My turn to host a blind tasting dinner and I chose a Northern Rhone theme.
2015 Chapoutier Crozes Hermitage Les Meysonniers – this white exceeded expectations – some colour now, and a waxy nose disclosing no oak plus some nice lemon notes. Smooth and clean.
2004 Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette – I use to buy this quite frequently in the ‘good old days’ when it cost around $30, but less so as it now hits $90-$100. This well aged wine showed more colour, a waxy pear nose with cashew overtones, good fruit on palate and excellent length. The person that brought it indicated that they had a couple of off bottles, so he had a back up, but it sure wasn’t needed as this bottle was pristine.
2011 Guigal Hermitage Blanc – my wine and it showed brightly with waxy fruit and well integrated wood. On palate it was showing good development with notes of peach and almonds, and a very long finish with the buttery oak rising to the top again. As they made no Ex-Voto this vintage and the select plots normally used for that wine went instead into this regular bottling, I expect that this wine benefitted!
I served a Vichyssoise with the whites.
After the very promising start with the white wines, we went into the first red along with a broiled tomato and anchovy tart.
1998 Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne – this wine has peaked, I think, and showed a pure syrah nose with dark fruit and some pepper, good depth on palate with ample acidity and maturing tannins. Good length.
2013 Domaine Georges Vernay St. Joseph Terre d'Encre – none of us drinks that much St. Joseph, but we were lucky enough to be presented with two that evening. This wine showed slightly lighter colour with garnet edges, high toned fruit nose with white pepper and balanced long finish. Good showing.
2003 Cave de Tain l'Hermitage Cornas Arènes Sauvages – dark wine with ripe fruit and some mineral in the nose, a sweet ripe entry and soft tannins. A bit roasted – symptom of the vintage.
I served the main course at this point, a braised lamb shank with Moroccan spices o a tomato, cannellini and carrot stew.
2011 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph – second St. Joseph and a superb wine, dark in colour and with an enticing nose of iron/blood and hints of cinnamon and some nice floral notes. An elegant wine with some black olive tapenade notes on palate and excellent length. Very good indeed!
2007 M. Chapoutier Cornas Les Arenes – dark and ripe with a sweet entry and a bit flat in midpalate although it rallied in the finish where it managed to muster some sweet fruit with medium length.
2006 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas – dark with an integrated peppery nose and a bit of smoky tar. Smooth on palate and surprisingly drinkable at this age, but I think it will benefit from more time.
2003 Caves de Tain Hermitage – super ripe nose with coconut hints, and some heat. Atypical the nose but that and the somewhat high oak levels made me think more of Napa than Rhone. Which is why I have zero 2003 from the Northern Rhone with the sole exception of the Chave St. Joseph Offerus, which somehow avoided the too common over ripeness of the vintage. Oh well.
Les Vignerons de Septimanie Muscat de Rivesaltes de Lesquerde Cuvée Réservée (nv) – I wanted to avoid excessive alcohol in the finishing wine in what is left of a hot summer, so chose to stick with a French finishing wine with ‘only’ 15% alcohol. I served it chilled and it showed very well, especially considering that I had kept this in the cellar for at least 25 years. Light amber colour, no oxidation in the nose, just the instantly identifiable muscat fruit, and sufficient acidity to be still fresh and tasty.