The Caymus we had with steaks and baked potatoes. (Insert manly grunts) Nice nose of cranberries and smoke with a little beef. Palate was medium to full bodied with dark fruits, cranberries, and a soft texture. Some drying tannins sneak in at the end but a good bottle of wine with plenty of legs. Too bad it was my last one.
The Janasse I scored recently from Wine Commune for 60 bucks. I got it because after the hype of 07 and having tried a few of them (and been blown away) I was curious about previous vintages. Posts seem to indicate that 06 VV was more in the “classic” CDP taste than any of the 07. Anyway…opened left without a cork for 8 hours. This had an explosive nose of pomegranate, baking spices and sweet cherries. The palate was intense but light on its feet (kinda like Paquiao who pummeled the shit out of Cotto as I drank this) Great fruit with surprising sweetness (I guess I expected more earthy flavors) and more spices. Long finish and obviously young. I dont know if these have stems included but there was this mild greeness in there that kept reminded me of stems. Long finish with youthful tannins.
I was expecting to not like this as much. Certainly different than the 07s Ive had, lighter body, significantly more open, and dialed down a notch in ripeness, but this was ripe enough for me. Very good wine.
I bought a half case each of the 07 VV and Chaupin and promptly returned them. Soooo not my style and the alcohol level makes it a tough wine to drink a modest amount of. I love the 04 vintage and suspect the 06 will be more in line with my palate. Not to mention the wallet.
I had the 06 janasse vv and chaupin at an 06 rhone tasting earlier this year. The chaupin was one of the top wines there IMHO. However, the VV was simply perfect for my palate. It’s got totally lost in the crazy 07 hype but it’s a beautiful, vibrant, perfectly balanced and delicious wine. And for a quarter of the price of the 07 it’s a no-brainer.
So my buddy says the Atlantis grenache is better than the Janasse. Off to the races. The Atlantis is tight, but showing some nice things. The nose is muted with mostly grilled meat and whiffs of ripe dark fruits. Some sage and cumin. The palate is big but somehow also feels tight and heavy. Mostly strawberries and slightly underripe blackberries. Lots of acid makes is somewhat tart despite some sweetness up front. Some tannin behind the acidity and a great long finish with an interesting note of hickory. This wine needed a whole day of air, and even then I dont know that its ready to be taken down at this point. I prefer the syrahs a LOT. Always have.
Berto, I actually prefer the Atlantis Grenache over the Syrah at this point in the game. As for the Ravens, the Syrah runs circles around the Grenache.
Yeah I remember…you like Raven better than Atlantis syrah right? Atlantis Syrah is one of my favorite wines ever. Have had it 4 times and its blown my mind each time. Even up against Heart Chorea, JFTLOI, and Poker Face. Dont know what it is about it. I expected more of the Grenache though, to be fair, I think this bottle was closed up. The Janasse was damned good though.
Berto, thanks for the notes. I have a few '06 VV’s and am in no rush to open them. I love the Atlantis Grenache almost as much as the Atlantis Syrah. I just brought a Raven Syrah to a dinner recently and it was really good, but not as good as Atlantis in my opinion. I’ve had the Atlantis Syrah at least 3 times and save for the first time, which was right after delivery, it was absolutely rockin!
