Tasting notes from a small distanced tasting held al fresco, theme, Northern Rhone.
2017 Domaine Auguste Clape St. Péray Blanc – limpid golden colour with a nose of flow plus a fruit salad with pineapple, apple, and a nice weight in the mouth. Medium long. Classy wine.
2017 Domaine Bernard Gripa St. Péray Blanc Les Figuiers – slightly turbid compared to the Clape, a spicy nose that featured ginger and apples, and a good long dry finish.
1991 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle – I hadn’t opened one of these for several years and was interested to see how it was doing. Bricking edges, some blood and tar in the nose with black pepper showing up after a little while, and always an underlying smoked meat foundation. In the mouth clean, balanced and quite long with clean end. A little funk but on the whole a very good showing. Glad I waited!
2007 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage – dark with a pure fruit nose along with some raw meat mellow tannins, and dry medium length finish. The tannins surprised me – they were only moderate and the wine was not overripe. Good showing.
2013 François Villard Côte-Rôtie Le Gallet Blanc – dark red with a funky typical Rhone nose , somewhat ripe, and sweet briary fruit. Lacked the high notes you often get from the Viognier, but a medium weight respectable Cote Rotie.
2003 Ch. Monbazillac – I spent a vacation in Saussignac east of Bordeaux some years ago. It is an area that offers bargain priced sweet whites (Monbazillac) and reds (Bergerac) and this house is probably the best of them. On that trip i was accompanied by a friend, no longer with us, and picked up a couple of bottles that I have been opening to taste and to remember our trip. This is the last one.
Now dark amber with a primarily coconut nose but developed some apricot with time. Not too sweet and well balanced, it bats in the same league as a minor house Sauternes,
