Notes from a recent dinner. This was a study in terroir and the different faces of Syrah…especially the flight of Verset and Jamet…two wines at opposite ends of the Northern Rhone spectrum, and both great in their own ways.
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NV Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée Brut - France, Champagne
Cellared around 4-5 years. Opened and served right away. Nose speaks clearly of Champagne with minerality, apple, yeast and bread aromas coming from the glass. In the mouth there’s green apple and citrus on the entry but the flavor profile becomes slightly richer towards the backend with flavours of orchard fruits, toast and bread dough with zippy minerality and loads of acidity. Even with the high acidity and energetic minerality the mouthfeel here still has a slightly creamy element to it and a soft mousse. Nose doesn’t show much development but the palate gives just a sense of its age. A bottle of Krug is always a great way to start an evening. I plan to drink my bottles from this purchase over the next 3-5 years. Excellent. (92 pts.)
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2000 Noël Verset Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted blind - Medium red in colour, murky, with bricking showing signs of age. This nose screamed old school northern Rhone with notes of olive tapenade, green tobacco and salty meats with hints of spice and red fruits underneath. In the mouth this is just as rustic as the nose with flavours of red berry fruit and spice all wrapped in an acidic, low alcohol and masculine frame. This is what you call an honest wine: no intervention and shows loads of typicity. Rough tannins and absolutely no refinement shown here especially when compared to the Jamet Cote Rotie. This traditional Cornas seems to be at or near its maturity. Funky, even a little dirty, but I like it. Excellent. (91 pts.) -
2000 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Corked. NR (flawed) -
2000 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Opened and served right away. Bright medium red colour not showing much age. Coming from the Verset to this was quite a contrast. Pronounced, clean and perfumed nose…could this be anything but Cote Rotie? Notes of red fruits, herbs, black olives, bacon, smoke and hints of tar and funk. While the Verset is masculine, rough and old school, this is elegant, polished and refined, but without being ‘modern’ or overworked. Refined tannins with solid acidity and a smooth mouthfeel while still showing lots of Cote Rotie typicity. This is just beautiful Syrah and this wine is just entering it drinking window and should continue to develop and improve for many years. Outstanding. 93+ (93 pts.)
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2001 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted blind – dark red at the core, bricking near the rim. At first this was shy on the nose but in the mouth was open for business with darker fruit then either of the previous wines with a powerful and classic mouthfeel. Most of us were thinking Hermitage at this point. As it opened in the glass, notes of blackberries and perfume came through and even hints of floral but this still remained somewhat tight throughout the entire night. Great acidity with firm but moderate tannins and with the perfume starting to come out, we changed our thoughts from Hermitage to Cote Rotie. Not as open for business as the Jamet and maybe even a little lean in comparison, this was still excellent and should keep improving for years. Excellent. 91+ (91 pts.) -
2001 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Decanted for 4 hours. The darkest wine so far. Right from the first sniff to the last taste this was the darkest, sweetest, ripest, most oaked and highest alcohol wine of the night. Nose had just the slightest bit of roasted character coming through along with the gobs of dark cherries, blackberries, pepper and sweet oak…a little warm and modern at this point. This is drinking the most youthfully of the reds tonight with a rich, round and slightly sweet profile and a structured frame. While I wouldn’t peg this as classic Northern Rhone at this stage, once the oak integrates and some secondary characteristics start to develop, this should become less of an outlier than it is tonight. This was great with the cheese course. Needs at least another 3-5 years. Excellent. 90+ (90 pts.)