DAY 1: A lot less interesting than prior bottles. Distinct notes of raisin and a muddy VA aspect. Man this stuff is ripe. Pushing past my point of interest. It doesn't seem like a bad bottle. Pristine cork. Same source as others. I wonder if my tastes have just shifted to much less modernist juice? DAY 2: Ahh, much better, this really unfolded after an evening. Still very ripe, but now this is showing massive structure and garrigue, tapenade, the essence of Southern Rhone. Dusty, drying, powerful, this punches way above its weight class.
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A very nice showing tonight in the Mountains. Should drink well for several more years a it has the stuffing. -repeated Eric's experiment with the glasses -see his original TN and I absolutely concur.
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Yummy, this is a fantastically tasty Côtes du Rhône Villages, very cherry in profile, crunchy, yet loaded with garrigue and fantastic herbal notes. Finishing a little forced and bitter yet still unmistakably powerful and enjoyable.
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Bright red fruits on the bouquet; garnet color, graduating to light brown at the edges; good acid/tannin balance, but not harmonious --- this has started to fall apart; lots of raspberry, and a hint of leather. Drink up if you got 'em.
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This is not your grandfather's Cote du Rhone. Deep purple in color. Powerful nose of cherries and garrigue, with a little VA. Layer upon layer of black cherries and raspberries, a little smoke, some spice (possibly oak). Lush and dense, yet somehow not heavy, with a long finish. Atypical for a CdR, both in a positive and negative sense. A terrific wine for the money.
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I literally just opened this. The wine is amazing right out of the bottle. Lovely nose of berries and leather. The palate is full bodied with sweet ripe raspberries. Much riper and fuller than the '99. The finish is nice with a peppery feel. A stellar cotes du rhone. 92
Two and a half hours later, the nose has rich decandent berries with a whiff of smoke. The palate is seamless with well integrated tannins and well balanced acidity. A strong finish with black pepper. An amazing Cotes-du-Rhone that is better than many Chateauneuf-du-Pape bottlings. 93
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Double decanted and poured, and then consumed over 5 hours. Medium to full-bodied wine that is dark ruby in color. On the nose, plums, garrigue, light funk/smoke, and light VA. On the palate, dark cherries, loads of licorice, and a dusting of white pepper on the extremely long 40+ second finish. Precisely structured and nicely balanced, this wine is still youthful and tight...it should continue to improve.
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Lovely, superb stuff. Very ripe, hedonistic sappy grenache Rhone. Quite sweet. Not your average CDR, to say the least - had heft and presence on par with a good CNP - though it was a bit short on compexity. Made me think of other Clos du Caillou's and also some of the Aphillantes cuvees. A nice outdoors cold weather picnic wine.
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2000 Rhone Horizontal: Mystery 2 - Beautiful nose - sweet fruit perfume with a bit of floral and iron. Sweet kirsch attack with decent length and concentration. Tangy finish. A stellar Cotes du Rhone.
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Mo-Mourvedre at MoMo's: Blind Red 8 - Ringer? Foreign smelling with building richness. Sweet. Syrah and Grenache? Nice. An impressive Cotes du Rhone once it was unveiled.
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This wine continues to wow me. The nose is sweet and herbal with garrigue pouring from the glass along with a laser-focused core of brambly raspberry and some duskier scents of licorice and, from the right glass, some roasted meat. On the palate this is impeccably balanced, pure and powerful. The wine seems to have closed up a tiny bit from prior tastings, yet it juggles well between a core of sweet fruit and some nice elements of minerality. There is a lush, silky, enveloping texture that just washes over the palate in a very inviting way. The wine finishes powerfully with some hints of sour cherry and lovely, dusty, tooth-coating tannins. Delicious!
I also decided to try an experiment to see which Riedel glass format would work best for the wine. I took out four glasses and filled each glass roughly 1/6th of the way up. (My wife wondered who else was coming over for dinner...) Generally speaking, the most significant difference was on the nose, but I was surprised at how much some of the differences actually carried onto the palate. It seems like that initial sip is heavily flavored by what you smell as you tip the glass, far more than I ever imagined:
Riedel Vinum Chianti/Zin: Excellent all-purpose glass. The nose was nicely balanced with the raspberry really coming out and nice waves of garrigue.
Riedel Vinum Syrah: Hands down the best glass. It was like a bigger, more intense, more focused version of the Chianti glass. The garrigue really comes forward, but the big, tall bowl and narrow nose seems to amplify the bouquet quite a bit. Also, complex elements of smoke and roasted meat come to life. Wow, this is almost like a different wine.
Riedel Vinum Bordeaux: This one was puzzling. For some reason the nose on this glass was the least focused and most diffuse. I could smell all the same elements as in the prior two glasses, but the wine literally seemed to wander. It didn't know what it wanted to be. I had to work to smell the same things, and even then it was like I had to convince myself of what I was smelling. The one word summary is diffuse.
