WCC Syrah from around the world tasting (Clifton Park, NY): Rather blocky and charmless; there's some red and black fruit here tinged with faintly meaty and spicy notes, but there's also a faint oaky element that hasn't really integrated into the wine, and some woody tannin on the back end that sticks out.
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This was in an interesting place - both bottles seemed to have a bit of seepage underneath the foil. May not have been stored well recently
This was still in a good spot but definitely needed some time to blow off the funk. Still have some of the characteristic Syrah notes of pepper, red fruits, but very limited finish.
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Vertical w/2004. Decanted for 3 hours, served with lamb stew. Shy nose, medium purple color, with some bricking, a hint of black fruit, medium bodied, with a pleasant, soft, lingering finish. At or past its peak. Drink up.
2004 had the better nose; 2005 the better color, texture and finish.
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It is always a joyful treat to return to an aged Ampuis. Made with a blend of 7% of Viognier, average of 50 year old vines, aged for 38 months in new oak. Deep garnet colour. Medium+ intensity aroma of smoky plums and cherries, cold cuts, earth, ground pepper, herbal hints. Medium+ body, concentrated, smooth and elegant structure, great complexity of smoky, meaty & earthy black fruit flavours, with time new layers emerge. Masculine & deep, high fine tannins promising at least another decade at peaking plateau.
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My last one, and I won't miss them. There's nothing wrong with this, but nothing that great about it either. I don't see how a producer that makes the La Las, can't do better with this wine.
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Had with cassoulet on my son's, and his wife's 18th anniversary dinner. Very good, but still a little young for my taste. Suggest holding, if you have this wine, and your storage is good. Pales next to the '97 Guigal Ampuis that we also drank.
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Served blind as part of an informal tasting, this was decanted about three hours prior to service. It fooled everyone. All the guesses were for a Cabernet-based wine, with most guessing mid-2010s Bordeaux, and one person going Cal Cab. The tight, dark fruit and firm tannins seemed more like Cabernet, but there was an underlying richness, so I went 2014 Bordeaux from the Margaux region. Dead wrong! Turns out we had been fooled by the exact wine in the past by the host. I suspect he will try it again.
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Clear medium garnet; clean medium minus nose of wood, florality, meat and vanilla; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus grippy tannins; medium plus alcohol; medium body; medium flavour intensity; palate is tarter and sour; medium finish; drink now; very muted and astringent - got a little better after about an hour decant, but still disappointing; bad bottle?
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Solid Guigal! Served as an acoustic 2003 Mondavi Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet, and was actually a pretty good yin and yang type pairing. Whereas the Mondavi was showing more of the black fruit aged characteristics, this was starting to show more of the red fruit with age. But, quite earthy and a bit nitrogenous. Poured with a tiny bit of bricking at the meniscus. The nose is rambly red fruits, mushroom funk, smoke and forest floor. Aging red fruit backbone. Toast. Au jus. The middle has a lot of barbecued potato chip quality about it. Finishes with quite a bit of chalky roasted cedar tannins. Not exactly the most elegant finish. This wine would have most certainly benefited if there was food present. The nearest food was probably a quarter mile away! This one has incredible structure, and I think it could go another 10 to 15 years without a doubt. Do I see it getting any better? That's debatable. Depends on what kind of fan you are of the savory funky wines as this one is definitely becoming. Five to 7 years ago, this one probably showed more of that lighter red fruit character Perhaps with a hint of funk. The funk is definitely taking over, so those that are fans of that particular style may even want to hold these longer than 15 years!
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Day 1: Excellent with bacon, white pepper, raspberries, minerals and earth. Medium to long finish and equally as good as the last 2 bottles. 94 points Day 2: Holding strong and this has plenty left in the tank. White pepper, earth, bacon, gravel and nice fruit profile. Medium plus finish and concentrated wine. 94 points Recommendation: Drink now to 2030.
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Opened for 1 hour. Color: Deep garnet, not much age showing on rim (just a hint of orange). On the nose: Pepper, cassis, plum and violets. On the palate: Cassis, violets, smoke and pepper. Finish is medium, mouthfeel is smooth and elegant. Getting better with air. Needs another few hours to properly open up. This is good.
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This was disappointing, good dark cloudy purple color, but faded nose, hardly got anything--muted, earthy. ample body, a bit tannic, somewhat rustic body. Not sure what happened to this bottle. Seattle w/K&N
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Double blind. Seemed very Northern Rhone to me with smoky black fruit with lots of cracked black pepper aromas. Nicely composed with big meaty fruits and balancing structure. Right in the middle of its peak window, with some upside as this gains more nuance.
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Double blind, clearly French but (oops) I thought Bordeaux. Black cherry and plum with black pepper and roasted meat. Dense, rich and fresh, these are very enjoyable now, but clearly also with upside.
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After more than 10 years in the cellar it was time to take this. Open 3 hours before drinking. Reindeer is the perfect match for this wine. Very sublime not so powerful as southern Rhône but for this meal absolut perfect.
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Lovely bottle entering it's drinking window. Jammy nose and dark colour Drank after a few hours in decanter to complex fruit and heavy mouthfeel. Might get better with age...?
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See prior note: Needs double decant or 60-90 mins breathing time, Better integration then bottle a few years back, Nose dominated by alcohol and green herbals/peppercorns, powdered Graphite and Plumy fruit. Palate terroir driven, Crushed Gravel, mouthwatering acidity, Salty mineral goodness and Dark fruited, Dry Dense mouth feel, balanced and drinking well. 13% seems understated, green pippy finish, Purchased upon release, stored accordingly and enjoyed 60-70 with roasted beef, porcini’s with garlic. If you have been squirreling these away you might want to start a crackin... Na zdrowie
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Fine Wines SG - Rhone Tasting Set (Delivered to Home): Deep purplish ruby, with some edge fading. A somewhat restrained herbal nose, with a bit of blackberry and cocoa. Tannic, pretty juicy, and the blackberry fruits are pretty ripe, and a bit of alcohol heat and paprika spice, a slight purple floral feel, and a slight bit of tar towards the back. Finish seemed lacking, with only tar and heat
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Decanted for 3 hours to separate sediment, and to allow the wine to open. The cork was in great shape and was wet to about 1 cm. Initial = medium to minus body, high acidity, low fruit, lots of wood. At 1 hour = some red fruit on the nose and palate, body up to medium ...not yet. At 2 hours = needs more time. At 3 hours = red fruit, cedar, and a touch of coffee on the nose. Medium bodied palate with red and some dark red fruits, cedar, tamed tannins, and balancing+ acidity. Did not improve through the meal. Seems our bottle was a bit less exuberant than many others - maybe because it had been stored in less than ideal conditions before we obtained it a few years ago at auction. At almost 15 years, provenance matters.
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Dark berries, plums, porcini, slightly coarse tannin structure with a healthy acidity. This one is made for the long run, but already quite enjoyable today.
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Doften tillknäppt Efter ca fyra timmar kommer kaffe, svarta vinbär och mörk högoktanig choklad.
