackberry, pepper, and herbs. Long finish. I don't drink a lot of N. Rhone, but this feels like it is just entering its drinking windows, definitely has the stuffing to last a long time from here.
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In Vino Veritas Session 2 (MIT): Whole peppercorns and spicy spicy fruit. Very vibrant - plenty of acidity, medium tannin, perfect low-medium oaking. I rarely call wines elegant, but this is a beauty, and so youthful! A shame it's so expensive. 13.5%, $125.
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Rhone Dinner ('96 and Older) (Aquitaine - Chicago, IL): the thing I’m realizing more and more about Chapoutier’s cuvees is how modern they are for this region. This was a nicely evolved bottle of syrah that had a lovely red fruit driven nose, bacon drippings, red florals and sweet pipe tobacco. The red fruit was more evident in this bottle than in any other of the older Northern Rhones we had during this dinner. The finish was long and enjoyable.
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Double decanted 5 hours before serving. Again, black colour but this time the extra air presented a softer, slightly redder-fruited wine with some creamy vanilla. Beautiful follow through to a deeply fruited pepper and spice finish.
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Slow-oxed for 3 hours, decanted and then served. Completely black colour with only a tiny amount of fading at the rim. Nose of blackened steak, black fruits and pepper went perfectly with the rare cote de boeuf. Perfectly balanced palate with intense black fruits, pepper and meat on the attack followed by beautiful peppery tannins right through to the long finish. Seriously great hermitage.
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Easily wine of the night. Decanted for 2 hours. Dark garnet. Fantastic nose with intense black pepper, raspberry, boiled meat and earthiness. Mid-bodied, perfectly textured with no sign of aging. Vibrant fruit and spice, very soft tanins and high acidity. Very long finish of black pepper. Can age for one more decade easily. Awesome.
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Comparé à un cousin La Mouline 2000, il avait clairement atteint sa maturité et était tout en finesse. De la très bonne syrah. Nez complexe sur les épices, le poivre particulièrement. En bouche bien équilibré, aucun défaut apparrent et sait nous faire découvrir de beau terroir. 92.
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Tough, ungenerous even a little surly still. Not sure where this will end up as it has plenty of "meat" but it's all a little disjointed and unhappy at the moment.
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A clear purple ruby core, turning to garnet / amber at the rim. Notes of cedary dark fruits -- Nathan said "vanilla" -- with hints of smoke, pepper, and game. Medium bodied on the palate, with a lush texture, ripe but firm tannins, and a healthy dose of wood on the finish. Seems to be close to maturity, and is drinking well, but honestly, I was expecting more.
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Chateau Soleil Tasting (Denise Tanglin): Light floral perfumes followed closely by whiffs of gunpowder smoke , brambly blueberries, dried meated lifted by cedar oak. Spice-driven gentle and feminine expression of red currant fruits. Attractive, juicy with a lingering licourice-tainted cherries rounded up by sour plummishness.
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Paul Jaouen Does Minneapolis (Mugnier, Leroy, Papet, La Las, Pavillon, Celestins, Cheval, Latour, Palmer): Boy was this out of place. The nose is dominated by the smell of sweet oak. Maybe a little dark fruit in there, but mostly oak. The taste is even more obscured by oak, giving the dark fruit a carmel/vanilla profile. If this had been served blind I would have bet the ranch that this was a big, recent vintage Australian Shiraz. Maybe more bottle age will allow this to develop some additional character, but I'm not optimistic.
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Still largely closed on the nose and palate. Began to open up after an hour in the glass, but the group had finished it by then. Definately has upside in the years ahead.
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this one was not decanted as long as the one last week, and showed tighter. i would have given it more time but it was still showing secondaries and pleasant to drink. some others at the table even preferred it to the 89 la chapelle that came next - no way at all in my mind - but shows that it is showing well right now. B+
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solid nose, good fruit, giving the secondary aromas and flavors at this point. mature, but with firm tannins - in fact maybe just a bit too firm for the material. still, very nice - just not with the best of them. B+/A-
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Greg Johnson offline (with La-La's) (La Trouvaille, Soho): Decanted for 30 minutes. Ruby-purple in appearance and opaque. A whiff of brett/horse stable on the nose (in a good way...), with some subdued fruit clearly still struggling to get out. On the palate it is tongue-coating, with a velvety texture and a mineral backbone that masks some of the underlying fruit compote. Fine but very dry tannins on the finish. This evidently has many years to go before it peaks.
