White Wines
2021 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Les Chaillets: Vibrant nose that is youthful and slightly floral. Palate is equally youthful with citrus and peachy orchard fruit. Texturally a bit round and doesn't quite have the cut I would like in a white wine, but decent acidity for a Condrieu.
2014 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Chaillées de l'Enfer: There is a complex and layered nose of honey, ginger, aromatic flowers and citrus. There is remarkably fresh acidity that cuts through the waxy texture of the wine and provides definition to the pronounced mineral flavors. Great precision and linearity. More about the wet rocks than the fruit here, and incredibly complex and layered.
2021 Domaine Auguste Clape St. Péray Blanc: Peach and red apple with slightly floral notes on the nose. Very bright and a sense of lightness on the initial attack. Texturally round, and a touch waxy, with a hit of white fruit and minerality in the midpalate. Finishes with some baking spices and a touch of vanilla oak on the finish. There's complexity and richness, but like most Rhone whites, I wish there was more cut and acidity. Not bad, though.
Cote Rotie
2007 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie: Very expressive aromas of violets and blackberries bursts out of the glass. The palate is translucent and elegant with flavors of dark fruit and a touch of smoked meat. Structurally, a sharp acidic spine and silky tannins ties everything together. This is just a pretty wine that may not make the oldest bones, but is such a pleasure to drink right now. Classic Cote Rotie.
St. Joseph
2013 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph: Subtle nose of black raspberries and dark cherries. On the palate, the fruit here is quite dark, with a meatiness that is inflected with salinity and brine. While the midpalate is quite dense and savory, the wine has excellent acidity and is also beautifully elegant and light on its feet. Finishes with a slight kick of spiky black pepper on the back end. Tannins are approachable now, but still grippy. Great stuff.
2022 Domaine Monier Perréol St. Joseph: Very classic Northern Rhone flavor profiles of dark fruit and brininess. The weight is quite elegant, there is decent acidity, and there is no oak or other types of makeup on the wine. The flavors though feel a little wan and lack intensity. Not dilute, per se, but like an echo of what I expected the flavors to be. Perhaps going up to the Chatelet will result in a more intense, yet still light-footed, experience.
2021 La Baladeuse L'Etourdie: A rather dense, dark purple robe in the glass. The nose has aromas of blackberries and cassis with a subtle hint of barnyard. The palate has cool blue fruit, bitter medicinal herbs, blood and iron, a hint of smoke, and cracked black pepper. The acidity is quite juicy, yet the tannins are still surprisingly firm and mouth-puckeringly drying. While it tastes like a carbonic wine with this forward fruit, there is a distinct savory quality to the wine as well, and, if anything, this could probably use some more age to resolve the tannins.
Technical notes: A negociant wine. 8 days of maceration, 9 months in fiberglass tank, from 100% Syrah grown on granite soils in St. Joseph (Bogy) by a producer named Jean Delobre.
Cornas
1999 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas: This has a really nice floral nose redolent of violet and dark berries. The tannins here seem mostly resolved, though there is a tiny bit of lingering grip that can easily be tamed with a bit of protein. Savory palate of dark fruit, brine, and olives. Acidity is quite mouthwatering. Very classic, very Cornas.
2013 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas: Very meaty and savory with dark fruit and a touch of smokiness. The tannins, however, coat the entire mouth and are quite drying and are a bit stern. It's not so bad that you cannot enjoy the wine, but I would still wait a couple more years for the tannins to soften a bit. There's plenty of upside though: good acidity, relatively light-footed weight, and intense, if slightly rustic, flavors.
2020 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas: Aromas of violet and dark berries with a touch of smokiness on the nose. Despite the velvety texture and lush dark fruit, it does not feel overdone and the acidity balances the ripeness by providing quite a bit of lively zest. And there is a touch of salinity, black olive brine, and smokiness to add complexity. The tannins are not very assertive; rather, they are fine and just slightly grippy on the tip of the tongue. All of these elements are beautifully integrated. However, the one drawback is that the alcohol seems a little high; while the peppery spicy finish is long, I do sense a bit of heat as well. Otherwise, this is pretty smashing.
I do have to say, after drinking the '99 and '13 Clape Cornas a couple of days earlier, it does feel there has been a style shift. The '13 Clape had palate coating tannins which were still rather firm while the tannins here are so much more polished and approachable. They are dramatically different wines.
2021 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard: An expressive and lovely nose of violets and blackberry with a subtle hint of smoke leaps out of the glass. The palate is silky, complex, light-footed, yet intensely flavorful. There's a hint of herb and smoked meat interwoven with sappy purple fruit with a subtle citrusy twist. The tannins are very polished, lending just a hint of grip. The acidity is ripe and juicy. Supremely elegant and delicious, this finishes very long. Super yummy and approachable right now.
2010 Marcel Juge Cornas: There's a very aromatic nose of dark cherry and herbs. On the palate, the wine's spherically textured with silky tannins and juicy acidity that are both seamlessly integrated into the finessed and light-footed structure of the wine. The fruit is rather red-toned and vibrant, there's hints of herbs and spice, and these flavors develop into a long finish imbued with notes of smoldering charcoal and scorched earth. A beautiful showing.