Smaken ger sträv och tillknäppt frukt. Inget som sticker någonstans
Efter fyra timmar händer det saker. Svarta vinbär, viol, lite vaniljtoner, svarta vilda körsbär, Pepprigt. Svartpeppar, och även lite choklad med viss bitterhet. Tänker även på rostade kaffebönor.
Riktigt bra!
Fin balans, och inget barnarov, även om det naturligtvis bara är en tonåring. Men om man har tålamod öppnar den verkligen fint!
Halva flaskan åkte i källaren med kork i under ett dygn. Tvärtemot vad jag är vad vid från Guigals bättre viner så tappade den här dag två. Mycket märkligt... Ingenting talar för att det borde vara så. Lite blekare än kvällen innan. Fortfarande bra dock!
Direkt vid kork 85. Efter fyra-sex timmar - 93++ Dagen efter 91
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Completely closed on opening and needed about 1 1/2 hours of double decanting to open, then was displaying dark, earthy cassis flavors with sanguine undertones. Quite nice now with a little air, but perhaps another year or two in the bottle is in order.
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tasted blind and no way could i have guessed cote rotie. nose - coffee mouth - sappy and svelte, very polished and round, big and complex fruit. somewhat nondescript to my palate, but a wine that the Napa crowd can also surely get behind.
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A bit on the young side right now - the 2005 Ch d'Ampuis is most likely in need of another couple of years beauty sleep to show its even better side. Still, tonight the nose is somewhat amazing exploding in mature floral tones after some time in the glass. There is abundant violets, red cherries and subtle soft tones of oak. The lovely nose shows classy crème de cassis and an adorable spiciness. Tannins are elegantly subdued, fully integrated and very well-behaved. The wine is showing no hard edges at all. Finish lasts some 45+ seconds. A true pleasure!
Opened by customer at Oinoscent. Very closed first and showed very young but it developed the next 3 hours. Very concentrated nose of Rose petal, Cinammon, Nutmeg, Dark Cherry, Earth and Violet. And after one hour there comes this e pepper. Nice complex peppery aroma with savour hints of vanilla, chocolate and hint of chillie. On the palate was much younger than what I was believe. Medium to Full bodied but with very thin feeling and huge concentration. Cherry, black berries, kirsch, pepper, chocolate, violet, vanilla. Too multimensional and complex palate. High tannins but great intergrated and well worked without any astringency. Great acidity with nice balance of body/alcohol,acidity. A great wine.
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In a rather modern style with fairly rich and decadent fruit and noticeable toast. But there is good and clear Syrah character with meatiness and smoky black fruit.
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Cassoulet at Bill's (Wilmette, IL): The nose has lots of bright fruit, and there isn't much oak. It's very aromatic, but it lacks the classic syrah flavours -- this is more drive straight by the fruit than by olives, saline, or meat. The palate shows some moderate oak that needs to integrate, but it's not over-the-top. There's a good acidity here as well to balance the ripe fruit. Quite nice.
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rating is for night two, on night one and over one hour in decanter it remained mildly tart, fruit-void, full'ish body but no charm, somewhat bitter / big / overly structured, poured the remainder from the decanter back into the bottle (I had only decanted half), next night on the first pour (out of fridge, but small pour warmed by my hands on glass and swirling) it was mesmerizing, deep rich dark red fruit with amazing spices, and -- notwithstanding my not-so-discerning-nose amazing, pungent aromatics of flowers and sweetness... then I immediately poured a glass for my son Andy and we both thought it amazing, but a bit shutdown from what I had experienced 5 minutes earlier... this could be a 95+ pointer in 15 years!! (for context, my highest rating ever is 96)
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Jeb D 96+ ? Audouzed 1 hour and consumed over 3 additional hours. Subdued nose, sharp acidic lift, alcohol, dry herbs, red cherry hints of raw beef. Wine is fairly balanced leaning Tart. Red fruit profile, Tart cherry, garrigue, Tail end green pepper corn spice. Good concentration, Medium weight pushing full but, the acidity cuts through all. Tannic Frame. At $100+, this is completely unremarkable and disappointing. Purchased upon release, stored accordingly, served 60-70 degrees with grilled ribeye. Perhaps this bottle is in a dumb phase or needs more time. Otherwise purchase a good Crianza for 75% effect at 25% the price… Na zdrowie
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Wonderful classic Côte Roti. Powerful and vibrant, with quite firm tannins. Bell pepper and black pepper, iron, leather on the palate with ample length. Likely to improve with 2-3 more years in the cellar.
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From memory: Lovely and complex nose with hints of raspberries, hung meat, anise, smoky herbs, mocha and vanilla. Medium- to full-bodied, lifted, smooth and well balanced – lots of depth and restrained power. Drinking beautifully today, but should keep well into the 2020'ies. Undoubtedly a very good bottle of wine, but priced at close to $150 it’s not exactly killing it as far as value is concerned.
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Bordeaux Second Growths Lunch (Capital Grille NY): I was baffled by this wine at first as it seemed flabby and tired. An hour later is was singing. Touch of black pepper, vanilla bean, dried plums and pure cassis. It has an intense freshness leading to a long, lifted finish
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Opened, not decanted for 4 to 5 hours and this was drinking really well. Very sauvage with rich cassis, sanguine notes, garrique, subtle vegetal and menthol undertones. The structure is still on the firmish side, but not at all obtrusive. To my tastes, this is in a good place now, but I suspect that it has a long life ahead of it.
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Slightly coarse tannines, rustic, wild and outdoorsey, yet enough brambly fruit to survive a few more years in the cellar. Clearly recognisable in style.
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Game dinner with friends Champagne and Northern Rhône: In the bouquet blood, metal, game meat, white pepper. On the palate powerful red and dark forest fruits, blood, juicy acidity and firm tannin. Some bitterness as well. Very good and promising wine for the mid 2020’s… 93 - 94
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Bu avec le 2001 et le 2006, quelques coches au dessus de sa cuvée Brune et Blonde (selon certain un monde!) Un beau nez sur la viande, la fumée, les épices, les violettes et un peu de menthe. En bouche, belle concentration et complexité encore une fois. Bacon, cassis, olives et cette belle minéralité. Finale très longue. Excellent aussi.
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The wine still has a purple hue. In the bouquet dark berries, leather, minerals and earth. On the palate a firm wine with some rustic impressions, firm acidity and still very powerful tannin. The wine needs more time to show its finesse. Around 2024? For now 93++
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HdR Opening Tasting: Wow. Great showing. Delicious. Young. Tannic but great fruit and depth. Not sure how long this bottle had been open, but it was in a great spot.
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I keep saying this wine is young and needs time, but keep opening my bottles anyway. But then again, drinking wine is not about keeping rash promises -- especially those made to oneself! And this bottle was very enjoyable, though I made sure to decant for 2 hours. A rich Cote-Rotie, replete with drippy black fruit, savory beef blood, dried spices and earth. Full bodied, but not at all heavy, it makes for a heart warming drink on chilly winter nights -- of which we've had several in Hong Kong this past week
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Northern Rhone tasting (at Eli Raban's home, Rehovot): opaque red-brown excellent tertiary aroma with dark fruity notes and spices, well balanced, very good harmony, nicely structured, good complexity, very enjoyable, though not outstanding.
