Organized for my local educational group (consisting of ordinary disorderlies, WSET students, in-the-biz types and winemaker-types). We started with a couple of random whites.
2005 Domaine de la Louvetrie Muscadet de Svre-et-Maine Sur Lie Le Fief du Breil
Citrus, sea salt, slightly lactic nose, a little floral. Pleasingly citric, mineral palate with a bit of textural richness (for Muscadet, anyway) yet waterlike weight. Nice acidity for the vintage. I could drink a fair bit of this.
2006 Scholium Project 'The Prince In His Caves' Farina (Sauvignon Blanc)
Exotic sauvignon-on-steroids nose of grapefruit, grass, lychee, sweettarts. Very oily and rich on the palate, with ripping acidity and mouthfilling lychee, green/grass and citric flavors. Huge in the mouth, with New Zealand like concentration, and tremendous length, a lingering salty minerality in particular. Apparently raised in mostly new oak but this is mostly in the background, perhaps most visible in the texture and weight. While the parts here are all quite interesting, the wine doesn't quite come together for me; it may just be too large-proportioned at this point. It was interesting to note that this has (far?) less alcohol than any Scholium wine I've previously seen.
2006 Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage
Nose of slightly candied red fruit, pepper, mineral. Pleasant, clean ripe red and blue fruits on the palate, with good acids and a bit of smokey torrefaction. Short to medium minus length, with just a hint of tactile tannin in the mouth; probably something to drink now or within a couple of years. Good quality basic Crozes.
2006 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
Nose of ripe liqueur-like blue-black fruits, smoked meat, mineral, very deep. Tastes of sweet red and blue fruits, black pepper, smoke, tar. Very concentrated, with fine, wooly tannins and a dark, brooding quality. Not my style, but clearly a deep, concentrated Crozes.
2004 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph Offerus
Simpler nose of red and blue fruits, black pepper. Red fruit palate with juicy acids, black pepper, savory game, tobacco/smoke. Classic, if small-proportioned, with good flavors and reasonable complexity, but just medium minus length. Drinking very well, probably close to peak.
2006 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph
Nose of dark fruits, pepper, raspberry, olive. Flavors of red and blue fruits with juicy acidity, mineral, subtly herbal with fine grainy tannin, and an elegant, lithe weight in the mouth. Medium length. Less extracted, with better freshness than others in this flight; maintains an elegant, lithe weight overall. Very nice, but a little closed and in need of time to unwind; leftovers were wonderful on day 2. Excellent St.-Joseph.
2006 Philippe Faury Cte-Rtie
Very floral nose with peachy-violet viognier notes, sweet red fruits and smoke. Complex palate bursts with juicy, sweet, savory, smokey purple-hued red fruit. Quite concentrated, yet lithe and scarcely medium bodied in the mouth. Lively and delicious, though I find the fruit a bit boisterous at this stage. Drink or hold. Made with (unusually high) 15% viognier.
2006 Marc Sorrel Hermitage
Candied, tooty frooty nose with obvious volatile acidity. Likewise on the palate, with superripe jammy red and blue fruits and confected sweetness. A whisper of white pepper, perhaps. Very concentrated and long, but relatively soft and unstructured for young Hermitage, though the bones may just be submerged in froot. Such a disappointment; this lacks any sense of place. Not recommended.
2000 Nol Verset Cornas
Savory, stemmy vegetal nose with cigar butt/ashtray aromatics. Some sweetness on the palate, but little fruit. In its place is a mouthful of savory, stemmy flavors: vegetal, tobacco, green olive, earth, smoke and ashtray. Some persistence and length, but lacks freshness. Distinct signs of wine pushing up around the cork; almost certainly heat damaged.
2006 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30
Deep nose of dark fruits, smoke, savory meats and tobacco. Very ripe palate, with sweet purple-black fruit, meaty tobacco/herbaceousness, and very strong, almost lemony acidity. Firmly structured, with powerful but round-edged, almost plush (for Cornas) tannins. A curious Cornas with both traditional and modern leanings; the acidity isn't well integrated and sticks out quite a bit for an otherwise polished style such as this.
