Adam, Ed, Mike, Ken and I met at our semi-regular Monday night hang-out recently to taste through some older Northern Rhones while eating some fine food. People brought some great wines, and this turned out to be one of my favorite tastings of the whole year, with wine after wine showing fantastically.
2007 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard Sonoma Coast. When I arrived, there was a double blind white wine that Adam had arranged ahead of time to serve. My thought was it was probably some sort of N Rhone blend to fit the theme, but upon putting my nose in the glass, that didn’t seem plausible at all. Aromas of chalk, minerals, wet stones and chopped herbs rise up first, but are followed moments later by the much richer elements of lemon oil, hazelnuts, apple, peppermint and oak. The richer elements grow in volume and intensity with air and eventually the wine is pretty action-packed aromatically. In the mouth, it has a certain lushness and limpidity to it, with a soft chalky texture. It has a rich bass note of intense lemon ball flavor, but also a solid kick of acidity that leads to an airier feel on the fine-tuned finish. It feels tight and young, but I like it. My guess was a California Chardonnay, but I was surprised to see it revealed as an Aubert, as I think this is a bit less large-boned than other vintages I’ve had. It was a great way to start the evening.
1978 E. Guigal Hermitage. Man, this is good. It smells wonderfully savory and dark-toned, with aromas of pen ink, dried blood, olives, animal fur, tomato plant, black beans, black currants, dark soil, star anise and black leather jacket all swirling around in a full, rich panoply that defies the age of this earthy beauty. In the mouth, it is still quite lively and giving, with a creamy smooth texture and a fine juicy acidity that doesn’t really give much cut or definition but does lend a wonderful lift to the incredibly persistent and lengthy finish. Soft spices and beautifully aged fruit combine in a way that is entrancing and softly enveloping. Everyone at the table was really impressed with the showing this wine gave us.
1982 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde. This is still a bright, healthy dark ruby-colored wine. It features lots of rawhide leather, sweaty saddle, earth, forest ferns, powdered black pepper, blonde tobacco leaf, black currant and blackberry aromas that are both complex and fantastically fresh. Like the ’78 Hermitage, it is creamy and smooth and resolved of tannin in the mouth. It has fine drive, tons of character and a great mouth-filling quality. Candied dark cherry and fine spice flavors flow along with effortless ease against the backdrop of a medium-bodied frame. The finish is very long, with a nice spicy character. Hours later, this is still hanging tight, with no drop-off whatsoever. This is an impressive and delicious wine.
1982 Domaine Jamet Cote-Rotie. This one is rather cloudy in appearance. The nose shows off nice but at times murky aromas of dark cassis and pasty red fruits, dried earth, old luggage and creamed coffee before one begins to sense perhaps a bit of heat-damage notes like thick tomato paste and dark caramel. Regardless, it is still a very interesting nose with a good deal quietly going on. On the palate, there is a fine sense of depth to the cool red and black cherry fruit. Some sneaky tannins are still hanging around and help give this a touch of austerity at times. The extraction comes on a bit strong on the finish, where this turns drier and drier over the course of the evening. Overall, it is fine and friendly, but is not the equal of the ’82 Guigal and certainly not on the same level as the ’83 Jasmin tasted right afterwards.
1983 Domaine Jasmin Cote-Rotie. This is quite simply a phenomenal wine in pristine condition. It sports wonderfully rustic and savory aromas of sweaty funk, leather, pungent tobacco barn, horse hair, cool menthol, grilled meats, pan drippings, crushed black pepper and an underpinning of mysterious dark berry fruits. It never lets up and just keeps pulling one back into its vortex of aromatic delights. In the mouth, it feels like satin on the tongue, yet is undeniably deep and dense at the same time. It pumps out a ton of flavor and really keeps everything fresh and alive. The tannins are quite refined and only make a slight impact toward the back of the palate. It has great structure and a nice savory edge to otherwise pure dark cherry and rhubarb fruit. The finish is dry and lingering and replete with character. I really can’t say enough about how good this is. This was my Wine of the Night.
1985 Marcel Juge Cornas. This wine opens up with a good dose of brett, featuring overt notes of horse’s ass and muddy cow barn. With time, those elements begin to fold in nicely to the cooler, earthier character that comes forward highlighted by aromas of black currant, brushed leather, brownie batter and black beans. While not for the faint of heart, I have to say I love it. In the mouth, it feels sappy and pliant, with a bit of chalky tannin. Flavors of coffee beans, dark cherries and juicy black raspberries are framed by a nice acidic twang. It is medium-bodied, finely-constructed and has a natural feel to it. It does start to dry out a bit on the finish over the course of the night, but at its height this wine stands right up there as one of the best of the evening, in my opinion.
1990 E. Guigal Hermitage. The bouquet of this wine is not quite as immediate as some of the previous wines, but it does definitely blossom with time and aeration. It then puts forth holistic and healthy aromas of sweet pure cherry, fireplace ashes, asphalt, bridle leather, cool earth and sweet mocha-chocolate. It feels rich, yet also cool and refined. In the mouth, it is like so many other wines this night delightfully creamy and smooth in texture, though I would say it has more obvious weight and density through the mid-palate than any of the other wines on the table. Black currant and black cherry flavors are carried along by an airy acidity that leaves the finish fresh and well-defined.
1998 Domaine des Remizieres Hermitage Cuvee Emilie. This immediately smells younger and perhaps more international in style than the previous grouping of wines. It is rather open and giving at this time—with aromas of black raspberry, blackberry, cool couch leather, cracked black pepper and lava rock emanating from the glass. On the following evening, it smells more industrial in nature, with a big whiff of tire rubber kind of marring my opinion a bit. In the mouth, this is rather overt and forward-fruited—with a big whack of mixed black fruit flavors, a wide river of sharp acidity and tons of fudgy tannins all warring for attention from the get-go. It has cut from that acidity, but a dense underbelly of blackberry, black currant and blueberry fruit gives a sense of purity and primary character. It is large-framed and juicy-fresh, with a glossy texture and obvious but rounded tannins—yet it doesn’t have the unique character or secondary nuances at this time that it hopefully will develop down the road.
1998 Domaine Brusset Gigondas Le Grand Montmirail. Finally, we ended with this Southern Rhone interloper, which despite being off-theme was quite welcome. It features a nose of cool black cherry, fuzzy leather, persimmon and green plants. In the mouth, it has enjoyable creamed cherry and dark raspberry flavors. It is fruitier in nature than the Northern Rhones, yet also feels full-bodied and robust. It flows nicely and ends fresh, but does turn increasingly dry over time, eventually puckering the mouth a bit.
-Michael
