This wine is showing very well. Deep colour, the fruit is holding up well and there's a good underlying structure of softened tannins. No hurry to drink up.
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Didn't decant, tasted over 4 hours. Dark garnet, a bit cloudy. On the nose, blackberries, with hints of tar, leather and barnyard In the mouth, the fruit dominates, tannin appear fully resolved, a bit of funk and tar on the finish - just enough to add complexity. It probably would stand to be decanted for ~1 hour or so. Was perfectly nice with TJ tri-tip roast. Will probably last for a few years, but very good now.
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Meaty, well-devloped nose with a lot of barnyard and leather. There's also a lot of oak influences like ink and cedar. After a while the meatiness combines with iron minerality and a nice plum fruit. Not very origin characteristic. Still tannic and quite generous palate. Toasty oak and coffee. Dark fruit flavors combines with smoked sausage. Quite harmonius with some grip. Minerally finish. The style is too modern for my taste. A generous wine but hard to recognize as a typical northern Rhône. Don't think this will benefit from more cellaring.
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(Les Ruchets CORNAS Colombo) Cornas and Hermitage Dear Friends, I’ve been far too hard on Jean-Luc Colombo over the years as he’s always reminded me of a California version of a Cornas producer - out to make modern wines that soften the tannins and mask the terroir they are gown in (Guigal is also a modernist but he seems to escape the same criticism by supplying just enough sense of place in his wines that everyone gives him more leeway than most). The point is that, after tasting a cadre of his older wines, Colombo’s best examples actually age (especially in cooler vintages like 2000 where the massive ripeness was not available but the material was). Are they Verset? No, but a lot of you out there would be very interested to try this set of Cornas and Hermitage as they are ageing in a quite a complex fashion and the prices are well within reason for winery-aged examples. Both of these are directly from the cellars at Colombo - they have never seen a retail store shelf and have never moved since release (they are off the original bottle racks in his cellar). The freshness is obvious: 2000 JL Colombo Cornas “Les Ruchets” EXTREMELY LIMITED From what was considered a meager vintage by most standards, this wine has aged beautifully. Now nearly eight years old, it is a glimpse into what can happen with patience. The modern edges have melted and the varietal Syrah has come out leaving he taster with a most interesting mix of old and new. Tasting the 1999 Ruchets next to this was like tasting Amarone vs. actual Cornas - everyone wants the 1999 but it’s the 2000 that weaves the web of magic. Original bottle ratings are irrelevant here as the wine bears little resemblance to what was reviewed five years ago (I think Parker gave this a 90 or 91 back when it was released). Keep in mind that the just bottled Guigal single vineyard Cote Rotie’s can seem massively oaked and modern in youth as well but after 5-10 years.... 1998 JL Colombo Hermitage “Le Rouet” Blanc EXTREMELY LIMITED This is a very rare wine at this point and Colombo only has a dozen or so original cases left (unlabeled and still in raw bottle stacks). He intended to use this parcel as an experiment to see how this white Hermitage aged over the next few decades but I convinced him to part with a few cases. He considers this one of his best wines in 1998 (a vintage that produced many exceptional and very long-lived reds in the North) so that is saying a lot. This wine is more traditionally vinified than his red wines and to get a decade-old, winery cellared Hermitage Blanc at this price is a steal. Just now coming out of its “10 year” slumber, this should be soaring in another 2-3 years. I don’t believe the 1998 Le Rouet Blanc has been exported before or reviewed by the US press - all the listings you will see are for the Hermitage Le Rouet Rouge (a decent wine but the strength of this bottling is the white cuvee). Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Rhone7750 Rhone7760
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7/15/2019 - Richard Nabavi Likes this wine: 91 Points
This wine is showing very well. Deep colour, the fruit is holding up well and there's a good underlying structure of softened tannins. No hurry to drink up.
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6/11/2017 - echya01 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Didn't decant, tasted over 4 hours. Dark garnet, a bit cloudy. On the nose, blackberries, with hints of tar, leather and barnyard In the mouth, the fruit dominates, tannin appear fully resolved, a bit of funk and tar on the finish - just enough to add complexity. It probably would stand to be decanted for ~1 hour or so. Was perfectly nice with TJ tri-tip roast. Will probably last for a few years, but very good now.
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8/4/2013 - Hansen73 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Medium weight, funk, barnyard - enjoyed it very much but probably near the end
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3/2/2013 - Argrath wrote: 87 Points
Meaty, well-devloped nose with a lot of barnyard and leather. There's also a lot of oak influences like ink and cedar. After a while the meatiness combines with iron minerality and a nice plum fruit. Not very origin characteristic.
Still tannic and quite generous palate. Toasty oak and coffee. Dark fruit flavors combines with smoked sausage. Quite harmonius with some grip. Minerally finish.
The style is too modern for my taste. A generous wine but hard to recognize as a typical northern Rhône. Don't think this will benefit from more cellaring.
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12/21/2012 - spo wrote:
Seemed tight. Kind of dissapointed.
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