1996 Paul Jaboulet An Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert
Developing nose, with funky, cooked/baked fruit aromas, with iron and animale. Sweet baked red fruits in the mouth with blood/iron and a pleasing savory salami-like flavor. Good balancing acid. Nice concentration and length; rustic and old-fashioned, but nonetheless a successful mature Crozes.
1999 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
Lifted, smokey nose of red fruit, savory meat, charcoal/woodsmoke, slightly herbaceous. Very concentrated, savory palate with muscular purplish fruit, ground pepper, smoke and juicy acids. Still developing; a bit tight, with some fine but gritty, unresolved tannins. Needs time.
1999 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph L'Olivaie
Badly corked.
1996 Alain Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes
Smokey, baked blue and red fruit aromatics, with savory umami and a sweaty, animal component. Nice masculine dark fruit palate with ground pepper, animale and juicy acids. Good freshness to the fruit, despite the stemmy/animal flavors, and impressive length. Very nice Cornas that really opened up with some time in the glass. I'm inclined to say this still needs time, although some leftovers were pretty tired the following day. Drink or hold.
1990 Domaine Henri Gallet Cte-Rtie
A rustic, old-school (100% stems) CR. Mature leathery, smokey red fruit nose with vegetal and slightly poopy nuances. More savory, leathery red fruit in the mouth, animale, quite concentrated. A good wine, but it comes across as flat; more acid would kick this up a level or two. In relatively good shape, although I suspect this bottle would have been better a few years ago. Not bad though.
1964 M. Chapoutier Hermitage
Mature nose of savory red fruit, blood/iron, meat. Great rich, viscous texture in the mouth, with savory-sweet red fruit, dried herbs, and hint of sweet/caramel oxidation. Certainly mature and perhaps running on fumes, but so complex and silky, with great length. Lasted twenty to thirty minutes in the glass before starting to decline. A wonderful wine, regardless.
2005 Domaine de la Louvetrie Muscadet de Svre-et-Maine Sur Lie Le Fief du Breil
Citrus, sea salt, slightly lactic nose, a little floral. Pleasingly citric, mineral palate with a bit of textural richness (for Muscadet, anyway) yet waterlike weight. Nice acidity for the vintage. I could drink a fair bit of this.
2006 Scholium Project 'The Prince In His Caves' Farina (Sauvignon Blanc)
Exotic sauvignon-on-steroids nose of grapefruit, grass, lychee, sweettarts. Very oily and rich on the palate, with ripping acidity and mouthfilling lychee, green/grass and citric flavors. Huge in the mouth, with New Zealand like concentration, and tremendous length, a lingering salty minerality in particular. Apparently raised in mostly new oak but this is mostly in the background, perhaps most visible in the texture and weight. While the parts here are all quite interesting, the wine doesn't quite come together for me; it may just be too large-proportioned at this point. It was interesting to note that this has (far?) less alcohol than any Scholium wine I've previously seen.
2006 Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage
Nose of slightly candied red fruit, pepper, mineral. Pleasant, clean ripe red and blue fruits on the palate, with good acids and a bit of smokey torrefaction. Short to medium minus length, with just a hint of tactile tannin in the mouth; probably something to drink now or within a couple of years. Good quality basic Crozes.
2006 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
Nose of ripe liqueur-like blue-black fruits, smoked meat, mineral, very deep. Tastes of sweet red and blue fruits, black pepper, smoke, tar. Very concentrated, with fine, wooly tannins and a dark, brooding quality. Not my style, but clearly a deep, concentrated Crozes.
2004 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph Offerus
Simpler nose of red and blue fruits, black pepper. Red fruit palate with juicy acids, black pepper, savory game, tobacco/smoke. Classic, if small-proportioned, with good flavors and reasonable complexity, but just medium minus length. Drinking very well, probably close to peak.
