Rednecks and Red Rhones

Consensus says
Chave Hermitage first
Jamet Cote-Rotie second
Dom. Du Pere Pape third

Greg Ellis (L) and the scribe, Jim Cowan

1998 Chateau Du Trignon Côtes du Rhône, 13% Alcohol: Big cherry on the nose, some earth, a hint of blueberry/ medium weight, good balance and well integrated/ medium length. Ready soon.

1996 Tardieu-Laurent Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Vieilles Vignes, 13.5% Alcohol: Deep syrah nose with olive and pepper accents/soft on the attack but not flat and almost acidic at the finish, the interim echoes the nose/ medium length. A little time will serve it well.

1998 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues, 15% Alcohol: Tar and cherry on the nose, background of red fruit and fairly open considering the vintage/ same on the palate, smooth with sweet mouthfilling fruit, a little pepper, good balance/ medium length. Pretty wine.

Brown Councill

1997 Pignan Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve, 14% Alcohol: Soft and attractive nose with olive, red fruit, and ash tray/ ripe, sweet fruit on the palate with medium body, good intensity but it falls off at mid-palate/ medium long. Pleasant and perhaps better in the future.

1989 Chateau de la Gardine Chateauneuf du Pape, 13% Alcohol: Tar and black olive on the nose with both red and black fruit in the background, saline and herb/ more black fruit on the palate, medium body, angular and somewhat tight/ fairly long finish. Opened over several hours but never integrated.

1998 Clos du Mont-Olivet Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve, 13% Alcohol: Unburnt matches on the nose, woody, meaty, some fruit/ ripe and full on the palate with some complexity, good balance and integration, good power/ long. Better on the palate than on the nose; much better.

1995 Domaine Du Pere Pape La Crau de ma Mère Chateauneuf du Pape, 13.5% Alcohol: Clean horse blanket, black pit fruits and warm, fresh herbs on the nose/ very complex palate with tobacco, smooth and integrated fruit, great balance, noticeable grenache on the palate/medium length finish with nice pepper tones. Very impressive.

1995 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape, 14% Alcohol: Sweet fruit nose/ same on the palate, some earth, integrated and balanced, pretty open with good concentration/ long finish. Nice.

Jeff Morris

1999 J.L. Chave Selection Saint Joseph Offerus, 12.5% Alcohol: Purple color/ blueberries and wood on the nose with a touch of pepper but quite primary/ very sweet ripe fruit, some earth, and very forward and primary flavors/ medium finish. Simple but pleasant.

1992 A. Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes, 12.5% Alcohol: Olives and earth/ a touch thin but intensely flavored, some complexity/ medium finish. Resolved and ready.

1998 Verset Cornas, 12.5% Alcohol: More delicate that expected on both the nose and palate, decent structure and balance, still primary/ medium finish. Characteristic of the AOC.

1997 J.L. Chave Hermitage (magnum), 13% Alcohol: The Thunderbird award (you know its good when this award goes to a mag.). More up-front syrah nose with less herb accents but lots of meat and pepper odors/ very concentrated but completely balanced, intense, rich, excellent structure, good complexity/ endless finish. Extraordinary.

1983 B. Levet Côte-Rôtie, 11-14% Alcohol: Slight volatile acidity, smokey, olive, somewhat complex nose (almost delicate)/ full in the mouth with moderate complexity and a bit of a vinyl type flavor, olives/ medium long. The plastic flavors are the only drawback.

1992 Michel Ogier Côte-Rôtie, 12% Alcohol: Smoke, ash tray, green olives, warm fresh herbs and red fruit on a very complex and interesting nose/ silky and very complex on the palate that is both concentrated and elegant, great balance, good acids, medium body/ medium length. A wine of great finesse.

1997 Jamet Côte-Rôtie, 13% Alcohol: More fruit than the Ogier with much the same aromatic and flavor profile, fuller in the mouth/ long. Beautiful, complex and very intense.