2004 Noël Verset Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (10/14/2023)
From Neil, to pair with my 2010 Juge Cornas. Cellared since release and decanted for a few hours.
Always such a treat to sit down with Verset. This had a broadly red-fruited, spicy, floral, and briny nose that gained depth and complexity with air. Essentially fully mature, the palate seamlessly blends savory dark fruit and meaty and briny essences. Just delightful. I agree with Neil that I have hit higher marks with other vintages of Verset but this was hugely pleasurable.
2010 Marcel Juge Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (10/14/2023)
My one bottle, bought on release from Garnet wines ($42) and brought to a wonderful dinner with other extraordinary wines. The Juge was paired with a 2004 Verset Cornas, which was quite a pairing! Decanted for about 30m before serving.
Classic Juge that showed great straight out of the gate. Huge violet nose with streaks of green and ash notes, haunting spices, and a fleeting lactic note that dissipated with air. Early prime time on the palate, cool granite delineation of the densely juicy core of fruit that fanned out with a smoky brine. This gained in intensity in the glass - just a lovely wine. I'd say this has years to go but it's showing so damn well now.
1998 Domaine Barge Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (10/1/2023)
The showstopper. What a glorious Côte-Rôtie at its absolute peak. I last had this wine seven years ago and since then it has blossomed into its fullest self. The nose is insane, showing red fruits, smoke, ash, flowers, pepper, and with air a lot of camphor - classic Barge. You just get lost in the nose. The palate is generous and silken and still so fresh, the tannins melted away. This about as good as it gets, a great wine from a great vintage.
2011 Marie et Pierre Bénetière Côte-Rôtie Cordeloux - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (10/1/2023)
As good as ever. This wine has shown fantastically well since release. The nose is classic Bénetière, massively floral and peppery with a trace of ash. It's also very fine and elegant on the palate with terrific balance, pure red fruits and enveloping savoriness, just a joy to drink. This is in its early maturity and has years to go.
Rare Wine Company charts the sales of Verset’s vineyards:
In 2001, as he neared the age of 90, he sold his largest parcel, 1.3 hectare in Sabarotte, that he had purchased from the Domaine del Sabarotte in 1948 and whose vines were planted in 1903.
Initially Noël intended to sell the Sabarotte vines to Tardieu-Laurent (to whom he was also selling wine), but an agricultural commission blocked the sale. Finally, they were sold to Clape and Courbis. And in the mid-2000s, he sold his prized half hectare in Chaillots, planted 1912, to his nephew Franck Balthazar.
Throughout this process, his production steadily dwindled. The rumors of his retirement began to spread in 2001, undoubtedly fueled by the proposed sale of Sabarotte. But he continued to make wine under his own name until 2006.
It seems plausible that the 2004 wine at least in part came from the Chaillots parcel.
I have four bottles of the 2010 Juge - my limited allocation at that time - but have not popped one. Always felt 2010 Northern Rhônes need 15 years minimum. Looks like I need to pull one for enjoyment.
Thanks for the kind words. The 1995 Barge Brune is awesome - a bottle I opened three years ago was stunningly young and powerful. It was an ex-cellar release offered by Lyle Fass.
I love Barge and have a lot of Barge wines in my cellar - more than any other producer. Pierre and Gilles made great wines, and we’ll see how Julien does, especially since the domaine lost its lease on the Côte Brune vineyard.
