1992 J.L. Chave Hermitage, 13% alc.: This lovely wine was a gift from Cousin Larry Meehan, and in fact, the last two times we tried one of these with him, in February of ’05 and September of ’04, neither showed quite as well as this one. It’s still not too rusty in color, and Kim’s let first impression be recorded as “olive juice.” Indeed, the big, rich, maturing Syrah aromatics exude plenty of earthy black plum, beet root, black olive, leather, underbrush, mahogany and herb, all echoing and expanding on the palate with even more black olive. This shows beautiful varietal character, especially considering the vintage; there are still some silky tannins here, as well as good acids and length, so it would have certainly held well in the cellar for a while longer. There’s still a solid core of good rich fruit too, showing all the better with 15 years of mellowing, and not even close to going into decline, this makes a great match with a nice grilled rib eye steak and an opening night victory for the Red Wings.
Imported by Langdon Shiverick Imports, Cleveland Ohio
1992 M. Chapoutier Ermitage "La Pavillon," 13.5% alc.: This is a beast, especially when compared to the ’92 Chave Hermitage enjoyed on the same occasion. Still looking like a glass of ink, with little if any rust, it’s much harder, less generous and immediately appealing than the Chave; in fact, it tastes relatively young in comparison, delivering flavors and aromas reminiscent of deep, dark earthy black fruit shaded with some underbrush, a little black olive and just the barest hint of bacon. Still significant structure to this one, and really not much in the way of complexity, so it would be interesting to try it again in five years or so, but right now, the Chave is clearly the better wine. Frankly, "La Pavillon" seems to be in a dumb phase, compared to how well it drank in '04.
Imported by Paterno Imports, Ltd., Chicago, IL
- from Red Wings, Red Rhônes & Other Delights
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