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Mrs L and I opened this to drink while watching the Federer-Murray Wimbledon semi final last Friday night. Then Mrs L said that if Federer (her idol) won she would not touch alcohol for a week. Rashly, I agreed to join her, and Federer duly beat Murray so I put the cork back on and stuck the bottle in the fridge. Four days on, I'd had enough of abstinence, plus it being my birthday and all so I took it out and poured myself some. Still raw and tannic after all this time! Not a breath of oxygen. Red primal fruit on the nose, with maybe a tinge of seaweed -- but not much else. Wood, fruit and tannin clearly all present except that they haven't yet found their seats, so are still milling around restlessly. Take your time fellas, I'll check back on your progress in 2025...
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This was reticent if not closed on opening - nice blood on the nose, and lots of mineral and chalk but little fruit on the first night. Second night was much better, with a well balanced Syrah that paired well with pasta with sausage. Opened on a whim, and will wait a while before the next.
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This was very shy and reticent on opening and took every bit of 5 hours to open( opened, not decanted) but when it did, it was really quite extraordinary with flavors of rich cassis, earth, leather, sanguine notes and perhaps the very barest suggestion of green peppers. There was abit of white pepper on the longish finish. The tannins, while not particularly obtrusive, are still quite firm and chalky. Even though this is still young, after a few hours this was really drinking well.
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Needs some additional years of cellaring, but already impressing; nose of black raspberry, cassis, licorice intermixed with roasted meat. On the palate rich, full-bodied, with impressing structure and freshness.
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Outstanding wine. Young, but very expressive. Dark purple, with a nose of red fruit, flowers, herbs and pepper, it coats the palate and finish with bright cherry flavors, along with follow through of herbs/pepper and an interesting tar aspect. Excellent, can only imagine in a few more years.
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Friday Night Double Blind Tasting $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with red rim; dark plum, dark sour cherry, oak; violets, smoked meat, Burgundian texture; still an infant, needed 1-2 hours in decanter just to show variety; try again in 5 years.
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Bright, fresh, peppy and peppery, this tannic, potent wine is packed with bright red and black fruits, vanilla, bacon fat and spicy notes. There is more than enough fruit to match the tannin giving tasters a lot to chew on. This was better with an hour of air.
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Guigal Château d'Ampuis - complete vertical tasting of 1995-2009 (Stockholm): Medium red, rather compact colour, slightly faded edge. Nose with ripe blackberries and ripe strawberries, some animal notes, slightly flowery with violets and a hint of mint. A rather powerful nose that goes somewhat in the sweet direction. Palate with ripe blackberries, quite dark fruit, notes of tar, good concentration, good acidity, medium+ tannins, tannic aftertaste. Concentrated style, slightly developed but definitely not ready, should be allowed more time in the cellar, 93(+) p. In the nose, 2005 and 2003 were rather similar, but on the palate they differ quite a lot. On the palate, 2005 showed the darkest notes of all the vintages, although the concentration of fruit felt greater in the 2009. Perhaps the 2005 may become a better wine than 2009 at full maturity, since it shows great concentration without too much sweet fruit, which gives it the potential for perfect balance some time in the future.
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Lots of wines at Tommy's Clambake (Tommy's): Purple in color. The nose is dusty with black raspberries and dark cherries. Firm tannins. Lots of layered complexity and surprisingly open. Long finish. This showed quite well but will probably improve.
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Drank together with '03 Janasse Chaupin. Janasse showing better at this stage even from a 'hot' vintage. Better fruit and balance. Cote Rotie bit flat and austere, initially and in finish. I thought '05 was a good vintage in Rhone but perhaps only in the South.
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a nice wine, medium colour and weight. it was not as full rounded and deep as I was expecting. was a touch meatier than the Ch. du Pape I had before it.
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Excellent wine. Subtle, complex with chewy texture. Licorice, fruity. Hints of elegance. Nose, body and finish. Just enjoyable. Drinking very well now.
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Double decanted about 3 hours before drinking. Oak is still way out front right now but you can tell there is really good material that will likely be fully reallized 5 -15 yrs down the line. I have two left and will NOT touch the next one for at least 5yrs, if not 10yrs. 90 points right now for general promise not based on real enjoyment or wonder .....yet.
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Not completely undrinkable, after a few hours in the glass you could find traces of what lays below and that seems to be something really good!!! Fortunately I have one more bottle, and hopefully this one will be okay.
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Absolutely stunning nose that keep evolving, blue mountain fruit, crushed rocks and some really enjoyable meat undertones. On the Palate it's mineral focused and fine well integrated tannins support the spiced red and dark fruit beautifully. Really nice long finish really sorry to have finished my last two going to have to get more!
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Weeknight Tasting in Wellesley (Andrew's House): Decanted for one hour, followed for the next five. Ruby red in the glass, and much more translucent than the other wines. On decanting, despite being 7 years old, this threw no sediment. After reading the other notes here, I find it hard to believe we are drinking the same wine. Yes, the wine is young, but I expected much more, given the pedigree. The wine reluctantly offered up scents of tart dark fruits, minerality, pepper, spice and oak. On the palate dark and red fruits, minerality, and more oak. Finish is moderate, tannins are high and acidity is high. Big structure, although this wine appears to lack any sort of concentration and density. I left a glass overnight to see if it improved by morning, but when I checked in, it was gone. I have no idea what the future holds for this wine, but right now, I don't see much of anything. Unlike any other young Cote Rotie I've ever had.
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NY/NJ WLTV Offline (Fonda Del Sol, NYC): This wine has a gorgeous, complex nose with notes of blueberry, smoke and game with hints of white peach, caramel and French vanilla. Similar notes on the palate. Medium high to high tannin structure but it is very well integrated. High acid and a long finish. Really nice. My wine of the night.
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Red fruits and good spiciness in the bouquet. On the palate very juicy red as well as black forest fruits, firm acidity and a bit drying tannin. The wine has an extremely long finish, but is not in a harmonious stage at the moment. I am happy to have a few bottles and if not really necessary for a tasting I will try the next bottle not before 2016. For now only 91, but with an upwards potential of several points.
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Game and Rhone Tasting @ Peggy's (Villa Reynart, Opoeteren): Opening with a fresh, clear and pure fruity nose. Bright and young in its stucture and complexity which has to unfold in the years to come. Minerality shines through this dense and tight wine, but it needs time to strut its stuff. Although very tasty at the moment, the next bottle has to wait for 3 years, at least. 17,5/20
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Dark hue. On the nose bacon, black pepper, scorched earth and minerals. Full bodied wine and the palate reveals additional character with roasted game and smoke. Super concentrated finish and a balanced wine that is really young. This should blossom into a superstar and is already great now.
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Macerated violets marinated with spa smells, fur . Quite soft actually for a very impressive 05 vintage. Nicely extracted black berries. Salty. Good stuff and should be good with more age.
