At this point this was an older bottle of L'oree (by a decade) then any previous bottle I have experienced, but I was happy to see that at 30 years of age this is still a fantastic expression of an aged white Northern Rhone. The bottle started with a slight whiff of oxidation that blew off and cleaned up quickly ( served in Burgundy stem). Golden color followed by aromas and flavors of apple, quince, nut, wax, and honey yet very dry and mineral laced with bewitching mouth feel which is mouth coating rich and yet remains incredibly well balanced with perfect acidity. Big presence and finish. This kept getting better with more air and as it warmed up a little and as we sipped through the bottle. Not everyone's style but for those who like the style this was killer.
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My first time trying this, and it is a very interesting wine. Slightly oxidative, full-bodied, and very complex. Might be the best Rhone white I have ever personally tried.
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Northern Rhône Dinner (semi-blind) (AB' house, Keizersgracht Amsterdam): You must appreciate the style but this is superb oxidative Marsanne. Straw-yellow color. Wonderful bouquet of bee-wax, kumquat, macadamia nuts, dried apricot, lemon zest and much more. Well balanced on the palate with great freshness. Oxidative style as dry sherry. Notes of melon skin.
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An impressive, complex and expressive bottle. Quite mature but not at all dull and flat, this was just bursting with life. Honey, sherry, dried apples and a saline minerality.
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A quirky wine, but enjoyable. Shows it maturity with slight sherry notes, honey, dried flowers, wax and a nice saline minerality. This retains freshness and lift with excellent acidity. The sherry hints took a bit of getting used to, but this was superb with food.
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Northern Rhone Night (Boca, Bukit Pasoh, Singapore): Quite lovely. The one white on the night, and this really stood out. It smelt amazing, with a beautiful old nose just wafting out of the glass in tones of honey and beeswax, sweet quince paste and kumquats, abd deeper shades of spice and stone, all seasoned with lovely drifts of garrigue and wild flower. Wow. After all that alluring sweetness on the bouquet, the palate was actually a real change of gears. Spare, elegant, but with no lack of depth, this came across very clean, very linear, with a gentle glide of glowing honeyed tones and hints warm spice mingling amidst a matured core of kumquat and quince flavours, all soft and mellow, but laced with beautifully integrated acidity as the wine trailed gently away on a little stream of minerality and into a long, waxy finish. Surprisingly mature like quite a few L’Orees that I have had, but truly delicious, with not a hint of oxidation in sight. This seemed at peak and was drinking wonderfully.
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Food: French Duration: 2.5 hours Condition: perfect Aroma: red date, steel, honey, white flowers, hints of green grass Notes: had a strong smell of oxidation at first but this turned out really well after 1.5 hours. This wine evolves very quickly and offer an extremely long and red date aftertaste. Very full bodied with good thickness, I think this wine approached it's prime drinking window. I very much enjoyed this wine. Drink now-2020.
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Food: Chinese Cantonese Duration: 2 hours Condition: perfect Aroma: white flower, cream, dried apricot, Chinese tea, red date, honey Notes: amazing freshness in this vintaged wine. Medium to full bodied, long lasting aftertaste. I really enjoy this wine. I'd purchase more of this wine if I can find any. Still a very young wine today, drink now-2023. Beautiful wine.
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İlk başta hafif kapalı olan ön burnu hızla değişerek ıhlamur benzeri floral, bal , baharat ,ayva,limon/limon şekeri, is genelde grenache da karşılaştığımız benzer otsu buke ler ,çay,tereyağı açığa çıkıyor,zaman geçtikçe de floral tonlar mayıs papatyasına dönerken, kuru meyve, zerdaçal andıran kuru çiçek ,ceviz ,kuru meyve ,silikçe karamel/fındık notaları eklenerek, kompleksite gösteriyor. Zengin ve yoğun damağında dokusu yumuşacık,orta üstü-tam gövdeli ,ilk teması ile bitimi arasında hem son derece akıcı,hem de sürekli tabaka tabaka değişen farklı yönlerini gösteren bir şarap.Asidi ,damaktaki hafif tatlımsılığına rağmen tüm bu soft,hantal izlenimi verebilecek yapıyı rahatlıkla kaldırıp,mineral notaları ile birlikte tazeleyicilik gösteriyor. Sadece 2 saat kadar sonra şaraba hafif bir turunç kabuğu benzeri bir acılık geliyor.Damakta ayva benzeri meyve,baharat,bal belki turunç reçelini andıran tatlar bırakırken,uzun ,yine mineral dokuşların hissedildiği bitimi ile yıllara meydan okuyan bir şarap olarak insanı gerçekten şaşırtıyor,ki önümüzdeki 3-4 sene içersinde de keyifle içilebilir,henüz düşmüş bir beyaz değil .Sonrasını görmeyi de özellikle isterim.1995-2019
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In a word: stunning. A testimony to why we need to cellar wine. Elegantly rich with honeyed fruit, nutty, but then there is this underlying core of white and green fruits, still fresh, keeping this wine vibrant and alive. Opened up beautifully in the glass, expansive palate, complex, yet drinking with ease. In London with Jon, just a week to go now.
