1994 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde

I'm in a Rhone mood lately and as SWMBO has temporarily taken leave for warmer climes I thought I'd treat myself and check and see how this was doing.

The colour was relatively light, almost like a Burgundy. The nose had the telltale violets, however - I am told that this comes from the addition of Viognier to the Syrah (in this case 4%). I have not yet convinced one of the local BC winemakers to do two batches of Syrah, one with the addition of a bit of Viognier. I think I will keep working on La Frenz, as he makes Viognier already, and as an Aussie has an innate right to dabble with 'Shiraz'.

This wine was medium weight, with a very pleasant sweetness on palate, and although the tannins are present, they are almost fully resolved. It has good balance and very good length, and I doubt it will get any better, though it should last quite a few more years. Very nice bottle. A shame it is now in the $80 C. range for the current vintage. I enjoyed it over a whole evening and it kept getting better.

Reply to
Bill Spohn
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I went back and checked my TNs for the '97, because of your mention of the " violets." Though my wife and I both enjoy Viognier, she is much less a fan of "violets" in a red, and to her, it is almost a "fault." While I do not share THAT idea, I found none in the '97, but that may have been because of the rather ecclectic pairing, smoked duck tamale w/ chilies and raisins. The '97 was a bit darker, than I gather from your notes, the '94 was. As the few '94s that I had are all gone now, I'll grab another of the '97s and play with it soon, without the influence of the tamales. Thank you for the TNs.

Hunt, here's to violets in reds!

Reply to
Hunt

Reply to
Redhart

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