TN: Two Rhones for Dinner...(short/boring)

Tried these two w/ dinner last night:

  1. Yves Cuilleron Marsanne LesVignes d’a Cote IGP: CollinesRhodaniennes (12.5%; NeilRosenthal) Chavanay 2016: Med.gold color; strong appley/Marsanne light floral/apple blossom some stony/chalky bit austere attractive nose; quite tart/tannic/steely/metallic light appley/stony/chalky rather lean/stiff/tight flavor; med.long tart/tangy/lean/austere/stony/chalky slight appley/Marsanne finish; a singularly unthrilling austere Marsanne now but one I suspect will be something special in 10 yrs…or maybe not. $22.00 (KK)

  1. JCCllrs Twist of Fate Syrah Calif RW (“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”; www.JCCellars.com; 15%) JeffCohn/Oakland 2008: Very dark/near black color w/ little bricking; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very ripe some roasted/Rhonish/espresso strong toasty/smokey/oak bit alcoholic/fumey slight complex nose; soft/rich/lush rather hot/alcoholic intense very ripe/Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/bit peppery some Rhonish/espresso/roasted charred/smokey/oak some complex PR/Syrah flavor w/ modest ripe/smooth/textured tannins; very long rather hot/alcoholic intense boysenberry/blackberry/jammy/Syrah/very ripe slight roasted/Rhonish/espresso/coffee bean rather charred/toasty/Fr.oak fairly alcoholic/hot finish w/ light smooth/ripe tannins; quite a good PR Syrah that has held up fairly well but the alcohol & ripeness is coming to the forefront.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. I pulled the JCCllrs Syrah w/ low expectations, expecting it to have turned into a hot/alcoholic mess. It had not, even though the alcohol was evident. Quite a tasty fully-mature Syrah that’s not going to get better.
    First tasted in Aug’14:

Tom

Thanks again for your notes, Tom!

Some of the JC Cellars wines have tempted me in the past, but I never bought anything. I guess that the alcohol levels and my fear of overly-assertive oak notes found in TN’s (CellarTracker, critics, blogs) steered me clear of a purchase.