Riedel Vinum Burgundy: This is the one glass that brings forward a sharp, almost painful note of alcohol. I really did not enjoy the wine from this glass.
I actually found this experiment a bit disturbing. I like my Riedel's a lot, but I never really expected the marketing hype to be as true to reality as I saw tonight. I have a bad feeling that in the future I will have more glassware to wash, as frankly I will likely try the same wine from a few glasses. It is highly educational!
DAY 2: Still going strong. Smooth as velvet, rich, deep and integrated. Excellent!
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Wow, this wine just remains terrific, although it appears to be shutting down just slightly. The nose is gorgeous with waves of dusty herbs de Provence, raspberry, licorice and a bit of funk. On the palate this is sumptuous and yet wonderfully dusty and loaded with garrigue and spicy white pepper. Wow, what a head-shaker! The finish is silky and long with layers of tart, dusty fruit. This is a remarkable wine and an amazing value.
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Wow, this wine is everything I remembered it to be. Upon popping there is a scent of fresh raspberries, and this gives way to a glorious nose of garrigue within about 15 minutes. In time more mineral and licorice notes join the party. The palate is where this slays you with layers of pure, lush fruit wrapped up in a dusty coating of minerals. Right now this is showing so much grenache character, very pure and dry with provencale herbs all over the palate. I am so very pleased that I tracked down another half-case of this glorious nectar!
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Let me begin by stating that this is a stupendous value. The wine received scores of 93- among all 9 tasters present. Our host had purchased this wine at the humble cost of Ä8. Gasps were heard around the table when the wine was revealed. In all honesty, no one had picked this out as a generic "regional" wine. The wine was dark red with a lovely scent of smoked meat and fruits. Attractively sweet - without any gross, cloying tendency. Quite powerful yet elegant, but without a great measure of complexity, this wine scores high in the sweet core of fruit department. Personally, I really like wines that don’t pound the taster to the point of itching behind the eyes. This baby has got all the right moves, is excellent for drinking now, anf probably over the next 5 years, is comparatively cheap and is a great companion with food. Load up the boot.
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Wow, this stuff is unreal. The nose is smokey and mineral laden with an edge of meatiness almost like a Syrah. However, the palate has stunning sweetness, purity, and concentration. The finish is very long and shows remarkable balance and power with a nice, briary character. This is one of the more seamless and concentrated wines I have ever tasted from the Rhone, yet there is also so much power and structure under the surface. I am so pleased to have half a bottle resting to try tomorrow.
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12/17/2011 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
DAY 1: A lot less interesting than prior bottles. Distinct notes of raisin and a muddy VA aspect. Man this stuff is ripe. Pushing past my point of interest. It doesn't seem like a bad bottle. Pristine cork. Same source as others. I wonder if my tastes have just shifted to much less modernist juice?
DAY 2: Ahh, much better, this really unfolded after an evening. Still very ripe, but now this is showing massive structure and garrigue, tapenade, the essence of Southern Rhone. Dusty, drying, powerful, this punches way above its weight class.
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7/20/2011 - bon vivant wrote:
A very nice showing tonight in the Mountains. Should drink well for several more years a it has the stuffing. -repeated Eric's experiment with the glasses -see his original TN and I absolutely concur.
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9/3/2010 - cdunn wrote: flawed
Corked
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1/27/2010 - Eric wrote: 91 Points
Yummy, this is a fantastically tasty Côtes du Rhône Villages, very cherry in profile, crunchy, yet loaded with garrigue and fantastic herbal notes. Finishing a little forced and bitter yet still unmistakably powerful and enjoyable.
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5/8/2009 - grafstrb wrote:
Bright red fruits on the bouquet; garnet color, graduating to light brown at the edges; good acid/tannin balance, but not harmonious --- this has started to fall apart; lots of raspberry, and a hint of leather. Drink up if you got 'em.
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3/3/2009 - LoireFan wrote: 90 Points
maybe 91. Very good!
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1/1/2009 - ChrisR wrote: 92 Points
This is not your grandfather's Cote du Rhone. Deep purple in color. Powerful nose of cherries and garrigue, with a little VA. Layer upon layer of black cherries and raspberries, a little smoke, some spice (possibly oak). Lush and dense, yet somehow not heavy, with a long finish. Atypical for a CdR, both in a positive and negative sense. A terrific wine for the money.
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3/4/2008 - kris.h wrote: 93 Points
I literally just opened this. The wine is amazing right out of the bottle. Lovely nose of berries and leather. The palate is full bodied with sweet ripe raspberries. Much riper and fuller than the '99. The finish is nice with a peppery feel. A stellar cotes du rhone. 92
Two and a half hours later, the nose has rich decandent berries with a whiff of smoke. The palate is seamless with well integrated tannins and well balanced acidity. A strong finish with black pepper. An amazing Cotes-du-Rhone that is better than many Chateauneuf-du-Pape bottlings. 93
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1/12/2008 - winelovr2001 wrote: 88 Points
Very nice CdP. Would have been low 90's if not for the little bit of VA I was getting on the nose.