2014 Guillaume Gilles Cornas: Nice floral nose of violets with hints of herbs. Elegant, light-footed, with assertive acidity to frame the sappy dark fruit. Not monolithic at this point, with interesting layers of black pepper, subtle green notes, and brine, but the tannins are still rather firm and drying. Enjoyable now with food, but probably has upside if you can wait for the tannins to resolve further.
2018 Julien Cecillon Cornas Saint Pierre: Big ripe nose of dark cherry with subtle floral notes. Very silky, though the tannins still have a touch of grip. Quite fruit forward, though surprisingly red in tone. However, there's decent acidity and elegance on the palate. A bit too ripe for my tastes, but it still is rather drinkable and fun. I imagine this cuvee would be really lovely in a slightly cooler year. I also appreciate that there is zero makeup in the winemaking.
2022 Guy Farge Cornas Harmonie: Young, young, young. Fresh blackberry on the nose, but what is very surprising is the intense creaminess on the palate. I can't help but feel that the oak is sticking out a bit too much. However, underneath the slick veneer and drying tannins, you can taste an interesting ferrous bloodiness on the palate. I'm not much of a fan right now because of the creamy texture, but maybe it will integrate with time.
Hermitage
2017 Delas Frères Hermitage Les Bessards: There's some nice violet aromas intermingling with the black brambly fruit on the nose. However, the palate is very slick, glossy, and polished and the dark fruit is monolithically dense at this point. Comes across as very modern and definitely needs more time to integrate the oak.
2020 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage: I will be honest: this wine totally baffled me. The nose is ok, with some dark cherry and cassis mixed in with a hint of barnyard. However, the plush purple fruit is buried under layers of vanilla and new oak. Granted, the acidity is preserved, and the wine wears it's 14.5% abv with a certain degree of aplomb, but the round, slick, polished textured is truly oft-putting. I also don't think destemming did the wine any favors; the pure, unadulterated, monotonous fruit is kind of dull and makes the wine feel soft. Pairing that with the new oak, which is so appallingly heavy-handed, I can't help but feel this wine is a venial sin against God and nature.
Maybe this is shut down right now, and with time the oak will integrate, but I just can't see this wine getting any better than boring and inoffensive. I was glad I got an extra pour of the '21 Allemand Reynard to help rinse out the Chave from my mouth.
2021 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Les Chaillets: Vibrant nose that is youthful and slightly floral. Palate is equally youthful with citrus and peachy orchard fruit. Texturally a bit round and doesn't quite have the cut I would like in a white wine, but decent acidity for a Condrieu.
2014 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Chaillées de l'Enfer: There is a complex and layered nose of honey, ginger, aromatic flowers and citrus. There is remarkably fresh acidity that cuts through the waxy texture of the wine and provides definition to the pronounced mineral flavors. Great precision and linearity. More about the wet rocks than the fruit here, and incredibly complex and layered.
2021 Domaine Auguste Clape St. Péray Blanc: Peach and red apple with slightly floral notes on the nose. Very bright and a sense of lightness on the initial attack. Texturally round, and a touch waxy, with a hit of white fruit and minerality in the midpalate. Finishes with some baking spices and a touch of vanilla oak on the finish. There's complexity and richness, but like most Rhone whites, I wish there was more cut and acidity. Not bad, though.
Cote Rotie
2007 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie: Very expressive aromas of violets and blackberries bursts out of the glass. The palate is translucent and elegant with flavors of dark fruit and a touch of smoked meat. Structurally, a sharp acidic spine and silky tannins ties everything together. This is just a pretty wine that may not make the oldest bones, but is such a pleasure to drink right now. Classic Cote Rotie.
St. Joseph
2013 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph: Subtle nose of black raspberries and dark cherries. On the palate, the fruit here is quite dark, with a meatiness that is inflected with salinity and brine. While the midpalate is quite dense and savory, the wine has excellent acidity and is also beautifully elegant and light on its feet. Finishes with a slight kick of spiky black pepper on the back end. Tannins are approachable now, but still grippy. Great stuff.
2022 Domaine Monier Perréol St. Joseph: Very classic Northern Rhone flavor profiles of dark fruit and brininess. The weight is quite elegant, there is decent acidity, and there is no oak or other types of makeup on the wine. The flavors though feel a little wan and lack intensity. Not dilute, per se, but like an echo of what I expected the flavors to be. Perhaps going up to the Chatelet will result in a more intense, yet still light-footed, experience.
2021 La Baladeuse L'Etourdie: A rather dense, dark purple robe in the glass. The nose has aromas of blackberries and cassis with a subtle hint of barnyard. The palate has cool blue fruit, bitter medicinal herbs, blood and iron, a hint of smoke, and cracked black pepper. The acidity is quite juicy, yet the tannins are still surprisingly firm and mouth-puckeringly drying. While it tastes like a carbonic wine with this forward fruit, there is a distinct savory quality to the wine as well, and, if anything, this could probably use some more age to resolve the tannins.