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Northern Rhones with Guillaume Deschamps and Richard Beeken in Seattle (Kaspar's): Decanted 6 hours before the tasting and was still very closed, Ed saved a small taste that changed quite a bit with another hour of air. Aromas of roasted meat, coffee, pine sap, black pepper and black berries. The finish while still having plenty of nicely rounded tannins was medium to long in length. This is much more tannic than the 97 but the tannins are not a drying.
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Dark red in the glass. Great aromas of cinnamon, peppar and licorice. Quite fresh and lively, and sweeping beautifully across the palate. Lots of ripe fruit and no hints of age here. I was surprised to find not even the slightest signs of a bit of age. Wide-bodied and built into a large framework, this wine combines power and elegance and conveys terroir characteristics very convincingly. There seems to be a great balance between wood, tannins (which are sweet and ripe), and acid. A lovely long finish that trails off on notes of licorice and spices.
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7/29/2022 - Elliot Vale Likes this wine: 93 Points
4 bottles between November 2021 and July 2022. Everyone a winner and always the red wine of the evening for me.
Colour was deep dark purple tending black. More aged colour at the rim. Aroma was pronounced and complex. Flowers, black olives, black fruit. Some pepperiness. The age gave it a soft enveloping warmth, if a wine could give one a cuddle...
A very versatile food pairing wine and delicious on its own. Had with casseroles and bbq.
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7/20/2021 - NickA Likes this wine: 91 Points
Crouch End Crew (Crouch End Cellars): A little 'modern' (in style, if not age), still drinking well. Quite smooth and gave the impression of being very young and fresh, although the tannin was fully resolved. Tasty, but lacked character compared to the Cote Rotie we drank alongside it.
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5/6/2021 - wxs2102 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Blinded against a '06 JLC which granted isn't the hardest task, but the difference was immediate. Much older pigeon blood color, more dusty, in my view clearly better made technically with more finely integrated tannins, with fruit that is clearly moving into tertiary but still available. As an aged Hermitage should be. Finish was slightly short which is my main critique - time to drink up.
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9/21/2020 - aquacongas wrote: 97 Points
Best Bottle before Clos du Mesnil Vertical Tasting (Rocaille Düsseldorf): blind
this was really impresive. Fresh, spicy, herbal but with a great tannin and acidity structure. So young. A bit tar and violet. In love. 97-98
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12/19/2019 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 92 Points
3rd bottle tasted this year - Drank from magnum tonight: Red fruits, black fruits, berries, herbs, earth, with some meat funk tertiaries. Nice eucalyptus / mint leaf finish. Some metallic notes. Tight at first but improved a lot over the night. Open sooner than later
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8/23/2019 - Ary Likes this wine: 93 Points
The typical dust, iron and heavy smokiness of classic Hermitage. That and blood, bacon, black cherries, all well delineated. Good acidity, broad and dense palate, tannins are bit dry but overall harmonious. This nose is just excellent. No hurry to drink, it will stay like this for some time.
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8/17/2019 - dnnk88 wrote: 92 Points
Le Pavillon Vertical (89, 92, 94, 99, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08): 2nd bottle tasted this year - Tasted cassis, blue berries, mint, herbs, peppers. Nice eucalyptus and earthy finish. However, similar to the ‘92, developed a metallic finish after a couple of hours. Close to the end of its drinking window.
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7/10/2019 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
Medium expressive nose displaying concentrated blue and black fruit, blueberry, black plum, charred steak, a hint of ash, garrigue, molasses, a hint of oak and earth. Excellent concentrated nicely layered concentrated blue fruit, dense and rich, good acidity and mineral, a hint of tannins and a long concentrated blue fruit driven finish. IMO, Le Pavillon is Leoville Las Case of Hermitage, i.e. developing at a glacial pace. It is rich and youthful but a bit monolithic. If Jamet is your thing, stay far away.
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3/20/2019 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Initial funk, Chinese herbs, spices, earthy bouquet. Tasted cassis, mint, reminded me of L’Ermite. Once it opened up, tasted salted caramel, tinge of burnt brown sugar, eucalyptus, forest floor. Complex, wow. Long menthol, barnyard aftertaste. Best bottle for the night. Open now
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3/24/2018 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 92 Points
More muted than the '96 we had by its side. Enjoyable but the bottle was a bit shut down. On the palate, there's a good amount of fruit and acid, tannins are well integrated but there is almost no development. It needs time. I would hold this another 5 years and pop again.