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en magnum - a bit vegetal, grassy, straw notes. A little sweet from ripeness but not what I had hoped for. Over the hill. No real palate and no finish.
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en magnum - I was very worried about this, since the last time I brought out a magnum from the same case, the nose was fine but the wine was declared dead by my host. So I asked my friend to come over and check out the wine before we went to dinner. Once again the nose was fine, but the palate was barely there. We decided the wine wasn't corked, and brought it to dinner to see how it would drink. Well, after a couple of hours of aeration, the nose had prominent acetone and botrytis notes, which was surprising. Still not much of a palate, though…
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From the reviews this looks like a 50/50 shot of being oxidized, so I decided to open. From a flawless bottle, great fill and the cork was perfect......then that amber honey telltale sign of OXIDATION. My first impression was this was totally gone, yet still interesting in a masochistic way. After a couple of minutes the lip puckering tartness and cloying sweetness faded and it was approachable. Flavors of overripe apricots and blanched almonds. I agree much like a sherry and will be good with certain courses, cheese, or maybe a spicy lobster bisque.
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Nose is very waxy with hints of dry orange, typical of older Hermitage. Colour is golden yellow, but not too dark. In the mouth, the wine is dense and powerful. Initially tight and strict, but then it opens up. Flavours are precise, mostly on white fruits and honeysuckle blended with was and honey. acidity is still good and provide additional balance. Finale is still fairly long. Aging potential is limited, but the wine is in perfect condition. I have had a few oxydised bottles though.
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Fat and flabby with a fair whack of oxidation. I liked the 1993 better. Not like I needed this to see how far from the ratings my tastes are. Bottle purchased on release and stored professionally. No hint of corkiness or other taint. It was beautiful on release, as I recall. Don't know what happened.
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94 Chapoutier L'Oree Is spun honey in color. Butterscotch, butter, oak, floral and citrus aromas. Fat and flabby in texture. The wine needs more acidity to give it better lift. It's a good wine, but more freshness would make it much more refreshing and interesting.
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en magnum - I brought this big baby to the party, but it had just come out of the office fridge and was too cold to drink. After letting it warm up a little, I took a sip and was surprised at what I found. The nose was dominated by plastic and petrol. Was I drinking a German Riesling? There was also some lemon, and the nose was a little alcoholic. A second pour much later continued to show lots of plastic, with enough ripeness and honey. The palate was pretty well-balanced, but it was still a weird wine. Not what I expected at all.
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A laid back friday night (LeatherPalate's): this was over the hill. Had some nice tones of beeswax, citrus and peach tones with a little nuttyness, but the sherry tones were there from the beginning and crept in even more with air
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Tasted on 10/10/2009 Very tight and close at the beginning with notes of reduction. After being decanted, the wine started to show fragrance of quince, liquorice and wax, with hints of white fruits. In the mouth, wax and quince dominated, but it was overall quite complex. The finish was quite long and soft . However, the low acidity gives a bit of heaviness.
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LdC 4th Annual Truffle Dinner (Primehouse): Full yellow color. Full nose of straw yellow fruit and mineral. Big yellow fruit with butterscotch and spice notes. Maybe a nut oil note? 91-2 pts.
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La La's with Leve at Providence (Los Angeles, CA): Almost completely closed. Very mute at first, this opened up a little to reveal White Burgundy minerals, wet stone and then some hints of kerosene.
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Lola Tasting: Blind White - Golden color. Light, not overtly fruity nose with some wax and white fruit. Medium-full bodied with moderate sweetness on the palate and a crisp finish. We all got to "White Rhone" but universally thought it was much younger. Remarkably fresh tasting.
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Light gold, with quite a dumb nose, quite floral (lilies) with too low acid, quite easilyl drinkable but forgettable, alcoholic finish. Not worth 1/5 the price.