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Decanted for several hours. Can you say "Bacon Fat"? The nose was very pronounced with bacon fat, dark, ripe berries and beef jerky. Roasted earth minerality. Full and dense on the palate with rich, dark fruit flavors combined with savory, meaty aspects. Warm earth and hints of coffee. Incredibly long finish of spicy berries.
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Very dark color. Powerful aromatics of crushed dark berries, roasted game, pepper, leather, and some chocolate. Very fruit forward on the palate (dark fruits) with fantastic minerality and great acidity throughout. Quite a bit of grip on the long finish. Very nice.
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Nose of tea, tobacco, rhubarb and mint. Palate was lighter bodied than I expected with more tea, soy and melon. Ate with chicken which worked well. Was expecting more from this, especially at this price.
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Big wine with black pepper, bacon, roasted meats, minerals. Concentrated with a medium to long finish. This is a young wine but should really continue to improve over the years. This was decanted 4 hours prior to serving which helped a lot.
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Great clean wine. Nice syrah body with defined flavor profile. Had with roast beef and spaghetti squash - was just perfect. A few more years would have been good for this bottle.
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syrah smackdown (Barrington IL, Wally's house): nose: big and pungent nose filled with black pepper, anise, tobacco, leather, and black cherries. Extremely deep and expressive that just screamed northern rhone to me
taste: massive tannins, and also massive depth with a real smooth medium/full feel of black pepper, tobacco, leather, black cherries and some bits of spices. Very big tannins give away its youth on the palate, but a lot to like already
overall: a wine that I would love to have in my collection. Extremely young, but also extremely expressive, this was scratching me where I itched and the only dissapointment was that this was a big blind tasting and I couldn't spend more time with this wine
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Patrick Will with Ex Cellars (Crow's Nest): I liked the Lieu Dit St Joseph better tonight, but this will come around to be an amazing wine. Not quite as richly concentrated, this showed more terroir with minerality, high acidity, baked earthiness. Actually it took a while for the fruit to sneak through. This needs time in bottle to be enjoyed, but was great to taste tonight.
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Really ripe Syrah fruit - could certainly pass for a new world wine from a super-extracted producer. Still, a nice minerality and grain to the texture. Red, meaty fruits and floral notes. Exotic. Very enjoyable - similar to an '03 a couple of weeks back.
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Uncorked DK does Northern Rhône - Guigal, Chave, Chapoutier and more (Premisse, Copenhagen): Dark red with black core, slightly light rim. Deep and dry nose with mocca, dark berries and sweet oak. In the mouth there is plenty of sweet blackberries and a long aftertaste. Unfortunately this is neither balanced nor integrated. Sweet candied fruit and dry tannins are going in completely opposite directions. What a disappointment... no more than 92 pts at most. I decided to give it a chance and left a glass aside for a few hours. When revisited it had become more integrated and more refruited, herbal and with a touch of caramel. Closer to 94 pts and with potential for further development. (U:93,0)
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3/28/2024 - salil wrote: 85 Points
WCC Syrah from around the world tasting (Clifton Park, NY): Rather blocky and charmless; there's some red and black fruit here tinged with faintly meaty and spicy notes, but there's also a faint oaky element that hasn't really integrated into the wine, and some woody tannin on the back end that sticks out.
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3/22/2024 - crcarlson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Needs some air to open up, good balance of acid alcohol and tannins
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12/28/2023 - wsammons Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was in an interesting place - both bottles seemed to have a bit of seepage underneath the foil. May not have been stored well recently
This was still in a good spot but definitely needed some time to blow off the funk. Still have some of the characteristic Syrah notes of pepper, red fruits, but very limited finish.
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12/14/2023 - Brolawa wrote:
LE3. Drank at elevation (Block 3). Took a long time to open (over an hour) and had nice nose but tight finish. Tastes like it needs more time.
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12/4/2023 - Eantnay Likes this wine: 92 Points
Vertical w/2004. Decanted for 3 hours, served with lamb stew. Shy nose, medium purple color, with some bricking, a hint of black fruit, medium bodied, with a pleasant, soft, lingering finish. At or past its peak. Drink up.
2004 had the better nose; 2005 the better color, texture and finish.
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12/1/2023 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 93 Points
From memory this was at peak with forest undergrowth and smoke.
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11/10/2023 - Ernestas Likes this wine: 93 Points
It is always a joyful treat to return to an aged Ampuis. Made with a blend of 7% of Viognier, average of 50 year old vines, aged for 38 months in new oak. Deep garnet colour. Medium+ intensity aroma of smoky plums and cherries, cold cuts, earth, ground pepper, herbal hints. Medium+ body, concentrated, smooth and elegant structure, great complexity of smoky, meaty & earthy black fruit flavours, with time new layers emerge. Masculine & deep, high fine tannins promising at least another decade at peaking plateau.
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8/12/2023 - matt3taras Likes this wine: 92 Points
Full bodied, dry, lime like citrus, mineral, cherries, followed by unusual earthiness
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6/25/2023 - MWiking wrote: 93 Points
På en väldigt fin plats just nu
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4/24/2023 - Brolawa wrote:
L2. Drank at Pebble Lodge. Tasted similar to the St Joseph.
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3/10/2023 - Topper wrote: 90 Points
My last one, and I won't miss them. There's nothing wrong with this, but nothing that great about it either. I don't see how a producer that makes the La Las, can't do better with this wine.
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1/15/2023 - melzar wrote: 93 Points
Had with cassoulet on my son's, and his wife's 18th anniversary dinner. Very good, but still a little young for my taste. Suggest holding, if you have this wine, and your storage is good. Pales next to the '97 Guigal Ampuis that we also drank.
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1/12/2023 - SparkyMI Likes this wine: 92 Points
Hard to believe at 17 years, that this is still a baby, but it is.
Huge structure dominates the still present fruit.
Wait until 2027 for the next one.
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1/7/2023 - 560 B&W Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really lovely. 13%
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10/12/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Served blind as part of an informal tasting, this was decanted about three hours prior to service. It fooled everyone. All the guesses were for a Cabernet-based wine, with most guessing mid-2010s Bordeaux, and one person going Cal Cab. The tight, dark fruit and firm tannins seemed more like Cabernet, but there was an underlying richness, so I went 2014 Bordeaux from the Margaux region. Dead wrong! Turns out we had been fooled by the exact wine in the past by the host. I suspect he will try it again.
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7/17/2022 - SonOfBarolo Likes this wine: 93 Points
Love this wine but would actually recommend waiting a few more years, the 2001 I tried recently had more complexity.
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6/18/2022 - wsammons Likes this wine: 93 Points
Floral and red fruits - hint of pepper after a while; pop n pour with a sediment filter
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2/5/2022 - Brent25 wrote: 88 Points
Clear medium garnet; clean medium minus nose of wood, florality, meat and vanilla; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus grippy tannins; medium plus alcohol; medium body; medium flavour intensity; palate is tarter and sour; medium finish; drink now; very muted and astringent - got a little better after about an hour decant, but still disappointing; bad bottle?