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1/18/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
WineBid Tasting Event (Mandarin Oriental): In the top five of the tasting for sure for me (perhaps even second favorite behind the Petrus). This is more of the barnyard and funk style of wine, but with some nice red fruits and hints of coffee bean and cigar smoke. It is lighter bodied in style than some others from the area and comes across as quite well made and elegant.
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1/18/2018 - tomoem Likes this wine: 94 Points
Had at a spectacular WINEBID.com tasting event. Total of 39 wines tasted with an unbelievable lineup ! Bravo to Sterling Roig.
Just a wonderful follow up to the 09 usseglio chateauneauf "mon aieul". This is no second fiddle. It is equally huge and berry driven wine with loads of black pepper spice and vegetables. Tremendous mid pallete of forest floor. This is mushroom and earthy and just so sweet to counter the mushrooms.
It is. Long long finish of almost 1 minute. Frankly would not cease !
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9/15/2016 - Barry Rothof wrote: 93 Points
Strong concentrated, balanced black fruit earth tannin and cacao. still young
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5/13/2016 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 94 Points
Drack från Magnum.
Ett strålande vin med mörk mogen frukt, kryddiga och rökiga toner, violer och tjära. Upplevs förvånansvärt ungt. Kan ligga i källaren ytterligare många år.
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2/6/2016 - PGIF Likes this wine: 96 Points
Classic Hermitage. A bottle taken from a natural cellar, perfect fill. No sign of bricking, dark ruby, nose of violets and pepper. Smooth entry, then intense syrah fruit. Tannins still present but in balance with richness of the fruit. Two minute finish. A great bottle if you like Old World syrah.
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11/14/2015 - KoalaHK wrote:
At the Aberdeen Marina Club Rhone Lunch in Hong Kong from Magnum - Probably the most controversial wine of the lunch and certainly up against some tough competition. Descriptors such as "rustic" and "rough round the edges" bounced around the table. It definitely improved with food - a dish of chicken, chick peas and chorizo - whose spice it was certainly up to. I suspect the magnum factor, together with a shorter decanting time than was needed probably contributed to the lack of love for this wine on the day.
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10/5/2015 - oldcorke Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted ~ not long enough. Initally, the nose was a bit off putting after 2000 Janasse VV owing, I think to the southern wine's warmth and this northern wine's...... cooler nature. Initial aromas of damp forest floor were alarmingly close to potentially corked Bordeaux. We swirled. After about an hour... then the black-blue berry cured game and slightly fat nose began to emerge. Acid, fruit, and structure are all in balance.... and tho 20+ years old, this wine demands.... time. Recommend 2+ hours decant.
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1/18/2015 - conviction buy wrote: 90 Points
Pnp, garnet with bricking edge, nose of burgundy red fruit, floral and spice. Mouth was leathery, earthy and eucalyptus, medium acidity but tannin was dry and rough. After 2hrs, it become more rustic, some licorice some floral aroma at end of palate. Complex but lack harmony.
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7/10/2014 - Tenuta Stefan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Best bottle so far from the case.
This bottle perform the best finish. Long finish, + 45 seconds, with lovely meaty and spicy flavours.
Improves very well over time in decanter. Best after 12 h in decanter with foil on top.
See more notes from 3/29/2014
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5/31/2014 - Uglypinga wrote:
Very earthy with some rot and red berries. The palate is medium in weight with flowers and raspberries. I liked it a lot and actually thought it might be rayas blind.
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4/19/2014 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep garnet color. Nose of medium intensity and almost fully mature. Aromas of leather, coffee and spice on the nose, not very impressive though. Palate fares better with plummy fruit and tart red berry. Resolved tannins and smooth texture with refreshing acidity. Medium finish. Can keep for a few more years and possibly show better.
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3/29/2014 - Tenuta Stefan Likes this wine: 93 Points
Good bottle. The second bottle of this wine.
Bottle No 2 had a perfect cork, but a bit funky nose when popped and poured. Even on the palate it didn't perform as well as bottle No 1. It felt a bit flat in comparison.
At first I gave this bottle of Le Pavillon 1994 90 points. But today, the day after, when I write my notes I sip on the leftovers of this wine from bottle No 2 and it is just lovely! So this wine needs to be decanted for at least 12 h to be able to show its best.
Yet I still believe bottle No 1 was a bit better. I wish I had leftovers from bottle No 1.
