Tapenade

M

MarkS

Mark Svereika
Alain Graillot, Crozes-Hermitage, 2005
Purplish-plum red colored. Medicinal Band-Aid-idodine stink with some charred flesh-burnt hair aromas. The tannins have smoothed out on this, giving structure to the plummy soft fruit (with oil-cured black olives in the background), but not being as bitingly aggressive as they were only a few short years ago. Despite the softening, this remains serious Crozes, now coming into its drinking window. 13% alcohol. No way anyone with saddle-sense would mistake this for a California wine. A-
 
the descriptors remind me of the way Durell Vineyard Syrah used to smell (grapes from the original block, pre-phylloxera) at the same stage of development. I met Graillot in '95, and he said to me "you don't know me, but I have your wine in my cellar," and my response to him was: "that's what I was going to say to you."
I visited him in '96, and we were both struck with the aromatic and flavor similarities in our wines (at that time, mine being the Durell), and with what seemed to be a similarity in the way each of our nervous systems responded to the raw material with which we worked. I admire Alain as much as anyone I've met in my 40 years of involvement in wine.
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
funny thingthe descriptors remind me of the way Durell Vineyard Syrah used to smell (grapes from the original block, pre-phylloxera) at the same stage of development. I met Graillot in '95, and he said to me "you don't know me, but I have your wine in my cellar," and my response to him was: "that's what I was going to say to you."
I visited him in '96, and we were both struck with the aromatic and flavor similarities in our wines (at that time, mine being the Durell), and with what seemed to be a similarity in the way each of our nervous systems responded to the raw material with which we worked. I admire Alain as much as anyone I've met in my 40 years of involvement in wine.
Click to expand...

That's a very cool story, Steve. I happen to groove on both your wines, too, and I also greatly appreciate that both of you have kept your wines affordable for the likes of me over the years.

Mark Lipton
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top