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1/10/2022 - mflesh wrote: 93 Points
Solid Guigal! Served as an acoustic 2003 Mondavi Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet, and was actually a pretty good yin and yang type pairing. Whereas the Mondavi was showing more of the black fruit aged characteristics, this was starting to show more of the red fruit with age. But, quite earthy and a bit nitrogenous. Poured with a tiny bit of bricking at the meniscus. The nose is rambly red fruits, mushroom funk, smoke and forest floor. Aging red fruit backbone. Toast. Au jus. The middle has a lot of barbecued potato chip quality about it. Finishes with quite a bit of chalky roasted cedar tannins. Not exactly the most elegant finish. This wine would have most certainly benefited if there was food present. The nearest food was probably a quarter mile away! This one has incredible structure, and I think it could go another 10 to 15 years without a doubt. Do I see it getting any better? That's debatable. Depends on what kind of fan you are of the savory funky wines as this one is definitely becoming. Five to 7 years ago, this one probably showed more of that lighter red fruit character Perhaps with a hint of funk. The funk is definitely taking over, so those that are fans of that particular style may even want to hold these longer than 15 years!
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12/31/2021 - peter.mancell@mfg.com.au Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very pleasant indeed.
A little earthy at first but then softening on air.
Nice red and a little dark fruit, modest acidity still present.
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12/11/2021 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
Day 1: Excellent with bacon, white pepper, raspberries, minerals and earth. Medium to long finish and equally as good as the last 2 bottles. 94 points
Day 2: Holding strong and this has plenty left in the tank. White pepper, earth, bacon, gravel and nice fruit profile. Medium plus finish and concentrated wine. 94 points
Recommendation: Drink now to 2030.
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10/21/2021 - Brian of Mull Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened for 1 hour. Color: Deep garnet, not much age showing on rim (just a hint of orange). On the nose: Pepper, cassis, plum and violets. On the palate: Cassis, violets, smoke and pepper. Finish is medium, mouthfeel is smooth and elegant. Getting better with air. Needs another few hours to properly open up. This is good.
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5/23/2021 - la turque wrote: 90 Points
Generally a well made wine but with a really annoying stewed fruit character. Disappointing.
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5/5/2021 - peternelson wrote: 88 Points
This was disappointing, good dark cloudy purple color, but faded nose, hardly got anything--muted, earthy. ample body, a bit tannic, somewhat rustic body. Not sure what happened to this bottle. Seattle w/K&N
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1/14/2021 - Nanda wrote: 92 Points
Double blind. Seemed very Northern Rhone to me with smoky black fruit with lots of cracked black pepper aromas. Nicely composed with big meaty fruits and balancing structure. Right in the middle of its peak window, with some upside as this gains more nuance.
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1/14/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Double blind, clearly French but (oops) I thought Bordeaux. Black cherry and plum with black pepper and roasted meat. Dense, rich and fresh, these are very enjoyable now, but clearly also with upside.
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1/3/2021 - Trydebull Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fem timmar i karaff.
Väldigt bra
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12/31/2020 - janka Likes this wine: 94 Points
After more than 10 years in the cellar it was time to take this. Open 3 hours before drinking. Reindeer is the perfect match for this wine. Very sublime not so powerful as southern Rhône but for this meal absolut perfect.
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12/20/2020 - mjdixon Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely bottle entering it's drinking window.
Jammy nose and dark colour
Drank after a few hours in decanter to complex fruit and heavy mouthfeel.
Might get better with age...?
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11/30/2020 - Oechsle Likes this wine: 93 Points
See prior note: Needs double decant or 60-90 mins breathing time, Better integration then bottle a few years back, Nose dominated by alcohol and green herbals/peppercorns, powdered Graphite and Plumy fruit. Palate terroir driven, Crushed Gravel, mouthwatering acidity, Salty mineral goodness and Dark fruited, Dry Dense mouth feel, balanced and drinking well. 13% seems understated, green pippy finish, Purchased upon release, stored accordingly and enjoyed 60-70 with roasted beef, porcini’s with garlic. If you have been squirreling these away you might want to start a crackin... Na zdrowie
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11/11/2020 - jwalkuro Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep ruby to the rim.
Dark plum, coffee, some pepper and herb.
Good Concentration, mouthwatering acidity, long finish.
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8/23/2020 - Traxx wrote:
Not all that thrilling at the moment. I have one more bottle, will wait another few years to see if it develops further.
Oak is well integrated, just little secondary development at this moment.
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6/14/2020 - vinhonotte wrote: 89 Points
Fine Wines SG - Rhone Tasting Set (Delivered to Home): Deep purplish ruby, with some edge fading. A somewhat restrained herbal nose, with a bit of blackberry and cocoa. Tannic, pretty juicy, and the blackberry fruits are pretty ripe, and a bit of alcohol heat and paprika spice, a slight purple floral feel, and a slight bit of tar towards the back. Finish seemed lacking, with only tar and heat
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6/2/2020 - VlgJeff wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 3 hours to separate sediment, and to allow the wine to open. The cork was in great shape and was wet to about 1 cm.
Initial = medium to minus body, high acidity, low fruit, lots of wood.
At 1 hour = some red fruit on the nose and palate, body up to medium ...not yet.
At 2 hours = needs more time.
At 3 hours = red fruit, cedar, and a touch of coffee on the nose. Medium bodied palate with red and some dark red fruits, cedar, tamed tannins, and balancing+ acidity. Did not improve through the meal.
Seems our bottle was a bit less exuberant than many others - maybe because it had been stored in less than ideal conditions before we obtained it a few years ago at auction. At almost 15 years, provenance matters.
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4/17/2020 - G_H wrote: 93 Points
Dark berries, plums, porcini, slightly coarse tannin structure with a healthy acidity. This one is made for the long run, but already quite enjoyable today.
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12/29/2019 - Trydebull Likes this wine: 93 Points
Doften tillknäppt
Efter ca fyra timmar kommer kaffe, svarta vinbär och mörk högoktanig choklad.
Smaken ger sträv och tillknäppt frukt. Inget som sticker någonstans
Efter fyra timmar händer det saker. Svarta vinbär, viol, lite vaniljtoner, svarta vilda körsbär,
Pepprigt. Svartpeppar, och även lite choklad med viss bitterhet. Tänker även på rostade kaffebönor.
Riktigt bra!
Fin balans, och inget barnarov, även om det naturligtvis bara är en tonåring. Men om man har tålamod öppnar den verkligen fint!
Halva flaskan åkte i källaren med kork i under ett dygn. Tvärtemot vad jag är vad vid från Guigals bättre viner så tappade den här dag två. Mycket märkligt... Ingenting talar för att det borde vara så. Lite blekare än kvällen innan. Fortfarande bra dock!
Direkt vid kork 85.
Efter fyra-sex timmar - 93++
Dagen efter 91
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12/28/2019 - Chloengo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Liked it very much
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11/4/2019 - strijbosmh Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very good. Open for prime drinking.
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9/16/2019 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 91 Points
Completely closed on opening and needed about 1 1/2 hours of double decanting to open, then was displaying dark, earthy cassis flavors with sanguine undertones. Quite nice now with a little air, but perhaps another year or two in the bottle is in order.
