The Tasting Notes Part I:
1. 2002 J.L. Chave Hermitage Blanc
Oaky, vanilla nose with notes of anise and culinary herbs. Richly textured with serious viscosity. Alcohol and oak dominating the palate. Savory finish with the anise lingering, along with a sense of seashells and salt air. Wood tannins noted. Pretty good, but not worth the money.
2. 2002 Fidelitas Syrah Columbia Valley, Washington
In your face new world syrah aromatics. A bit of wet paint and banana peel on the nose. Dark and dense with some blueberry, tree bark, and sweet spice. Nice, full, dense palate showing decent acidity and firm, chewy tannin. Persistent. Quite complex. A pleasant sweetness. Very good.
3. 2003 K Syrah Morrison Lane Walla Walla Valley, Washington
Toasted hazelnuts, alcohol, and canned tomatoes on the nose. Huge extraction with sweet plumy fruit underlying the chunky, chewy, oak dominated palate. Long in the mouth (all the glycerol). Ted said, “monolithic.” I cheerily agreed with him. Not my style, but I am sure it will have its fans. For me, simply too unbalanced and over the top in every way: oak, alcohol, and extraction.
The next day: Again, the alcohol ever present. But has sweetened up some with ripe plums and vanilla on the nose. Besides this aspect of fruit, remains essentially the same: a huge monster of a wine.
4. 1995 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
At the opposite end of the syrah spectrum with this…leather and game, garrigue and licorice with wet slate and a bit of smoked bacon. Sweet entry going into a mushroom and leather casserole of a mid-palate. Still has grip and good acidity. Mouth coating and drying tannins. A very long finish of autumn leaves and sweet spice. For those who enjoy the tertiary aspects of age and don’t mind a deficiency of fruit. Very nice.
The next day: Gnarly old wood and smoked meat aromas with a bit of black olive tapenade. Mouth drying tannins haven’t settled down here at all.
5. 2005 M. Chapoutier Côtes du Rhone “Belleruche” Blanc
Showing great typicity (I noted, though I’ve probably only tasted thirty or so white Côtes du Rhones in my career). Apple and pear aromas. Very refreshing sense of yellow apple and a hint of fennel on the palate. Full and big, but balanced, with some tannic bite. Nice wine.
6. 2002 J.L. Chave Hermitage Rouge
Perfumed nose. Quite feminine. Restrained. Floral and a bit of game, raw meat, and pine needles. Medium weight and soft. I noted here, “really reminds of 1999 La Tour Haut Brion.” Great balance. A cool feeling in the mouth. Quite nice, even if it isn’t up to the usual snuff. Doing the best he can in a difficult vintage. Delicious, but not worth the money.
7. 1995 Chapoutier Hermitage “Le Pavillon”
Shockingly, extremely primary. Violets. The nose not giving anything up. A wine in hibernation. On the palate: great concentration and much fuller than above with a more palpable texture. Cigar box finish. Lots of potential here, but very, very reticent. I wouldn’t touch it for another ten years, at least, though it is capable of lasting far longer. A very subtle wine, soft with very ripe tannins that nearly disguise just how well structured it really is. Delicious and probably worth every penny Vincent paid for it in the late nineties.
8. 1990 E. Guigal Hermitage
Much more evolved aromatics though the color is incredible, nearly opaque with just a slight brickiness at the rim. Game, leather, meat, and cinnamon. Quite rich aromatics. Sweet entry with a very dominant gamey quality kicking in mid-palate. Like walking into a leather store and inhaling while chewing some walnuts recently released from the shell. Very long in the mouth. Not quite on par texture wise with the Chapoutier but an easier Hermitage to spot.
Evolving: a bit of root beer candy. Freshening up a bit, shedding its cloak of leather but keeping the vest on. Big red gum.
Later: fading. The nose a bit like a cold fireplace the morning after a conflagration. Very nice, but drink up.
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