A wayward member of our tasting group was in the USA for a few days from his current ex-pat assignment. He wanted to open some of his wine from long term storage. They did not suck!
We started with a 2004 Musar Blanc which was a really interesting wine with all its sweet fruit accompanied by exotic oxidative notes. Not sure I would buy it, but I will happily drink it. I tried the Cotat to be polite, but it was Sauvignon Blanc.
1986 Domaine de Trevallon
Sweet bottle fruit with a tart edge. A little mushroom, some smoke and more than a little dirt. There's a bit of an acidic edge on the back end, but very enjoyable overall. I went back to this with the sausages, and the acidity did a nice job of cutting the fat.
1986 Gentaz-Dervieux Cote-Rotie "Cote Brune"
Not as sweet as the Trevallon, but even more aromatic and better balanced on the finish. Meaty, a bit spicy though perhaps a bit dried out on the finish. Remains a fascinating wine.
1990 and 1996 Verset Cornas
The '90 is still dense and fruity, with ages to go. Bacon and wood smoke. Tannins smoothing out framing the fruit that carries through a long finish.
The '96 is predictably lighter though also more nuanced and more accessible, though not less enjoyable. Drink teh '96 now, and allow the '90 to gain further nuance from additional cellaring (if you have any...sadly I do not)
1990 Jaboulet Domaine de Thalabert Crozes-Hermitage
Surprisingly young. Dark syrah fruit. Quite meaty and delicious in a more immediate way. I feel like I am damning with faint praise, but this was very fine, just had a few very hard acts to follow.
1994 Domaine de Trevallon
Not socking, but this had a sweeter palate impression (fruit sweet, not sugar sweet) than the '86, and did not have that back end edgy acidity. Beyond that the two wines were very similar and delicious.
Thanks Jason! And thanks to Doug for hosting.