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5/11/2019 - soyhead wrote:
tasted blind and no way could i have guessed cote rotie.
nose - coffee
mouth - sappy and svelte, very polished and round, big and complex fruit. somewhat nondescript to my palate, but a wine that the Napa crowd can also surely get behind.
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5/10/2019 - hectic Likes this wine:
Decanted 2 hours. Closed. Needs more time.
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1/15/2019 - clarktoews Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful colour and Jose. Still a bit tight on the finish. Needs another 2-3yrs(amazingly) to be in the best drinking window
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10/26/2018 - Christoffer78 wrote: 95 Points
A bit on the young side right now - the 2005 Ch d'Ampuis is most likely in need of another couple of years beauty sleep to show its even better side. Still, tonight the nose is somewhat amazing exploding in mature floral tones after some time in the glass. There is abundant violets, red cherries and subtle soft tones of oak. The lovely nose shows classy crème de cassis and an adorable spiciness. Tannins are elegantly subdued, fully integrated and very well-behaved. The wine is showing no hard edges at all. Finish lasts some 45+ seconds. A true pleasure!
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3/27/2018 - Filippospat Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened by customer at Oinoscent. Very closed first and showed very young but it developed the next 3 hours. Very concentrated nose of Rose petal, Cinammon, Nutmeg, Dark Cherry, Earth and Violet.
And after one hour there comes this e pepper. Nice complex peppery aroma with savour hints of vanilla, chocolate and hint of chillie.
On the palate was much younger than what I was believe. Medium to Full bodied but with very thin feeling and huge concentration. Cherry, black berries, kirsch, pepper, chocolate, violet, vanilla. Too multimensional and complex palate. High tannins but great intergrated and well worked without any astringency. Great acidity with nice balance of body/alcohol,acidity.
A great wine.
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3/25/2018 - Nanda wrote: 90 Points
In a rather modern style with fairly rich and decadent fruit and noticeable toast. But there is good and clear Syrah character with meatiness and smoky black fruit.
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3/25/2018 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Cassoulet at Bill's (Wilmette, IL): The nose has lots of bright fruit, and there isn't much oak. It's very aromatic, but it lacks the classic syrah flavours -- this is more drive straight by the fruit than by olives, saline, or meat. The palate shows some moderate oak that needs to integrate, but it's not over-the-top. There's a good acidity here as well to balance the ripe fruit. Quite nice.
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3/17/2018 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 93 Points
rating is for night two, on night one and over one hour in decanter it remained mildly tart, fruit-void, full'ish body but no charm, somewhat bitter / big / overly structured, poured the remainder from the decanter back into the bottle (I had only decanted half), next night on the first pour (out of fridge, but small pour warmed by my hands on glass and swirling) it was mesmerizing, deep rich dark red fruit with amazing spices, and -- notwithstanding my not-so-discerning-nose amazing, pungent aromatics of flowers and sweetness... then I immediately poured a glass for my son Andy and we both thought it amazing, but a bit shutdown from what I had experienced 5 minutes earlier... this could be a 95+ pointer in 15 years!! (for context, my highest rating ever is 96)
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2/18/2018 - Oechsle Likes this wine: 92 Points
93 Syrah
7 Viognier
Jeb D 96+ ? Audouzed 1 hour and consumed over 3 additional hours. Subdued nose, sharp acidic lift, alcohol, dry herbs, red cherry hints of raw beef. Wine is fairly balanced leaning Tart. Red fruit profile, Tart cherry, garrigue, Tail end green pepper corn spice. Good concentration, Medium weight pushing full but, the acidity cuts through all. Tannic Frame. At $100+, this is completely unremarkable and disappointing. Purchased upon release, stored accordingly, served 60-70 degrees with grilled ribeye. Perhaps this bottle is in a dumb phase or needs more time. Otherwise purchase a good Crianza for 75% effect at 25% the price… Na zdrowie
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1/14/2018 - strijbosmh Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful classic Côte Roti. Powerful and vibrant, with quite firm tannins. Bell pepper and black pepper, iron, leather on the palate with ample length. Likely to improve with 2-3 more years in the cellar.
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12/23/2017 - MWes Likes this wine: 92 Points
Really great wine. I think it could use more time to hit its peak. I won’t touch my last bottle until at-least 2020.
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9/23/2017 - Pebben wrote: 93 Points
From memory: Lovely and complex nose with hints of raspberries, hung meat, anise, smoky herbs, mocha and vanilla. Medium- to full-bodied, lifted, smooth and well balanced – lots of depth and restrained power. Drinking beautifully today, but should keep well into the 2020'ies. Undoubtedly a very good bottle of wine, but priced at close to $150 it’s not exactly killing it as far as value is concerned.
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8/29/2017 - BrunelloBob wrote: 91 Points
Decanted and drank over two hours. Needs a bit of air. Loads of spice and some nice red fruit--raspberry, cherry, wild strawberry. QPR? 90-91 pts.
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6/9/2017 - overhill wrote: 93 Points
Bordeaux Second Growths Lunch (Capital Grille NY): I was baffled by this wine at first as it seemed flabby and tired. An hour later is was singing. Touch of black pepper, vanilla bean, dried plums and pure cassis. It has an intense freshness leading to a long, lifted finish
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2/12/2017 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened, not decanted for 4 to 5 hours and this was drinking really well. Very sauvage with rich cassis, sanguine notes, garrique, subtle vegetal and menthol undertones. The structure is still on the firmish side, but not at all obtrusive. To my tastes, this is in a good place now, but I suspect that it has a long life ahead of it.
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2/3/2017 - jkoenen wrote: 92 Points
Slightly coarse tannines, rustic, wild and outdoorsey, yet enough brambly fruit to survive a few more years in the cellar. Clearly recognisable in style.
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2/3/2017 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Game dinner with friends Champagne and Northern Rhône: In the bouquet blood, metal, game meat, white pepper. On the palate powerful red and dark forest fruits, blood, juicy acidity and firm tannin. Some bitterness as well. Very good and promising wine for the mid 2020’s… 93 - 94
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1/12/2017 - maxima wrote: 92 Points
Bu avec le 2001 et le 2006, quelques coches au dessus de sa cuvée Brune et Blonde (selon certain un monde!)
Un beau nez sur la viande, la fumée, les épices, les violettes et un peu de menthe.
En bouche, belle concentration et complexité encore une fois. Bacon, cassis, olives et cette belle minéralité.
Finale très longue.
Excellent aussi.
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6/10/2016 - Zweder Likes this wine: 93 Points
The wine still has a purple hue. In the bouquet dark berries, leather, minerals and earth. On the palate a firm wine with some rustic impressions, firm acidity and still very powerful tannin. The wine needs more time to show its finesse. Around 2024? For now 93++
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4/18/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
HdR Opening Tasting: Wow. Great showing. Delicious. Young. Tannic but great fruit and depth. Not sure how long this bottle had been open, but it was in a great spot.
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2/26/2016 - la turque wrote: 93 Points
Still young. A reluctant nose of black fruits, bacon fat, but not very generous. On the palate, structured, rich, strong acidity. This needs 3 years.