2006 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph
Nose of dark fruits, pepper, raspberry, olive. Flavors of red and blue fruits with juicy acidity, mineral, subtly herbal with fine grainy tannin, and an elegant, lithe weight in the mouth. Medium length. Less extracted, with better freshness than others in this flight; maintains an elegant, lithe weight overall. Very nice, but a little closed and in need of time to unwind; leftovers were wonderful on day 2. Excellent St.-Joseph.
2006 Philippe Faury Cte-Rtie
Very floral nose with peachy-violet viognier notes, sweet red fruits and smoke. Complex palate bursts with juicy, sweet, savory, smokey purple-hued red fruit. Quite concentrated, yet lithe and scarcely medium bodied in the mouth. Lively and delicious, though I find the fruit a bit boisterous at this stage. Drink or hold. Made with (unusually high) 15% viognier.
2006 Marc Sorrel Hermitage
Candied, tooty frooty nose with obvious volatile acidity. Likewise on the palate, with superripe jammy red and blue fruits and confected sweetness. A whisper of white pepper, perhaps. Very concentrated and long, but relatively soft and unstructured for young Hermitage, though the bones may just be submerged in froot. Such a disappointment; this lacks any sense of place. Not recommended.
2000 Nol Verset Cornas
Savory, stemmy vegetal nose with cigar butt/ashtray aromatics. Some sweetness on the palate, but little fruit. In its place is a mouthful of savory, stemmy flavors: vegetal, tobacco, green olive, earth, smoke and ashtray. Some persistence and length, but lacks freshness. Distinct signs of wine pushing up around the cork; almost certainly heat damaged.
2006 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30
Deep nose of dark fruits, smoke, savory meats and tobacco. Very ripe palate, with sweet purple-black fruit, meaty tobacco/herbaceousness, and very strong, almost lemony acidity. Firmly structured, with powerful but round-edged, almost plush (for Cornas) tannins. A curious Cornas with both traditional and modern leanings; the acidity isn't well integrated and sticks out quite a bit for an otherwise polished style such as this.
1996 Paul Jaboulet An Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert
Developing nose, with funky, cooked/baked fruit aromas, with iron and animale. Sweet baked red fruits in the mouth with blood/iron and a pleasing savory salami-like flavor. Good balancing acid. Nice concentration and length; rustic and old-fashioned, but nonetheless a successful mature Crozes.
1999 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
Lifted, smokey nose of red fruit, savory meat, charcoal/woodsmoke, slightly herbaceous. Very concentrated, savory palate with muscular purplish fruit, ground pepper, smoke and juicy acids. Still developing; a bit tight, with some fine but gritty, unresolved tannins. Needs time.
1999 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph L'Olivaie
Badly corked.
1996 Alain Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes
Smokey, baked blue and red fruit aromatics, with savory umami and a sweaty, animal component. Nice masculine dark fruit palate with ground pepper, animale and juicy acids. Good freshness to the fruit, despite the stemmy/animal flavors, and impressive length. Very nice Cornas that really opened up with some time in the glass. I'm inclined to say this still needs time, although some leftovers were pretty tired the following day. Drink or hold.
1990 Domaine Henri Gallet Cte-Rtie
A rustic, old-school (100% stems) CR. Mature leathery, smokey red fruit nose with vegetal and slightly poopy nuances. More savory, leathery red fruit in the mouth, animale, quite concentrated. A good wine, but it comes across as flat; more acid would kick this up a level or two. In relatively good shape, although I suspect this bottle would have been better a few years ago. Not bad though.
1964 M. Chapoutier Hermitage
Mature nose of savory red fruit, blood/iron, meat. Great rich, viscous texture in the mouth, with savory-sweet red fruit, dried herbs, and hint of sweet/caramel oxidation. Certainly mature and perhaps running on fumes, but so complex and silky, with great length. Lasted twenty to thirty minutes in the glass before starting to decline. A wonderful wine, regardless.
