1995 Duckhorn, 1998 La Chapelle Hemitage

Opened last night with a weekly wine group tasted single blind.

1995 Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet-\bought on release and stored at 55F. Still quite dark purple with a totally clear rim. Somewhat tight nose but typical Napa dusty nose a bit of spicy black pepper and cassis notes. The wine was medium bodied on the palate with black currant, cassis, a bit of espresso. Fairly well integreted tannins still have a bit of grip. The wine was missing a little in the mid palate but overall was tasty. I'd drink them if you have them over the next five years. A solid B on the Dale scale.

1998 Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage-bought on release and stored at

55F. Very light red in the glass with a slight brickish tone. Atypical nose for Hermitage showing a "juicy fruit" chewing gum aroma, a bit of red berry a little white pepper and a bit of Brett. Somewhat light bodied on the palate with stawberry and red raspberry being dominant but certainly not even close to any La Chapelle I've ever tasted in the past. My impression is that this was a bad bottle as the tasters guessed that it was everything from Seghesio Zin to a Jadot Beaujolais Villages.
Reply to
Bi!!
Loading thread data ...

wine note from Wine Society mailing "a finely wrought Chapelle, still a little dumb, and best after decanting"

at GBP30 a bottle says it all for a nine year old wine ;-(

JT

Reply to
John T

A quick check on wine searcher shows it between $70-$140 USD so the starting point is about GBP30 here in the States. FWIW, the wine was decanted for an hour prior to drinking. I have a La Chapelle vertical from 1989 to 2001 and while the wines go from stern and full bodied to elegant yet powerful, the 1998 last night had nothing in common with Syrah from Hermitage at all. Thanks for the input John.

Reply to
Bi!!

got to be a duff bottle then. JT

Reply to
John T

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.