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1/26/2016 - ilee Likes this wine: 93 Points
I keep saying this wine is young and needs time, but keep opening my bottles anyway. But then again, drinking wine is not about keeping rash promises -- especially those made to oneself! And this bottle was very enjoyable, though I made sure to decant for 2 hours. A rich Cote-Rotie, replete with drippy black fruit, savory beef blood, dried spices and earth. Full bodied, but not at all heavy, it makes for a heart warming drink on chilly winter nights -- of which we've had several in Hong Kong this past week
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1/3/2016 - Drankard wrote: 94 Points
What YAGIL said but needs another 10 years. Very good!
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12/1/2015 - Yagil wrote: 92 Points
Northern Rhone tasting (at Eli Raban's home, Rehovot): opaque red-brown
excellent tertiary aroma with dark fruity notes and spices,
well balanced, very good harmony, nicely structured, good complexity, very enjoyable, though not outstanding.
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10/15/2015 - drwine2001 wrote:
Some Minnows and Bigger Fish from the Northern Rhône (Arlequin Wines, San Francisco): Ruby center, maturing edge. This starts and finishes with pronounced, piney wood that obscures all else. It tastes completely concocted after the purity of the Clape. A pity.
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7/14/2015 - ilee Likes this wine: 92 Points
Mrs L and I opened this to drink while watching the Federer-Murray Wimbledon semi final last Friday night. Then Mrs L said that if Federer (her idol) won she would not touch alcohol for a week. Rashly, I agreed to join her, and Federer duly beat Murray so I put the cork back on and stuck the bottle in the fridge. Four days on, I'd had enough of abstinence, plus it being my birthday and all so I took it out and poured myself some. Still raw and tannic after all this time! Not a breath of oxygen. Red primal fruit on the nose, with maybe a tinge of seaweed -- but not much else. Wood, fruit and tannin clearly all present except that they haven't yet found their seats, so are still milling around restlessly. Take your time fellas, I'll check back on your progress in 2025...
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3/4/2015 - cadamson wrote: flawed
unfortunately slightly corked....palate was still good, but the nose could not be overcome
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1/30/2015 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Dinner with Charles M - 96 DP Oeno, 96 Dom Rose, 90 Margaux, 90 Mouline, 93 Ponsot Chambertin & etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Very youthful jammy red fruit driven nose, raspberry, smoked meat, garrigue, black pepper and vanilla. Excellent concentration, sweet red fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and lovely long finish. Excellent showing but needs another ten years to reach the peak.
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10/19/2014 - skifree wrote: 91 Points
This was reticent if not closed on opening - nice blood on the nose, and lots of mineral and chalk but little fruit on the first night. Second night was much better, with a well balanced Syrah that paired well with pasta with sausage. Opened on a whim, and will wait a while before the next.
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10/5/2014 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was very shy and reticent on opening and took every bit of 5 hours to open( opened, not decanted) but when it did, it was really quite extraordinary with flavors of rich cassis, earth, leather, sanguine notes and perhaps the very barest suggestion of green peppers. There was abit of white pepper on the longish finish. The tannins, while not particularly obtrusive, are still quite firm and chalky. Even though this is still young, after a few hours this was really drinking well.
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8/21/2014 - Niagara wrote:
I'm just missing the beauty of this one ...
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6/20/2014 - FastTrack wrote: 93 Points
Needs some additional years of cellaring, but already impressing; nose of black raspberry, cassis, licorice intermixed with roasted meat. On the palate rich, full-bodied, with impressing structure and freshness.
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6/4/2014 - cadamson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Outstanding wine. Young, but very expressive. Dark purple, with a nose of red fruit, flowers, herbs and pepper, it coats the palate and finish with bright cherry flavors, along with follow through of herbs/pepper and an interesting tar aspect. Excellent, can only imagine in a few more years.
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4/18/2014 - Rezy13 Likes this wine:
Friday Night Double Blind Tasting $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with red rim; dark plum, dark sour cherry, oak; violets, smoked meat, Burgundian texture; still an infant, needed 1-2 hours in decanter just to show variety; try again in 5 years.
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12/23/2013 - christian rio wrote: 95 Points
needs at least 2 hours to breath after that........ fantastic - still have 2 others - worth waiting at least 5 more years.
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12/14/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Bright, fresh, peppy and peppery, this tannic, potent wine is packed with bright red and black fruits, vanilla, bacon fat and spicy notes. There is more than enough fruit to match the tannin giving tasters a lot to chew on. This was better with an hour of air.
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10/26/2013 - Vintomas wrote: 93 Points
Guigal Château d'Ampuis - complete vertical tasting of 1995-2009 (Stockholm): Medium red, rather compact colour, slightly faded edge. Nose with ripe blackberries and ripe strawberries, some animal notes, slightly flowery with violets and a hint of mint. A rather powerful nose that goes somewhat in the sweet direction. Palate with ripe blackberries, quite dark fruit, notes of tar, good concentration, good acidity, medium+ tannins, tannic aftertaste. Concentrated style, slightly developed but definitely not ready, should be allowed more time in the cellar, 93(+) p.
In the nose, 2005 and 2003 were rather similar, but on the palate they differ quite a lot. On the palate, 2005 showed the darkest notes of all the vintages, although the concentration of fruit felt greater in the 2009. Perhaps the 2005 may become a better wine than 2009 at full maturity, since it shows great concentration without too much sweet fruit, which gives it the potential for perfect balance some time in the future.
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10/6/2013 - CAQC wrote: 96 Points
Excellent, but would benefit from more aging.
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9/16/2013 - Melli wrote: 90 Points
Waaaaaay toooooo early
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9/15/2013 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 92 Points
Lots of wines at Tommy's Clambake (Tommy's): Purple in color. The nose is dusty with black raspberries and dark cherries. Firm tannins. Lots of layered complexity and surprisingly open. Long finish. This showed quite well but will probably improve.
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5/30/2013 - chanukha wrote: 91 Points
Drank together with '03 Janasse Chaupin. Janasse showing better at this stage even from a 'hot' vintage. Better fruit and balance. Cote Rotie bit flat and austere, initially and in finish. I thought '05 was a good vintage in Rhone but perhaps only in the South.
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5/23/2013 - Yagil wrote: 93 Points
Northern Rhone tasting (LOFT restaurant, Rishon LeZion east I.Z.): dark red-purple
quality elegant rich classic Côte Rôtie aroma
excellent harmony, high quality, very enjoyable, it had all needed in it!
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3/21/2013 - clarktoews wrote: 91 Points
a nice wine, medium colour and weight. it was not as full rounded and deep as I was expecting. was a touch meatier than the Ch. du Pape I had before it.
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1/26/2013 - wcchang Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent wine. Subtle, complex with chewy texture. Licorice, fruity. Hints of elegance. Nose, body and finish. Just enjoyable. Drinking very well now.
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8/21/2012 - JJA wrote: 93 Points
This was excellent.
