WTN: Nice Northern Rhone evening

Betsy was out of town for the day, so Sunday I stopped by her mom’s assisted living for a visit and some Scarabble, then continued up to Croton for a Northern Rhone tasting. John had a nice assortment of charcuterie and cheese out, as well as the NV Marie-Noëlle Ledru (2012 base). Why didn’t I find about Ledru earlier, love every bottle. Honeycrisp, peach o,range zest, a little white cherry, elegant mousse, snappy bright long chalky finish. A-


2016 Jaboulet “Domaine de Thalabert”Crozes-Hermitage
A bit of trepidation, as a huge fan of Thalabert from 80s and early 90s I’ve been consistently disappointed with more recent (2001, 2003, 2009). But seems like back on right track. A bit primary right now,but tasty- cassis and black plum, light deathery texture, good length. Needs time. B/B+

2016 Vincent Paris Les Cotes St Joseph
Black olive, nice acids, nice texture and character but not real long. B

2012 Faury Saint-Joseph
Perfumed, a stemmy herbaceousness, roast meat. Lovely and with a future. B+

2012 Barge Cuvee de Plessy Cote-Rotie
A spicy edge but strangely a little flat and dull. B-

2001 Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes
Meaty, ferric, truffles. Rich and deep, but a little bound by tannin right now. Gets more floral with air. Delicious, long future.A-

2001 Allemand Reynard Cornas
Great nose, a little more in the moment than the Voge, fragrant with sweet fruit. A-/B+


A bubbles break while John finished up leg of lamb, haricots verts, and red potatoes

NV Ployez-Jacquesson “Passion” Extra Brut
Some of the vins clair are barrel fermented. Extra brut (4 g/l), but seems sweeter, Soft, vanilla and peach. I liked ok but others loved. B

1993 Cuchet-Beliando Cornas
Red berries perfumed with lavender and herbs, a light bacon note, so pretty! B+/A-

1992 Cuchet-Beliando Cornas
I had thought a little musty on opening (I double decanted the Cuchet-Beliandos and the Voge before travel), but with a little time in glass clearly corked. Too bad, nice material underneath.

1979 Pierre Barge Cote-Rotie
Elegant and mature, black fruit, black olive, and smoke. Wonderful. A-

Great night.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

2012 Barge Cuvee de Plessy Cote-Rotie
A spicy edge but strangely a little flat and dull. B-

1979 Pierre Barge Cote-Rotie
Elegant and mature, black fruit, black olive, and smoke. Wonderful. A-

Always funny to see your notes with more comprehensive overview, after seeing Sasha's cryptic instagram stories.. He highlighted these two and also noted the older one being more impressive. Sounds great, and it also sounds like you wouldn't bet on the 2012 achieving the heights of the 79, even with another 33 years...

Based on that bottle, no. But John said winemaking hadn't really changed and posited our bottle might have been a bit off.

2016 Jaboulet “Domaine de Thalabert”Crozes-Hermitage
A bit of trepidation, as a huge fan of Thalabert from 80s and early 90s I’ve been consistently disappointed with more recent (2001, 2003, 2009). But seems like back on right track. A bit primary right now,but tasty- cassis and black plum, light deathery texture, good length. Needs time. B/B+

Very good to hear about the Thalabert. I swallowed my own trepidation and sprang for a few a couple years back, too.

2012 Faury Saint-Joseph
Perfumed, a stemmy herbaceousness, roast meat. Lovely and with a future. B+

Probably my favorite St J producer after Gonon (and much more affordable now). Their VV bottling is truly special (aka La Gloriette IIRC outside of US)

What a great lineup of wines. I haz a jealous.