A true treat. Old. No effervescence. But has some cut and spine still. Long finish. A St. Francis hotel liquor store sticker on it. Drinking history. — 11 years ago
Absolutely spectacular. Elegant, well balanced, beautiful notes of dark fruit, specifically picking up black currant and chocolate. Wow! — 11 years ago
Delicious treat. — 11 years ago
What a treat! Beyond. — 12 years ago
A gift to my parents from Paul. Drank it while celebrating my dads 69th birthday. Absolute treat. — 11 years ago
Chave Rouge 06. Plenty of heat and a little oak too it seems (could be wrong). Oak will integrate, heat is surprising. Serious peppered beef and teriyaki jerky. Some black red fruit - black cherry. Hints of jello tease overripeness but this remains sharp and poignant. The pure jello influenced fruit makes me think few stems here, too. Oak seems to present itself not as vanilla thankfully but in a beautiful hazelnut quality that matches the fruit perfectly and uniquely to syrah. Again, this could be something else other than oak. This definitely shows some jello/jelly, no doubt. Totally ripe red cherry actually. Importantly, this has no heaviness in terms of weight or thickness yet is pungently aromatic as first, smoked, peppered meat and second as fruit. This wine makes me think of, all in the same vein, concrete vats, minerality and tiny berries. The teriyaki quality makes me think these are high toast barrels? This should continue to integrate better and better over the coming years. I can't say I ever got the "bacon fat" thing before in N Rhone but this really has Benton's bacon fat to it. Amazing all this umami while still maintaining a bright ripe red-fruited cherry core. Prefer the '06 Jamet right now for its lower alcohol but certainly love the transparency and uniqueness of flavor here. This is likely a bit more structured than the Jamet. Again, I think time will treat this well. This is dried meat while the Jamet was about the long pepper spice. So interesting how different these expressions of syrah are. — 11 years ago
1995 Chateau Musar that after 20 years is in its prime. Rich fruit, long smooth finish. What a treat! — 10 years ago
1993 Screaming Eagle Cab. Drank at Press w K, Iana, S, and AG. Such a treat and very interesting as Kplanned it as a comp with the 1991 Harlan. For the first hour or so, we all favored the SE. Super unctuous and round, like velvet in the mouth. Then the wines came to temp and the picture completely changed and we all grew to favor the Harlan. Interestingly, the SE got flabby and very, very sweet. A thought it was bc it lacked the tannins that the Harlan showed. Anyway, SE turned almoSt port-like, with a nose of dates, raisins, and prunes. Amazing and fun to see the change throughout the night. — 10 years ago
Real depth and power in this wine. Less aromatic fireworks than the RSV but still very beautiful. Needs at least a couple if hours or air to get going. A real treat! — 12 years ago
Marc Poirier
Pre Christmas treat ! — 10 years ago