Stacey organized a dinner at Laura's Beef+Leaf focused on some Hermitage relics from her Dad,Blair's,cellar:
1.Alain Graillot AC:Crozes Hermitage (13%)2001: Darkcolor w/ little bricking;lovely smokey/roasted classic NRhone bit blackberry/Syrahsome toasty/oak quite complex beautiful nose;lightly tart rather roasted/NRhone/smokey some earthybit dried-out/tangy bit hard slightly complex flavor;very long bit dried-out finish w/ modest tannins; lots of classic NRhone/smokey character but seems abit of a lesser wine.
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2.M.Chapoutier Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne (13.8%) 1989: Dark color w/ slight browning;some earthy/dusty/OV bit rustic light blackberry/Syrah some smokey/complex nose;soft bit dried-out/tannic slight blackberry/Syrah bit earthy/dusty/OV rather dried-out flavor w/modest hard tannins; seems a bit diminished and not a lot of complexity nor NRhone character.
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3. Ferraton Pere et Fils LaCuvee des Miaux (12.5%) 1990: Med.color w/fair amount of browning; some toasty/oak some roasted/smokey/NRhone fairly complex nose; lightly tart rather dried-out/astringent earthy/rustic slight NRhone/smokey flavor w/ some gritty tannins; a bit on the clunky/rustic side for a mature Hermitage.
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4.Bernard Faurie AC:Hermitage (13.5%) 2007: Dark color w/light bricking; strong smokey/roasted slight blackberry/Syrah fairly complex mature Hermitage nose; slightly tart some dried-out/tired rather tannic/astringent slight smokey/NRhone flavor w/some gritty tannins; a lovely classic NRhonenose but a bit tired/dried-out on the palate.
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5. Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage LaChapelle (14.5%) 2005: Very dark color w/light bricking; very strong smokey/NRhone/roasted some blackberry/Syrah/peppery beautiful/complex nose; lightly tart very strong roasted/NRhone/smokey bit peppery/Syrah/blackberry somewhat smooth/developed fairly complex flavor w/ modest/gentle tannins; a lovely/complex/evolved Hermitage w/ lots of complex NRhone/roasted character.
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More geezlebirk fromTheBloodyPulpit:
1. This was a rather strange tasting & a bit disappointing. These are all pretty credentialed Hermitage wines. I was expecting them to be pretty spectacular. Not having any other information, we just popped & poured. Had I made any inquiries on the WineBoards,I am sure I would have received instructions to let such&such a wine to breathe for 3.2 hrs. We drank these over about an hour's period and noticed some changes in the glass but nothing particularly dramatic. The wines were not "meh", but just didn't deliver the goods I expected of them.
The Graillot was my 2'nd favorite but the Jaboulet was clearly in a class of its own. The next day,the Graillot was pretty astringent & dried out & lost a lot. But the Jaboulet had developed a lot of classic NRhone aromatics and softened into a lovely/smooth wine.
Tom