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7/15/2012 - chablis28 wrote: 90 Points
Double decanted about 3 hours before drinking. Oak is still way out front right now but you can tell there is really good material that will likely be fully reallized 5 -15 yrs down the line. I have two left and will NOT touch the next one for at least 5yrs, if not 10yrs. 90 points right now for general promise not based on real enjoyment or wonder .....yet.
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6/14/2012 - Ramberg wrote: flawed
Corked!
Not completely undrinkable, after a few hours in the glass you could find traces of what lays below and that seems to be something really good!!!
Fortunately I have one more bottle, and hopefully this one will be okay.
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5/13/2012 - eoinhharkins wrote: 95 Points
Absolutely stunning nose that keep evolving, blue mountain fruit, crushed rocks and some really enjoyable meat undertones. On the Palate it's mineral focused and fine well integrated tannins support the spiced red and dark fruit beautifully. Really nice long finish really sorry to have finished my last two going to have to get more!
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3/2/2012 - alittle wrote: 89 Points
Weeknight Tasting in Wellesley (Andrew's House): Decanted for one hour, followed for the next five. Ruby red in the glass, and much more translucent than the other wines. On decanting, despite being 7 years old, this threw no sediment. After reading the other notes here, I find it hard to believe we are drinking the same wine. Yes, the wine is young, but I expected much more, given the pedigree. The wine reluctantly offered up scents of tart dark fruits, minerality, pepper, spice and oak. On the palate dark and red fruits, minerality, and more oak. Finish is moderate, tannins are high and acidity is high. Big structure, although this wine appears to lack any sort of concentration and density. I left a glass overnight to see if it improved by morning, but when I checked in, it was gone. I have no idea what the future holds for this wine, but right now, I don't see much of anything. Unlike any other young Cote Rotie I've ever had.
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2/15/2012 - amgryger wrote:
NY/NJ WLTV Offline (Fonda Del Sol, NYC): This wine has a gorgeous, complex nose with notes of blueberry, smoke and game with hints of white peach, caramel and French vanilla. Similar notes on the palate. Medium high to high tannin structure but it is very well integrated. High acid and a long finish. Really nice. My wine of the night.
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11/20/2011 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
Red fruits and good spiciness in the bouquet. On the palate very juicy red as well as black forest fruits, firm acidity and a bit drying tannin. The wine has an extremely long finish, but is not in a harmonious stage at the moment. I am happy to have a few bottles and if not really necessary for a tasting I will try the next bottle not before 2016. For now only 91, but with an upwards potential of several points.
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11/19/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 90 Points
Game and Rhone Tasting @ Peggy's (Villa Reynart, Opoeteren): Opening with a fresh, clear and pure fruity nose. Bright and young in its stucture and complexity which has to unfold in the years to come. Minerality shines through this dense and tight wine, but it needs time to strut its stuff. Although very tasty at the moment, the next bottle has to wait for 3 years, at least. 17,5/20
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9/4/2010 - z17813 wrote: 93 Points
It has a lot of potential but is reasonably closed at the moment. Bacon fat. A big wine but a lot of structure, class. Would be better in 10 years
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7/31/2010 - Niagara wrote: 90 Points
Too young and perhaps closed right now. Promising.
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6/12/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
Dark hue. On the nose bacon, black pepper, scorched earth and minerals. Full bodied wine and the palate reveals additional character with roasted game and smoke. Super concentrated finish and a balanced wine that is really young. This should blossom into a superstar and is already great now.
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3/18/2010 - Alex H wrote: 85 Points
Macerated violets marinated with spa smells, fur . Quite soft actually for a very impressive 05 vintage. Nicely extracted black berries. Salty. Good stuff and should be good with more age.
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12/31/2009 - Beavis77 wrote:
Decanted for several hours.
Can you say "Bacon Fat"? The nose was very pronounced with bacon fat, dark, ripe berries and beef jerky. Roasted earth minerality.
Full and dense on the palate with rich, dark fruit flavors combined with savory, meaty aspects. Warm earth and hints of coffee. Incredibly long finish of spicy berries.
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12/23/2009 - MatthewF wrote:
Very dark color. Powerful aromatics of crushed dark berries, roasted game, pepper, leather, and some chocolate. Very fruit forward on the palate (dark fruits) with fantastic minerality and great acidity throughout. Quite a bit of grip on the long finish. Very nice.
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12/17/2009 - JJL wrote: 88 Points
Nose of tea, tobacco, rhubarb and mint. Palate was lighter bodied than I expected with more tea, soy and melon. Ate with chicken which worked well. Was expecting more from this, especially at this price.
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12/12/2009 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
Big wine with black pepper, bacon, roasted meats, minerals. Concentrated with a medium to long finish. This is a young wine but should really continue to improve over the years. This was decanted 4 hours prior to serving which helped a lot.
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11/6/2009 - EricB wrote: 90 Points
Great clean wine. Nice syrah body with defined flavor profile. Had with roast beef and spaghetti squash - was just perfect. A few more years would have been good for this bottle.
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10/20/2009 - Cia R wrote: 94 Points
Leather, licorice.
Long taste.
Good balance.
Good structure.
Good tannins.
Completely balanced.
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4/24/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
syrah smackdown (Barrington IL, Wally's house): nose: big and pungent nose filled with black pepper, anise, tobacco, leather, and black cherries. Extremely deep and expressive that just screamed northern rhone to me
taste: massive tannins, and also massive depth with a real smooth medium/full feel of black pepper, tobacco, leather, black cherries and some bits of spices. Very big tannins give away its youth on the palate, but a lot to like already
overall: a wine that I would love to have in my collection. Extremely young, but also extremely expressive, this was scratching me where I itched and the only dissapointment was that this was a big blind tasting and I couldn't spend more time with this wine
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3/25/2009 - jjclips2 wrote: 94 Points
Patrick Will with Ex Cellars (Crow's Nest): I liked the Lieu Dit St Joseph better tonight, but this will come around to be an amazing wine. Not quite as richly concentrated, this showed more terroir with minerality, high acidity, baked earthiness. Actually it took a while for the fruit to sneak through. This needs time in bottle to be enjoyed, but was great to taste tonight.
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3/14/2009 - psmith wrote:
Really ripe Syrah fruit - could certainly pass for a new world wine from a super-extracted producer. Still, a nice minerality and grain to the texture. Red, meaty fruits and floral notes. Exotic. Very enjoyable - similar to an '03 a couple of weeks back.
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1/9/2009 - gorm wrote: 92 Points
Uncorked DK does Northern Rhône - Guigal, Chave, Chapoutier and more (Premisse, Copenhagen): Dark red with black core, slightly light rim. Deep and dry nose with mocca, dark berries and sweet oak. In the mouth there is plenty of sweet blackberries and a long aftertaste. Unfortunately this is neither balanced nor integrated. Sweet candied fruit and dry tannins are going in completely opposite directions. What a disappointment... no more than 92 pts at most. I decided to give it a chance and left a glass aside for a few hours. When revisited it had become more integrated and more refruited, herbal and with a touch of caramel. Closer to 94 pts and with potential for further development.
(U:93,0)
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