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Beautiful body and golden color. Initially strong candied red apples and licorice/anise on the nose. Evolved into spicy tones then to butterscotch and caramel flavors as it decanted over 1-2 hrs. Moderately full in the mouth and very well-balanced. Incredibly long finish.
Very interesting experiment of different wine glasses brought out the power, strength and structure of the wine in the Reidel Cabernet glasses while the Burgundy glass brought out the softness and elegance of the wine.
Phenomenal wine!
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Thick, ripe, rich, viscous, mouth filling wine with an opulent taste and texture. It had aromatics to match. However, its style is extreme and not for everyone.
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Very good. Peaches and LOTS of minerals. Very different type of wine. This is my first Marsanne, it may take some getting used to. Minerals, minerals, minerals..., and honey.
I think it needs age to show complexity.
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1/21/2024 - bon vivant wrote: 96 Points
At this point this was an older bottle of L'oree (by a decade) then any previous bottle I have experienced, but I was happy to see that at 30 years of age this is still a fantastic expression of an aged white Northern Rhone. The bottle started with a slight whiff of oxidation that blew off and cleaned up quickly ( served in Burgundy stem). Golden color followed by aromas and flavors of apple, quince, nut, wax, and honey yet very dry and mineral laced with bewitching mouth feel which is mouth coating rich and yet remains incredibly well balanced with perfect acidity. Big presence and finish. This kept getting better with more air and as it warmed up a little and as we sipped through the bottle. Not everyone's style but for those who like the style this was killer.
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9/21/2023 - Bob H wrote:
My first time trying this, and it is a very interesting wine. Slightly oxidative, full-bodied, and very complex. Might be the best Rhone white I have ever personally tried.
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5/19/2023 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
A lovely, interesting and very mature wine. It is almost Sherry but retains enough Hermitage character. Only quibble is almost no acid.
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3/6/2020 - Ary Likes this wine: 94 Points
Northern Rhône Dinner (semi-blind) (AB' house, Keizersgracht Amsterdam): You must appreciate the style but this is superb oxidative Marsanne. Straw-yellow color. Wonderful bouquet of bee-wax, kumquat, macadamia nuts, dried apricot, lemon zest and much more. Well balanced on the palate with great freshness. Oxidative style as dry sherry. Notes of melon skin.
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4/26/2018 - mdefreitas wrote: 93 Points
An impressive, complex and expressive bottle. Quite mature but not at all dull and flat, this was just bursting with life. Honey, sherry, dried apples and a saline minerality.
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4/9/2018 - MC2 Wines wrote: flawed
An evening of Rhone (Bobo): Unfortunately seems this bottle was corked. The nose got more reasonable with time, but the palate never caught up.
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3/2/2018 - mdefreitas wrote: 93 Points
A quirky wine, but enjoyable. Shows it maturity with slight sherry notes, honey, dried flowers, wax and a nice saline minerality. This retains freshness and lift with excellent acidity. The sherry hints took a bit of getting used to, but this was superb with food.
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7/28/2015 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Northern Rhone Night (Boca, Bukit Pasoh, Singapore): Quite lovely. The one white on the night, and this really stood out. It smelt amazing, with a beautiful old nose just wafting out of the glass in tones of honey and beeswax, sweet quince paste and kumquats, abd deeper shades of spice and stone, all seasoned with lovely drifts of garrigue and wild flower. Wow. After all that alluring sweetness on the bouquet, the palate was actually a real change of gears. Spare, elegant, but with no lack of depth, this came across very clean, very linear, with a gentle glide of glowing honeyed tones and hints warm spice mingling amidst a matured core of kumquat and quince flavours, all soft and mellow, but laced with beautifully integrated acidity as the wine trailed gently away on a little stream of minerality and into a long, waxy finish. Surprisingly mature like quite a few L’Orees that I have had, but truly delicious, with not a hint of oxidation in sight. This seemed at peak and was drinking wonderfully.
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6/16/2015 - TWSA wrote: 94 Points
Food: French
Duration: 2.5 hours
Condition: perfect
Aroma: red date, steel, honey, white flowers, hints of green grass
Notes: had a strong smell of oxidation at first but this turned out really well after 1.5 hours. This wine evolves very quickly and offer an extremely long and red date aftertaste. Very full bodied with good thickness, I think this wine approached it's prime drinking window. I very much enjoyed this wine. Drink now-2020.
