Archives: Product Reviews

Woocommerce product reviews

2001 and 2000 Rhone Valley Wines (Jan 2003)

(July bottling; 13.5% alcohol) Good full medium ruby. Roasted currant, licorice and roasted herbs on the nose, with hints of surmaturite. Began a bit rustic but a resiny character dissipated as the wine opened in the glass; still, this comes across as a bit less primary than the basic bottling. Fat, sweet and smooth, with…

2005 and 2004 Rhone Valley Wines (Jan 2007)

(this was to have been bottled in mid-November, just after my visit) Opaque dark ruby. Deeply concentrated raspberry, strawberry and cassis aromas perked up by a vibrant mineral overlay and a strong note of candied violet. Sharply focused red and dark berry fruit flavors show remarkable depth and energy and a rich, velvety texture. This…

2003 and 2002 Northern Rhone Wines (Jan 2005)

Good deep ruby-red. Very pure aromas of black fruits, violet and bitter chocolate. Concentrated, lush and sweet, with intense, sharply delineated flavors of black cherry, chocolate, spices, pepper and flinty minerality. Very densely packed without being at all heavy. Rock-solid Hermitage, finishing with firm but fine tannins and outstanding persistence. Give this another seven or…

2007 and 2006 Rhone Valley Wines (Jan 2009)

Dark red. Fresh red berries and flowers on the nose; reminds me of pinot noir. Elegant and finely etched, with sweet strawberry and raspberry flavors, silky texture and gentle mineral cut. Very easy to drink right now.

New Vintage Champagnes (Nov 2007)

Light gold. Remarkably perfumed nose projects an exotic bouquet of deep, leesy yellow fruit, minerals, honeycomb, smoked meat and flowers, with Asian spices building expanding in the glass. Almost painfully concentrated, offering a surreal parade of orchard and pit fruits, smoked meat, toasted brioche and marrow braced by intensely salty, stunningly incisive minerality. Imagine a…