2003 E. Guigal Hermitage- France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (5/10/2010)
Consumed over two nights. A very tasty powerful wine. There is plenty of acidity and tannin here, and while I’m skeptical that this has the stuffing to drink well for the next two decades, it certainly should continue to drink very well for the next 5-10 years. Dark purple color. Forest floor, smokey sweet meat. Nicely layered nose with blue and red fruit. Palate is round and lush, but as I noted, it has acidity and everything is well balanced. Blueberry, plum, red currant, raspberry and subtle plum. Good sweet smokiness. Good mid-palate development with a coffee note after some time in the glass and on the second day. I thought this lost some oomph on the back end of the palate and it never quite regained its legs on the finish. Those nits kept this from hitting 95 or better. While I’ve had some experience with 2003 Euro wines and read plenty more, this did not resemble what I’d call a typical 2003 wine. It had nice balance and just enough subtlety. (93 pts.)
Thanks for the check in Joshua. Have a few of these. Opened one last Fall and it was just ok for me. It came along late in the night and perhaps it didnt get enough air.
Loved the '99 last summer.
Think I’ll wait a bit longer before another '03.
Thanks!
Thanks for the early look Joshua, helpful data for a weird year in the rhone. Agree this is usually one to start thinking about after 10-12 years and holding much longer. I bought this wine back when Winex was blowing it out for $38 back in 2008, so it sounds like it may be a qpr to me when I finally do get around to it.
I grabbed mine for $40 from the PA state store – which is why I opened it a bit early. I’ve had such bad experiences with PA wines (especially those on clearance) that I figured I’d give it a whirl. At the $40, this is a great QPR.