Wine Ratings

wines

A wine that flirts with perfection is the inky and opaque 2009 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes. Coming from L'Ermite, le Sabot, and Les Bessards, and aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels, it gives up a heavenly bouquet of crushed rocks, blackberries, leather, wild herbs and earth. Massively concentrated on the palate, with another level of fruit and texture over the 2010, it has brilliant purity, building tannin and a blockbuster finish. There's enough tannin here to warrant hiding in the cellar for 4-5 years, but it should last for 3-4 decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPMuch more structure, smoky, and concentrated, with a burly feel, the 2009 Delas Frères Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes delivers a serious array of blackberry, graphite, mineral, cedar, and charcoal that gives way to a full-bodied, dense, almost painfully structured palate. Fleshing out in the glass, this rock star Hermitage has a deep, layered mid-palate, integrated acidity, and masses of tannin on the finish. This needs time. Give bottles 5-6 years in the cellar, and then plan on drinking over the following two decades!Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDVery rich, with layers of creamed pear, green fig and Jonagold apple cascading over blanched almond and melon rind notes. The long finish lets hints of honey and blanched almond slowly take over, with impressive length. Not imported into the U.S. Drink now through 2022. 830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSInky purple. Deeply pitched aromas of cherry and cassis, with licorice and black pepper nuances adding complexity. Chewy and dense, offering bitter cherry and dark berry flavors lifted by a spicy note on the back half. Finishes with gentle tannic grip and persistent spice and smoke notes. Give this masculine, brawny wine at least a few more years of bottle age.Vinous Media | 91+ VM

The virtually perfect 2009 Cote Rotie Lancement Cote Blonde is stunningly perfumed with notes of black raspberries, blackberries, graphite, forest floor, tapenade and subtle smoke. Silky tannins, a phenomenal skyscraper-like mouthfeel and a sensational finish with light to moderate tannin suggest it will benefit from 2-4 more years of bottle age, and should drink well for two decades or more. Ogier's wines just keep getting better and better, so if you haven't yet jumped on the Ogier bandwagon, it's time to do so. Michel Ogier, and more recently his son, Stephane, are the leading craftsmen in terms of wines from the steep hillsides north of the old Roman town of Vienne. These are still entitled to only a VDP designation, but current vintages are the finest he has yet produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPA muscular red, with an almost brooding feel, as steeped blackberry and black currant fruit rolls along, spiked with pastis-soaked plum, charcoal and dark tobacco, followed by a long finish filled with black olive and iron. Riveting acidity keeps everything marching along with purpose. Shows terrific range and character. Best from 2014 through 2026. 30 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSOpaque ruby. Vibrant raspberry, cherry-vanilla and incense aromas are complemented by candied licorice and smoky minerals. Pliant, palate-staining red and dark berry preserve flavors are enlivened by Asian spices and a hint of blood orange. Shows outstanding clarity and cut, with gentle tannins adding shape and focus to the strikingly long, sweet, pure finish.Vinous Media | 95 VM