We tried last night at BBB three NorthernRhones:
1. EmileChampet Cote-Rotie (MeBalP; 11%-14%) 1978: Med.color w/ much bricking; strong smokey/roasted/espresso/coffee/black olive slight earthy slight violets/floral complex nose w/ little fruit; tart light violets/Syrah bit lean/dried out very smokey/espresso/roasted/black olive/smoked meats complex flavor; very long/lingering classic C-R/espresso/smokey/roasted meats/smokey/bacony bit dried out/tannic complex finish; a quiet little old lady in the twilight of her years.
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2. Guigal St.Joseph Vignes de l'Hospice (13%) 2000: Dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah bit herbal/rosemary light smokey/roasted/olive tapenade/NR slight volatile/alcoholic light toasty/oak rather modern style nose; fairly tart rather blackberry/Syrah slight roasted/NR/coffee rather tannic/hard flavor; long strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/blueberry fairly hard/tannic very light roasted/coffee/NR finish; not a lot of NorthernRhone character and rather modern in style; still needs 5-10 yrs of age.
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3. Guigal Hermitage (13%) 1999: Dark color; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe slight NR/roasted/smokey rather modern-style nose; somewhat tart strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight NR/roasted/espresso fairly hard/tannic flavor; long strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight NR/roasted light toasty/oak finish w/ rather firm/hard/unyielding tannins; needs 5-10 yrs of age; not a profound Hermitage & rather modern in style.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The Champet was from my cellar. When I first opened it, it was quite light & smooth on the palate w/ not a lot of flavor. Over the 30 minutes we drank it, it got noticeably harder & more dried out on the palate; but really blossomed in the nose. Still an excellent wine but will only continue to fade.
Tom