Fu was teasing me all day long about his big Rhone night tomorrow. Got me all slathered up thinking about Rhone. And since it was a Wednesday, which means more than halfway now to the weekend, something decent was in order.
Pop and pour, dove right in.
Dense purple color, so rich in appearance. Pretty traditional French syrah nose of iron, florals, seared meats, dark fruits and black olives. Structured like the 2010 and 2013, perhaps some of the ripeness of 2009, less minerality than the 2011. Nowhere near as approachable as the fruit-forward 2012. About how I size it up comparatively. This will be an ager but is reasonably enjoyable right now. Love the palate presence, a range of dark fruits and really zippy red and citrus fruit acid. Chewy, chalky tannins clamp down hard on the finish, but the finish is deep, sweet, lingering. This is an excellent Gonon, perhaps as strong as 2010. Needs a lot of time. My case is getting locked away. The 2011s and 2012s are so much more approachable if you need a young Gonon.
Back to the pricing question that was prevalent on the other 2015 Gonon thread, this is an excellent $40-$50 dollar wine. Above that, and I think it is out-classed by the next level peer group, which for me at least, extends to all of Northern Rhone not just St. Joe.
Nice to finally read a note on the bottled wine. Tasting various samples in the cellar last year (see how I did that?), my notes are littered with descriptors like brooding, backward, rocky, muscular, well structured, secretive. So your note is not surprising. Keep some for tomorrow, and see if it changes at all (not a prediction, just wondering).
Yes, I just shut it down at slightly passed the halfway mark, cork shoved deep, in the real fridge. Tannins are clamping down more. Your notes are dead-on. But they usually are!
I had the '15 Oliviers Blanc last week. It’s a bit more ample and high-octane than usual, with a distinctly low-acid feel, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it surprise everyone in 6-8 years. Held up open for several days very well.
Charlie, is that for real? I never knew that is the way it worked with them. It has been years since I purchased from them. I feel like in Portland it takes a secret hand shake for someone to even acknowledge they know what you are asking about.
![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
