TN: Friday Afternoon @ Domaine

WINE TALK
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FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT DOMAINE - Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago, IL (1/3/2014)

Welcomed in the new year and the very cold temperatures with an afternoon of Syrah at Domaine. Nice mix of wines, and had a good time with everyone as usual.

  • 2007 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
    Lots of pepper and cherry. Mouthfeel was on the rich side, but had good acidity to even things out. (88 pts.)
  • 2006 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
    Beautifully rustic nose with dark fruits, earth, meat, and pepper. Drinking beautifully well (as are many 2006 Northern Rhones) with lots of meat, spice, and dark fruits on the palate. Great balance and acidity too. (91 pts.)
  • 2011 Briceland Vineyards Syrah Lake County - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County
    An intriguing region in California when it comes to Syrah in my mind. I like what the team at Briceland did here. Restrained nose of dark fruit, olive, meat and some earth. The palate was certainly cool with a lot of dark fruit. Would have scored a bit better with me if there was more meat/pepper, but this was really really nice. (88 pts.)
  • 2010 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
    Another in a line of great, young Syrah’s from the Gonon brothers. Powerful aromatics of earth, plum, spices, and meat are deep and complex. The palate is still rigid with a brutally firm structure. It’ll be an even greater wine in 7+ years as the olive and meat flavors on the palate deepen and the tannins soften a bit. (92 pts.)
  • 2011 Zichichi Family Vineyard Petite Sirah Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
    Label reads 14.9% and I tasted every bit of it. Nearly undrinkable for me.
  • 2008 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
    I know this vineyard site well through the wines of Jim Mack and Jemrose and I like what the team at Carlisle did here too. More rustic than most Californian syrah this has distinct pepper and olive notes wrapped around the dark fruit on the nose. The palate was pretty good, but a bit too much heat creeped in for me. (87 pts.)
  • 2008 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
    Another solid showing. Still very young but has all the elegance to really round into something special with time. As I’ve said before, this won’t have the power of some vintages, but what it lacks in power it makes up in with its elegance. Gorgeous tones of olive, earth, and blackberry on the palate. Nice acidity, great structure. Beautiful stuff. (92 pts.)
  • 1999 Clarendon Hills Astralis - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon
    Needed some air, but I found this absolutely delightful. Very rugged with a big dose of meat, black cherry, olive and spice on the nose. The palate was gorgeous too with great texture, elegance, and complexity. I’ve only had Astralis twice, and both times it has been quite the beauty. (93 pts.)
  • 1999 Henschke Sémillon “Louis” - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
    I loved this wine. Gorgeous texture and complexity to the fruit it had gorgeous lanolin and tropical fruit notes woven seamlessly together. The palate remained fresh too with a great spike of acidity on the finish. (93 pts.)
  • 2007 Patrick & Christophe Bonnefond Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Seems to be from the Robert Parker school of Cote Rotie. Just a big over-oaked mess at this point. None of the rusticity that I was hoping for and at the end of the day just a bore. (80 pts.)
  • 2006 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
    I couldn’t get enough of this wine. Everything you can ask for in a young Cornas…wild meaty tones that were drenched in olive and dark fruit tones. Its palate was silky already with incredibly depth and complexity. Going to be a superstar with time…but will I be able to wait on my bottles? (94 pts.)
  • 2001 Kongsgaard Syrah Hudson Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Another oaky mess for me that was fueled by intense alcohol and candied black fruit. Not my thing at all. (75 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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The wines sound nice enough, but the top photo… Is that Mr. Fantastic second from left?

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Good notes and data points Matt!
I’m glad to see where wines from my 2 prefered Northern Rhone producers, the 2010 Gonon Saint Joseph and the 2006 Allemand, stand at this point.

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Nice Marvel reference, and catch on that weird panoramic shot, David…

Great notes, sounds like I should move my Gonon 2010 to the back of cellar.

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It looks like Mr. Kilkenney was moving while I was using the Panoramic camera app.

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Matt,

Thanks for posting the notes and for your comments about our 2011 Lake Syrah. I like your description. Not to make excuses, but that wine was bottled in Nov. of 13. I like it now, but expect aromatics to improve and for it to develop complexity with more time in glass. It sounds like you had a nice line-up for that tasting.

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Matt, nice notes. I had the '07 Allemand Chaillot recently and had a similar experience. So much aging potential but so good today… Let me know the next time you’re in LA and we’ll crack some bottles!

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Matt,
On the ones you panned, I couldnt tell from your notes, but were they well made just not the style you like?

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They aren’t the style I typically like. I think others enjoyed them more than I did.

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Andrew - it was my first time trying your wines and was mightily impressed. No question they’ll gain complexity with time, and I’ll do my best to check back in on them again. Cheers

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I brought the Kongsgaard. I figured there wouldn’t be any older domestic syrahs in the lineup. I don’t have any experience with Kongsgaard (I bought the bottle I brought from HDH). It wasn’t a bad wine, speaking as someone with more tolerance for that style. But it wasn’t very interesting.