Holiday wines

Jan 01, 2013 4 Replies
E

Various bottles consumed during the festivities:



'95 Roullet Coteaux du Layon: Rich, sweet, racy acidity. Probably needs to sit more. Stood up to foie gras and shellfish too. B+



'88 Destieux (St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe): A classic, great balance, a little tobacco and leather, refined fruit if laid back, good length. With rib roast, yorkshire, sprouts. A.



'00 Chateau d'Agassac Cru Bourgois: Good concentration, solid fruit and spicy finish. With leftovers. B+



'96 B.R. Cohn 'Special Selection' Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon: Very Californian oak profile! Chocolate and blackberries, tannic, a little simple maybe. More leftovers. B+



'04 Grand Tinel Chateauneuf du Pape: Sweet fruit core, spice, kirsch, balanced with muted tannins and good acidity. I like this. With roast beef and cepes hash. A-



'98 Roger Perrin Veilles Vignes Chateauneuf du Pape: I think this must be a bottle made for export, I bought it in the US. Pretty dark, fruit seems to be slumbering. Pleasant but not more. With beef and barley stew. B.



'05 La Soumade 'Fleur de Confiance' Rasteau: This is Romero's (quite expensive) flagship wine, which was a gift attached to an order. Infanticide, unfortunately; huge and tannic, lots of black fruits on big bones, chewy, spicy. Fun but would be much more interesting in 10 years. With leg of roe deer and blackberry sauce (the wine stood up very well). A-



My first attempt at the DS... ;)



Happy new year to all on AFW.


-E



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D

thanks for notes. Is Destieux a chateau you know well? I've seen recent vintages at reasonable prices, seems good value in a mid-modern style (sounds like '88 was still somewhat old school, I wouldn't expect newer ones to do so well at

24).
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B

Nice notes Emery, Thanks. I've had the B.R. Cohn many times (Doobie Brothers wine as it is known at our house) and you take is spot on. I think the '96 was about as good as it gets and iirc, there was a single vineyard offering called Olive Hill that was a tad less oaky. I've also had the '98 Roger Perrin CnP which I enjoyed at the time. A bit syrupy but still acidic enough to be pleasant. I can't recall where I found the Perrin but seem to think it was bought at auction.

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E

Hi Dale,

I can't say I know it very well. I met Dr Dauriac at a show many years ago, and we did a quite extensive tasting of 80's vintages. I ended up buying some 85,88,89. The 85 was a very feminine style and I didn't wait long, but a few 88s and 89s have stuck around. I liked the style then more than now also, although I have bought a few bottles in the naughties. Agreed that these won't perform brilliantly if I forget about them! (Although how well I'll be performing in 10 years is an open question, too!)

cheers and HNY,

-E

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E

Hi Bill,

Doobie Bros wine indeed! I forgot to mention that to our teenage daughter, who for reasons that are mysterious loves 70s rock.

One thing I've always loved about the BR Cohn is the label. Really one of my favorite labels in all of wine-dom.

Somehow that '98 Perrin VV is a very underperforming bottle for Luc Perrin, who's wines generally please me much more. I wish I had some of the regular 98 domaine wine to compare it with. IIRC I bought the VV while living in SF, but by mail order and I think it was a straight wine- searcher find. Pop's Wines comes to mind.

cheers and best for the NY,

-E

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