DaleW wrote:

Wow! What a tasting, Dale. Some comments follow:

> 1997 Chave Hermitage Blanc
> Honied and a little oily, crisp, fresh, good tropical and pit fruits,
> very good length. A-

You have gone on record as saying that you don't get white Rhone.
Anything in this wine to change your opinion?

>

> 1995 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape
> Showing fairly young, big dark fruits, light tannins. ok acidity. Good
> length, depth, develops in glass a lot. I enjoy this and think it has
> a long future. A-
>
> 1995 Pegau "Cuvee Reserve" Chateauneuf-du-Pape
> Big (BIG) sweet red fruits, iodine, a little pepper. Approaches jammy
> at times. Some others liked more than I. B

'95 is an enigmatic year in the S Rhone. I have yet to open any of
mine, contenting myself with the earlier years still lingering in my
cellar while reading about the experiences of others. From what I've
read, some are of the opinion that '95s are falling apart and will never
develop in a positive direction, whereas others feel that they just need
more time to develop. I haven't had the '95 Pegau since tasting it in
the cellar of the Domaine. As you know, I am a big fan of their wines,
and what I recall was a highly structured, classic CdP of fairly large
proportions. I am surprised to see the term "jammy" applied to this
wine, but we do tend to part company a bit in assessing CdP.

> 1996 Chapoutier Cornas
> I'm not a huge Chapoutier fan, but like the nose on this- nice herbs
> and spices over red fruit. On the palate it's a bit flat, however. B/
> B-

We have a bottle of this in the cellar, purchased in their tasting room
in '98. At that time, it struck me as fairly New World in focus, as
befits a Rhone Valley winery with a Napa-esque tasting room (and
Parker's books for sale) in Tain. Putting on your Karnak the
Magnificent hat, do you think that this wine is likely to get any better
with age?


> 1998 Verset Cornas
> Lively nose with flowers, olives, bacon fat and red fruits. On the
> palate the fruit profile is darker, but great (balanced) acidity
> enlivens the whole package. Tannins are mostly integrated,but this
> could age a long time more on these acids. Just a lovely bottle, my
> WOTN. A

No surprises here. I've been going through some of M. Verset's mid-'80s
wines, and they are a consistent treat to drink. I regret that he makes
so little wine these days, but at 90+ I suppose he's earned the right to
relax ;-)


> 1998 Jamet Cote Rotie
> This rivalled the Verset for my WOTN. Lovely, muscular and young. A
> little hint of animal fur - maybe a touch of brett, but at my "adds
> spice" level, not intrusive at all. There's leather, coffee, and
> roasted gamebird notes, a nice balance of acidity and tannins, miles
> to go but quite charming now. A/A-

Again, no surprises. I had this wine a year or two ago, and even though
it was badly corked there was a marvelous wine underneath. From what
I've read, the Jamet brothers have lost their way (or gone to the Dark
Side) in recent years, which is a shame if true.

Thanks for the great notes.

Mark Lipton

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