Syrah

This is an intriguing blend of Syrah and Vermentino made into a Rose from Tuscany.  Deep salmon pink in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with cranberries and some strawberries.  Medium bodied.  Slightly sweet on the palate.  Mostly cherries and some strawberries.  Nice finish.  This is a light and refreshing wine but the  Syrah gives it just a touch of seriousness.  Nice on its own and very food friendly.  Drink now.  

For those who doubt some of today's high alcohol wines won't last, this one is 15.6% abv and drinking just fine at age 15.  If, however, you didn't like it young, you still won't.  I loved it.  A blend of 80% Syrah, 14% Grenache and 6% Roussanne.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, blueberries, black pepper, and roasted vegetables.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Lively acidity.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Lush texture.  Plenty of black raspberries, some blueberries and hints of black cherries with black pepper and cha

The best wines from Guigal are generally considered his Cote Rotie's but the Hermitage doesn't lag far behind.  On the other hand, their Hermitage is much more affordable and is certainly worth looking at.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has black raspberries, clay, spice, some oak, violets and smoke.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Well balanced.  On the palate, there is plenty of black raspberry fruit but overall this wine needs time.  Plenty of impenetrable depth.  Great texture.  Long finish.  Ideally hold this for another seven to ten years and drink over the ne

It was nice to revisit this wine (See https://www.intowine.com/reviews/2014-jl-chave-s%C3%A9lection-hermitage-...) as it gets closer to full maturity.  This wine has really exceeded all of my expectations.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, slight dried floral note and a fresh earthiness.  Full bodied.  great texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with some underlying funk and hints of va

This was the first vintage of this wine as it replaced the La Petit Chapelle bottling.  It seems to be a bottling made for more immediate drinking than the La Chapelle bottling.  It is a very classic Hermitage nevertheless and at age 8, this seems to be just settling in.  Purple in color with ruby hues, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, and smoked herbs.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with a slight floral (violet?) note and smoke.  Great acidity.  Long finish.  This is drinking well and should easily go another ten years.  Ni

Inky purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, clay, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is deep and youthful.  Delicious.  Black raspberries, roasted herbs and black pepper  Long finish.  This is a big wine that will benefit from another five to ten years in the cellar.  It will drink well for twenty years, but if drinking soon, then give it a few hours in a decanter.  It will work with bigger foods.  Roasted duck should work nicely.

Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is initially quite spicy.  With air, there is also black raspberries, black pepper, slight bacon fat and slight roasted herbs.  Medium to full bodied.  A nice backbone of  acidity. On the palate, black cherries, black raspberries, and black pepper with underlying char.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well already and quite open.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  Very nice on its own, this would be great with a Braised Lamb stew.  

This is one of the superstar wines from Hermitage.  The vintage is good but not great and the wines are maturing perhaps a bit sooner.  That said, what a treat to drink a mature bottle of this wine.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, a bit of chocolate, black pepper, cloves and slight bacon fat.  Full bodied.  Tannins mostly resolved.  Good balance.  On the palate, there is a nice complexity.  Layers of black raspberries, roasted herbs, and black pepper.  Moderately long finish.  This is delicious and at or close to peak.  No hurry

The styles of Pax wines have changed over the years.  The newer ones, like this, use 100% stems, and are aged in concrete or neutral vessels and usually have lower levels of alcohol (under 14%abv for Syrahs).  Inky purple in color, opaque and shiny bright.  The nose has black raspberries with spice, and slight tobacco notes.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is tasty with black raspberry fruit.  While personally, I would like a bit more oomph, there is no denying this is a hell of a wine.  It is still young and will benefit from five years in a good cellar

This is a vintage that does drink well at such a young age.  Inky purple, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, black cherries, roasted herbs, and black pepper.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, clay, black raspberries, slight floral quality and spices.  This has some depth but it unwinds in the glass.  Delicious.  It will mature and may improve but it is drinking well now.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  This would work great, of course, with Cassoulet, but it will also work well Indian food.