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5/24/2015 - TWSA wrote: 94 Points
Food: Chinese Cantonese
Duration: 2 hours
Condition: perfect
Aroma: white flower, cream, dried apricot, Chinese tea, red date, honey
Notes: amazing freshness in this vintaged wine. Medium to full bodied, long lasting aftertaste. I really enjoy this wine. I'd purchase more of this wine if I can find any. Still a very young wine today, drink now-2023. Beautiful wine.
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11/20/2014 - ŞarapTutkunları wrote: 94 Points
İlk başta hafif kapalı olan ön burnu hızla değişerek ıhlamur benzeri floral, bal , baharat ,ayva,limon/limon şekeri, is genelde grenache da karşılaştığımız benzer otsu buke ler ,çay,tereyağı açığa çıkıyor,zaman geçtikçe de floral tonlar mayıs papatyasına dönerken, kuru meyve, zerdaçal andıran kuru çiçek ,ceviz ,kuru meyve ,silikçe karamel/fındık notaları eklenerek, kompleksite gösteriyor. Zengin ve yoğun damağında dokusu yumuşacık,orta üstü-tam gövdeli ,ilk teması ile bitimi arasında hem son derece akıcı,hem de sürekli tabaka tabaka değişen farklı yönlerini gösteren bir şarap.Asidi ,damaktaki hafif tatlımsılığına rağmen tüm bu soft,hantal izlenimi verebilecek yapıyı rahatlıkla kaldırıp,mineral notaları ile birlikte tazeleyicilik gösteriyor. Sadece 2 saat kadar sonra şaraba hafif bir turunç kabuğu benzeri bir acılık geliyor.Damakta ayva benzeri meyve,baharat,bal belki turunç reçelini andıran tatlar bırakırken,uzun ,yine mineral dokuşların hissedildiği bitimi ile yıllara meydan okuyan bir şarap olarak insanı gerçekten şaşırtıyor,ki önümüzdeki 3-4 sene içersinde de keyifle içilebilir,henüz düşmüş bir beyaz değil .Sonrasını görmeyi de özellikle isterim.1995-2019
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10/2/2014 - pbaek wrote:
In a word: stunning. A testimony to why we need to cellar wine. Elegantly rich with honeyed fruit, nutty, but then there is this underlying core of white and green fruits, still fresh, keeping this wine vibrant and alive. Opened up beautifully in the glass, expansive palate, complex, yet drinking with ease. In London with Jon, just a week to go now.
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12/19/2013 - dcwino wrote: flawed
Richebourg and RSV dinner at Ripple (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Madeirized nose. Ample fruits and bright acidity. Will this re-emerge? I doubt it. If you love Chateau Chalon, this may be enjoyable as the flavor profile is very similar.
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11/14/2013 - Peech wrote: flawed
en magnum - a bit vegetal, grassy, straw notes. A little sweet from ripeness but not what I had hoped for. Over the hill. No real palate and no finish.
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10/9/2013 - Peech Does not like this wine: 87 Points
en magnum - I was very worried about this, since the last time I brought out a magnum from the same case, the nose was fine but the wine was declared dead by my host. So I asked my friend to come over and check out the wine before we went to dinner. Once again the nose was fine, but the palate was barely there. We decided the wine wasn't corked, and brought it to dinner to see how it would drink. Well, after a couple of hours of aeration, the nose had prominent acetone and botrytis notes, which was surprising. Still not much of a palate, though…
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6/17/2012 - mbwineguy wrote: 82 Points
From the reviews this looks like a 50/50 shot of being oxidized, so I decided to open. From a flawless bottle, great fill and the cork was perfect......then that amber honey telltale sign of OXIDATION. My first impression was this was totally gone, yet still interesting in a masochistic way. After a couple of minutes the lip puckering tartness and cloying sweetness faded and it was approachable. Flavors of overripe apricots and blanched almonds. I agree much like a sherry and will be good with certain courses, cheese, or maybe a spicy lobster bisque.
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2/6/2011 - MC wrote:
On the sherry side. Good, and will go well with cheese, but that is about it for me. Drink up. B
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2/5/2011 - jpijg wrote: 91 Points
Nose is very waxy with hints of dry orange, typical of older Hermitage. Colour is golden yellow, but not too dark. In the mouth, the wine is dense and powerful. Initially tight and strict, but then it opens up. Flavours are precise, mostly on white fruits and honeysuckle blended with was and honey. acidity is still good and provide additional balance. Finale is still fairly long. Aging potential is limited, but the wine is in perfect condition. I have had a few oxydised bottles though.