Technical notes: A negociant wine. 8 days of maceration, 9 months in fiberglass tank, from 100% Syrah grown on granite soils in St. Joseph (Bogy) by a producer named Jean Delobre.
Cornas
1999 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas: This has a really nice floral nose redolent of violet and dark berries. The tannins here seem mostly resolved, though there is a tiny bit of lingering grip that can easily be tamed with a bit of protein. Savory palate of dark fruit, brine, and olives. Acidity is quite mouthwatering. Very classic, very Cornas.
2013 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas: Very meaty and savory with dark fruit and a touch of smokiness. The tannins, however, coat the entire mouth and are quite drying and are a bit stern. It's not so bad that you cannot enjoy the wine, but I would still wait a couple more years for the tannins to soften a bit. There's plenty of upside though: good acidity, relatively light-footed weight, and intense, if slightly rustic, flavors.
2020 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas: Aromas of violet and dark berries with a touch of smokiness on the nose. Despite the velvety texture and lush dark fruit, it does not feel overdone and the acidity balances the ripeness by providing quite a bit of lively zest. And there is a touch of salinity, black olive brine, and smokiness to add complexity. The tannins are not very assertive; rather, they are fine and just slightly grippy on the tip of the tongue. All of these elements are beautifully integrated. However, the one drawback is that the alcohol seems a little high; while the peppery spicy finish is long, I do sense a bit of heat as well. Otherwise, this is pretty smashing.
I do have to say, after drinking the '99 and '13 Clape Cornas a couple of days earlier, it does feel there has been a style shift. The '13 Clape had palate coating tannins which were still rather firm while the tannins here are so much more polished and approachable. They are dramatically different wines.
2021 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard: An expressive and lovely nose of violets and blackberry with a subtle hint of smoke leaps out of the glass. The palate is silky, complex, light-footed, yet intensely flavorful. There's a hint of herb and smoked meat interwoven with sappy purple fruit with a subtle citrusy twist. The tannins are very polished, lending just a hint of grip. The acidity is ripe and juicy. Supremely elegant and delicious, this finishes very long. Super yummy and approachable right now.
2010 Marcel Juge Cornas: There's a very aromatic nose of dark cherry and herbs. On the palate, the wine's spherically textured with silky tannins and juicy acidity that are both seamlessly integrated into the finessed and light-footed structure of the wine. The fruit is rather red-toned and vibrant, there's hints of herbs and spice, and these flavors develop into a long finish imbued with notes of smoldering charcoal and scorched earth. A beautiful showing.
2014 Guillaume Gilles Cornas: Nice floral nose of violets with hints of herbs. Elegant, light-footed, with assertive acidity to frame the sappy dark fruit. Not monolithic at this point, with interesting layers of black pepper, subtle green notes, and brine, but the tannins are still rather firm and drying. Enjoyable now with food, but probably has upside if you can wait for the tannins to resolve further.
2018 Julien Cecillon Cornas Saint Pierre: Big ripe nose of dark cherry with subtle floral notes. Very silky, though the tannins still have a touch of grip. Quite fruit forward, though surprisingly red in tone. However, there's decent acidity and elegance on the palate. A bit too ripe for my tastes, but it still is rather drinkable and fun. I imagine this cuvee would be really lovely in a slightly cooler year. I also appreciate that there is zero makeup in the winemaking.
2022 Guy Farge Cornas Harmonie: Young, young, young. Fresh blackberry on the nose, but what is very surprising is the intense creaminess on the palate. I can't help but feel that the oak is sticking out a bit too much. However, underneath the slick veneer and drying tannins, you can taste an interesting ferrous bloodiness on the palate. I'm not much of a fan right now because of the creamy texture, but maybe it will integrate with time.
Hermitage
2017 Delas Frères Hermitage Les Bessards: There's some nice violet aromas intermingling with the black brambly fruit on the nose. However, the palate is very slick, glossy, and polished and the dark fruit is monolithically dense at this point. Comes across as very modern and definitely needs more time to integrate the oak.
2020 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage: I will be honest: this wine totally baffled me. The nose is ok, with some dark cherry and cassis mixed in with a hint of barnyard. However, the plush purple fruit is buried under layers of vanilla and new oak. Granted, the acidity is preserved, and the wine wears it's 14.5% abv with a certain degree of aplomb, but the round, slick, polished textured is truly oft-putting. I also don't think destemming did the wine any favors; the pure, unadulterated, monotonous fruit is kind of dull and makes the wine feel soft. Pairing that with the new oak, which is so appallingly heavy-handed, I can't help but feel this wine is a venial sin against God and nature.
Maybe this is shut down right now, and with time the oak will integrate, but I just can't see this wine getting any better than boring and inoffensive. I was glad I got an extra pour of the '21 Allemand Reynard to help rinse out the Chave from my mouth.