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3/29/2014 - Tenuta Stefan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Good bottle. Opened two bottles of this wine the same day.
Carmine red, deep, dark.
At first the nose was shut down and closed. It took 3 h for the wine to open up.
Cherries and plums, menthol ("toothpaste menthe"), camphor, bacon, meat, blood, white peppar, tobacco.
Full bodied, "meaty", the tannins are a bit dry and chewy. Good acidity. Mature red fruit, mushrooms, bacon, blood, salt. Quite complex.
Long finish. Leaves a lovely meaty taste.
I really like this wine
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2/14/2014 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted blind: Intensive garnet. Nose of leather, coffee and sweet berries. Not your typical Sirah. Acidity is quite dominant yet still a wonderful sweetness which makes this wine 'easy drinking'. All on the dry side. Red berries are present. Drink now.
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12/11/2013 - redders wrote: 90 Points
Dumb nose ripe and full on palate but falls away in finish. Good wine but paled beside the other two 1994 hermitages Chave and La Chapelle
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9/23/2013 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 89 Points
don't know if this wine is partially shut down or just doesn't have the goods, found it big/modern/extracted but the nose was modest - bacon fat at first, then some red fruit / oak, but never really enticing or significant, palate was low acid, low grip, and felt heavy without any really interesting flavors / layers, pretty consistent across five hours in the decanter... update, same on nite two and three, then a hint of improvement / fruit / acid on nite four... i think if you have them wait five years
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6/14/2013 - Rezy13 wrote:
Dark cloudy core with good amount of bricking; nose of dark tart fruit, ash, some vegetal, dark chocolate covered cherries with the liqueur on the inside; broader, denser more expansive mouthfeel more stuffing and holding up better than Jaboulet La Chapelle from same year, lower acid, still some tannin, good liqueur like red fruit on the persistent finish; good not great.
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5/4/2013 - GalvezGuy wrote: 93 Points
CT Texas V - North Dallas Forty and then some; 5/3/2013-5/5/2013 (McKinney, North Dallas, TX): Great nose of rich red and black fruit, cracked pepper, florals, hints of bacon, and camphor (thanks wiml). On the palate rich with red raspberry, blackberry, pepper, and herbs. Long finish. I don't drink a lot of N. Rhone, but this feels like it is just entering its drinking windows, definitely has the stuffing to last a long time from here.
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1/24/2013 - Benj wrote: 92 Points
In Vino Veritas Session 2 (MIT): Whole peppercorns and spicy spicy fruit. Very vibrant - plenty of acidity, medium tannin, perfect low-medium oaking. I rarely call wines elegant, but this is a beauty, and so youthful! A shame it's so expensive. 13.5%, $125.
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7/14/2012 - soyhead wrote: 81 Points
nose - raisin, sweet
mouth -tired fruit, past prime, stale.
possibly an off bottle?
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3/31/2012 - jerhardt wrote: 93 Points
Pretty good hermitage in an elegant package; not a blockbuster, but I like it. Easily drinkable now, but certainly no rush.
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4/22/2011 - tooch wrote: 90 Points
Rhone Dinner ('96 and Older) (Aquitaine - Chicago, IL): the thing I’m realizing more and more about Chapoutier’s cuvees is how modern they are for this region. This was a nicely evolved bottle of syrah that had a lovely red fruit driven nose, bacon drippings, red florals and sweet pipe tobacco. The red fruit was more evident in this bottle than in any other of the older Northern Rhones we had during this dinner. The finish was long and enjoyable.
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2/6/2011 - Ricky99 wrote: 94 Points
At peak. Perfect
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8/1/2010 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Double decanted 5 hours before serving. Again, black colour but this time the extra air presented a softer, slightly redder-fruited wine with some creamy vanilla. Beautiful follow through to a deeply fruited pepper and spice finish.
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7/31/2010 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Slow-oxed for 3 hours, decanted and then served. Completely black colour with only a tiny amount of fading at the rim. Nose of blackened steak, black fruits and pepper went perfectly with the rare cote de boeuf. Perfectly balanced palate with intense black fruits, pepper and meat on the attack followed by beautiful peppery tannins right through to the long finish. Seriously great hermitage.
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7/20/2010 - Yiannis wrote: 96 Points
Easily wine of the night. Decanted for 2 hours. Dark garnet. Fantastic nose with intense black pepper, raspberry, boiled meat and earthiness. Mid-bodied, perfectly textured with no sign of aging. Vibrant fruit and spice, very soft tanins and high acidity. Very long finish of black pepper. Can age for one more decade easily. Awesome.