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1/15/2011 - 14frimaire wrote:
Fat and flabby with a fair whack of oxidation. I liked the 1993 better. Not like I needed this to see how far from the ratings my tastes are. Bottle purchased on release and stored professionally. No hint of corkiness or other taint. It was beautiful on release, as I recall. Don't know what happened.
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8/22/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
94 Chapoutier L'Oree Is spun honey in color. Butterscotch, butter, oak, floral and citrus aromas. Fat and flabby in texture. The wine needs more acidity to give it better lift. It's a good wine, but more freshness would make it much more refreshing and interesting.
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6/11/2010 - Peech wrote: 90 Points
en magnum - I brought this big baby to the party, but it had just come out of the office fridge and was too cold to drink. After letting it warm up a little, I took a sip and was surprised at what I found. The nose was dominated by plastic and petrol. Was I drinking a German Riesling? There was also some lemon, and the nose was a little alcoholic. A second pour much later continued to show lots of plastic, with enough ripeness and honey. The palate was pretty well-balanced, but it was still a weird wine. Not what I expected at all.
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5/30/2010 - pchubb wrote: flawed
oxidized
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4/24/2010 - LeatherPalate wrote: flawed
Blue cork,sherry,some minerals, and beeswax, but hugely flawed and not in a " it's just a faze" sort of way.
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4/23/2010 - KeithAkers wrote: flawed
A laid back friday night (LeatherPalate's): this was over the hill. Had some nice tones of beeswax, citrus and peach tones with a little nuttyness, but the sherry tones were there from the beginning and crept in even more with air
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1/22/2010 - jestes wrote: flawed
Oxidized and undrinkable.
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10/11/2009 - jpijg wrote: 90 Points
Tasted on 10/10/2009
Very tight and close at the beginning with notes of reduction. After being decanted, the wine started to show fragrance of quince, liquorice and wax, with hints of white fruits. In the mouth, wax and quince dominated, but it was overall quite complex. The finish was quite long and soft . However, the low acidity gives a bit of heaviness.
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1/9/2009 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Fourth Annual White Truffle Dinner (David Burke's Primehouse - Chicago IL): Lush, spicy and slightly sweet aromas. Unctuous textures and favors of mature ripe fruit with just moderate length and intensity on the palate.
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1/9/2009 - winefool wrote: 91 Points
LdC 4th Annual Truffle Dinner (Primehouse): Full yellow color. Full nose of straw yellow fruit and mineral. Big yellow fruit with butterscotch and spice notes. Maybe a nut oil note? 91-2 pts.
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2/13/2008 - NittanyLion wrote: flawed
appeared oxidized - did not drink
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2/17/2007 - Eric wrote:
La La's with Leve at Providence (Los Angeles, CA): Almost completely closed. Very mute at first, this opened up a little to reveal White Burgundy minerals, wet stone and then some hints of kerosene.
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7/25/2006 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Lola Tasting: Blind White - Golden color. Light, not overtly fruity nose with some wax and white fruit. Medium-full bodied with moderate sweetness on the palate and a crisp finish. We all got to "White Rhone" but universally thought it was much younger. Remarkably fresh tasting.
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5/30/2006 - Russell Faulkner wrote: 89 Points
Light gold, with quite a dumb nose, quite floral (lilies) with too low acid, quite easilyl drinkable but forgettable, alcoholic finish. Not worth 1/5 the price.
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3/16/2006 - Melli wrote: 93 Points
After many hours, this heavy, thick wine opened up and showed it's true stripes. One of my favorite wines!
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8/18/2005 - winegal001 wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful body and golden color. Initially strong candied red apples and licorice/anise on the nose. Evolved into spicy tones then to butterscotch and caramel flavors as it decanted over 1-2 hrs. Moderately full in the mouth and very well-balanced. Incredibly long finish.
Very interesting experiment of different wine glasses brought out the power, strength and structure of the wine in the Reidel Cabernet glasses while the Burgundy glass brought out the softness and elegance of the wine.
Phenomenal wine!
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4/25/2005 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Thick, ripe, rich, viscous, mouth filling wine with an opulent taste and texture. It had aromatics to match. However, its style is extreme and not for everyone.
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9/29/1997 - mdefreitas wrote: 93 Points
Very good. Peaches and LOTS of minerals. Very different type of wine. This is my first Marsanne, it may take some getting used to. Minerals, minerals, minerals..., and honey.
I think it needs age to show complexity.
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