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12/12/2007 - DFC wrote: 92 Points
Double decanted and poured, and then consumed over 5 hours. Medium to full-bodied wine that is dark ruby in color. On the nose, plums, garrigue, light funk/smoke, and light VA. On the palate, dark cherries, loads of licorice, and a dusting of white pepper on the extremely long 40+ second finish. Precisely structured and nicely balanced, this wine is still youthful and tight...it should continue to improve.
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1/28/2007 - Brad L wrote:
Lovely, superb stuff. Very ripe, hedonistic sappy grenache Rhone. Quite sweet. Not your average CDR, to say the least - had heft and presence on par with a good CNP - though it was a bit short on compexity. Made me think of other Clos du Caillou's and also some of the Aphillantes cuvees. A nice outdoors cold weather picnic wine.
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7/5/2005 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
2000 Rhone Horizontal: Mystery 2 - Beautiful nose - sweet fruit perfume with a bit of floral and iron. Sweet kirsch attack with decent length and concentration. Tangy finish. A stellar Cotes du Rhone.
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2/5/2005 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Mo-Mourvedre at MoMo's: Blind Red 8 - Ringer? Foreign smelling with building richness. Sweet. Syrah and Grenache? Nice. An impressive Cotes du Rhone once it was unveiled.
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9/27/2004 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
This wine continues to wow me. The nose is sweet and herbal with garrigue pouring from the glass along with a laser-focused core of brambly raspberry and some duskier scents of licorice and, from the right glass, some roasted meat. On the palate this is impeccably balanced, pure and powerful. The wine seems to have closed up a tiny bit from prior tastings, yet it juggles well between a core of sweet fruit and some nice elements of minerality. There is a lush, silky, enveloping texture that just washes over the palate in a very inviting way. The wine finishes powerfully with some hints of sour cherry and lovely, dusty, tooth-coating tannins. Delicious!
I also decided to try an experiment to see which Riedel glass format would work best for the wine. I took out four glasses and filled each glass roughly 1/6th of the way up. (My wife wondered who else was coming over for dinner...) Generally speaking, the most significant difference was on the nose, but I was surprised at how much some of the differences actually carried onto the palate. It seems like that initial sip is heavily flavored by what you smell as you tip the glass, far more than I ever imagined:
I actually found this experiment a bit disturbing. I like my Riedel's a lot, but I never really expected the marketing hype to be as true to reality as I saw tonight. I have a bad feeling that in the future I will have more glassware to wash, as frankly I will likely try the same wine from a few glasses. It is highly educational!
DAY 2: Still going strong. Smooth as velvet, rich, deep and integrated. Excellent!
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7/22/2004 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Wow, this wine just remains terrific, although it appears to be shutting down just slightly. The nose is gorgeous with waves of dusty herbs de Provence, raspberry, licorice and a bit of funk. On the palate this is sumptuous and yet wonderfully dusty and loaded with garrigue and spicy white pepper. Wow, what a head-shaker! The finish is silky and long with layers of tart, dusty fruit. This is a remarkable wine and an amazing value.
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5/20/2004 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Wow, this wine is everything I remembered it to be. Upon popping there is a scent of fresh raspberries, and this gives way to a glorious nose of garrigue within about 15 minutes. In time more mineral and licorice notes join the party. The palate is where this slays you with layers of pure, lush fruit wrapped up in a dusty coating of minerals. Right now this is showing so much grenache character, very pure and dry with provencale herbs all over the palate. I am so very pleased that I tracked down another half-case of this glorious nectar!
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1/13/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 93 Points
Let me begin by stating that this is a stupendous value. The wine received scores of 93- among all 9 tasters present. Our host had purchased this wine at the humble cost of Ä8. Gasps were heard around the table when the wine was revealed. In all honesty, no one had picked this out as a generic "regional" wine. The wine was dark red with a lovely scent of smoked meat and fruits. Attractively sweet - without any gross, cloying tendency. Quite powerful yet elegant, but without a great measure of complexity, this wine scores high in the sweet core of fruit department. Personally, I really like wines that don’t pound the taster to the point of itching behind the eyes. This baby has got all the right moves, is excellent for drinking now, anf probably over the next 5 years, is comparatively cheap and is a great companion with food. Load up the boot.
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1/3/2004 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 89 Points
Tight, brambly nose; good, meaty, cherry nose; sweet tannins, cherry and meaty palate; medium finish
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11/4/2003 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
Wow, this stuff is unreal. The nose is smokey and mineral laden with an edge of meatiness almost like a Syrah. However, the palate has stunning sweetness, purity, and concentration. The finish is very long and shows remarkable balance and power with a nice, briary character. This is one of the more seamless and concentrated wines I have ever tasted from the Rhone, yet there is also so much power and structure under the surface. I am so pleased to have half a bottle resting to try tomorrow.
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