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12/5/2009 - jarjarbinx99 wrote: 92 Points
Comparé à un cousin La Mouline 2000, il avait clairement atteint sa maturité et était tout en finesse. De la très bonne syrah. Nez complexe sur les épices, le poivre particulièrement. En bouche bien équilibré, aucun défaut apparrent et sait nous faire découvrir de beau terroir. 92.
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9/12/2009 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Tough, ungenerous even a little surly still. Not sure where this will end up as it has plenty of "meat" but it's all a little disjointed and unhappy at the moment.
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6/22/2009 - tbabes wrote: 91 Points
A clear purple ruby core, turning to garnet / amber at the rim. Notes of cedary dark fruits -- Nathan said "vanilla" -- with hints of smoke, pepper, and game. Medium bodied on the palate, with a lush texture, ripe but firm tannins, and a healthy dose of wood on the finish. Seems to be close to maturity, and is drinking well, but honestly, I was expecting more.
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5/4/2009 - Alex H wrote: 86 Points
Chateau Soleil Tasting (Denise Tanglin): Light floral perfumes followed closely by whiffs of gunpowder smoke , brambly blueberries, dried meated lifted by cedar oak. Spice-driven gentle and feminine expression of red currant fruits. Attractive, juicy with a lingering licourice-tainted cherries rounded up by sour plummishness.
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6/3/2007 - Siggy wrote: 88 Points
Tasting Group Dinner w/ Paul Jaouen (Brad's House, Minneapolis): Pruny, super-ripe dark fruit and herbs. Very oaky on the nose and palate. Smells and tastes like an Aussie Shiraz. A surprisingly strange performance by this wine.
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6/3/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Paul Jaouen Does Minneapolis (Mugnier, Leroy, Papet, La Las, Pavillon, Celestins, Cheval, Latour, Palmer): Boy was this out of place. The nose is dominated by the smell of sweet oak. Maybe a little dark fruit in there, but mostly oak. The taste is even more obscured by oak, giving the dark fruit a carmel/vanilla profile. If this had been served blind I would have bet the ranch that this was a big, recent vintage Australian Shiraz. Maybe more bottle age will allow this to develop some additional character, but I'm not optimistic.
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4/24/2007 - idrinkvino wrote: 91 Points
Still largely closed on the nose and palate. Began to open up after an hour in the glass, but the group had finished it by then. Definately has upside in the years ahead.
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12/2/2006 - MC wrote:
this one was not decanted as long as the one last week, and showed tighter. i would have given it more time but it was still showing secondaries and pleasant to drink. some others at the table even preferred it to the 89 la chapelle that came next - no way at all in my mind - but shows that it is showing well right now. B+
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11/25/2006 - MC wrote:
solid nose, good fruit, giving the secondary aromas and flavors at this point. mature, but with firm tannins - in fact maybe just a bit too firm for the material. still, very nice - just not with the best of them. B+/A-
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2/18/2006 - Rani wrote: 92 Points
Greg Johnson offline (with La-La's) (La Trouvaille, Soho): Decanted for 30 minutes. Ruby-purple in appearance and opaque. A whiff of brett/horse stable on the nose (in a good way...), with some subdued fruit clearly still struggling to get out. On the palate it is tongue-coating, with a velvety texture and a mineral backbone that masks some of the underlying fruit compote. Fine but very dry tannins on the finish. This evidently has many years to go before it peaks.
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7/10/2005 - JasonD wrote: 93 Points
Northern Rhones with Guillaume Deschamps and Richard Beeken in Seattle (Kaspar's): Decanted 6 hours before the tasting and was still very closed, Ed saved a small taste that changed quite a bit with another hour of air. Aromas of roasted meat, coffee, pine sap, black pepper and black berries. The finish while still having plenty of nicely rounded tannins was medium to long in length. This is much more tannic than the 97 but the tannins are not a drying.
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1/25/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 93 Points
Dark red in the glass. Great aromas of cinnamon, peppar and licorice. Quite fresh and lively, and sweeping beautifully across the palate. Lots of ripe fruit and no hints of age here. I was surprised to find not even the slightest signs of a bit of age. Wide-bodied and built into a large framework, this wine combines power and elegance and conveys terroir characteristics very convincingly. There seems to be a great balance between wood, tannins (which are sweet and ripe), and acid. A lovely long finish that trails off on notes of licorice and spices.
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