2014 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche- France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (8/11/2019)
Decanted 7 hrs. Once this hit my glass, I was pleasantly surprised how open the 14 Chavaroche seemed to be, quite the contrast with the 13 and its ‘I dare you to find a molecule of fruit persona’ (which I really loved by the way). Starting with the aromatics, lots of primary dark berry fruit for the first 4 hrs or so in the decanter, then slowly unfurled elements of the savory. Consistent on the palate as well, though this was pretty easy to peg as a Northern Rhone Syrah, perhaps not as easy to identify as a Levet. Anyway, this was lovely, more than ample structure, generous amounts of blackberry fruit and a touch of the blue too. Jungle Juice (insect repellent that has a very musky scent) and tire rubber join the fray later on, as does a distinct saline, blood like, edge on the finish. Lots of happy days ahead but certainly no regrets for the test drive last night. (92 pts.)
Haha, so true in that 2013! Bury it. I have some in mags that will outlive me. Thanks for the note on the 2014, I just stuck them away without trying. Did you grab Les Journaries as well?
No, I just bought these earlier in the year as the price on these was a lot more attractive than the 2016. I did get some 15 Journaries though, and glad I did!
Only had a very few, from 3 different vintage of Levet wines, but enjoyed them all and made me a believer, and especially a very good 1998 that we had last month.
Funny, its been 15 years since I have used it, but anytime I smell a musky type scent, this is what I go back to. Given how strong the association is between scent and memory, I’m sure that musky is correct and not all a negative. In addition, the scent triggers fond memories of backing packing and trout fishing with my Dad in the Central Cascades.
