1996 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Cornas Domaine de Saint Pierre

Type Red
Producer Paul Jaboulet Aîné
Variety Syrah
Designation Domaine de Saint Pierre
Country France
Region Rhône
SubRegion Northern Rhône
Appellation Cornas



The Little Wooden Guy finds this wine is just tired, beyond its prime.

Night One

The color is interesting. It is a little translucent and deep dark red. The nose is very deep and a little raisiny, with dark fruit, marjoram, green olives and bacon fat. There is less fruit on the palate than the nose. The fruits are black, blackberries and plums, but they are subdued. Floral flavors, violets and lavender, join the fruit. Green olives and bacon fat appear on the mid-palate. The finish falls flat.

Night Two

Some florals remained, but almost no fruit. Very little mid-palate remained. This was clearly wine past its prime.





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1997 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Type Red
Producer Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel)
Variety Red Rhone Blend
Designation n/a
Vineyard n/a
Country France
Region Rhône
SubRegion Southern Rhône
Appellation Châteauneuf-du-Pape



This wine has the Big Wooden Guy scratching his head a bit.

Night One

The color clearly says this is an older wine. It is translucent and brick-red with orange edges. The nose is interesting, tarragon, thyme, cherry, and a little crushed limestone. The palate is complex. It starts with dried cherries then loads tarragon, thyme, sage and leather on top. On the mid-palate the cherries go from dried to tart and add some strawberries, while carrying the spices along from the attack. Lavender also shows up on the mid-palate. The finish is long.

Night Two

Most of the fruit is gone from the nose on Night Two. Instead, it is redolent with leafy spices and dried flowers. There are still a few cherries on the palate but they are resting on a deep bed of violets, lavender, tarragon, thyme and sage.

Conclusion

This is an interesting, even curious, wine. It is not fantastic, or particularly special, but it very pleasantly shows what happens when good wine spends some time in the cellar, long enough to let the fruit fade and the spices and flowers come forward.






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Jepson Estate Red 2003

Jepson Vineyards
Mendocino
California
Alc. 14.5%
from the California Wine Club
approx. $10
Red Rhone blend

The Little Wooden guy appreciates a good QPR as much as the next guy. Is this great? No. Is it far better than most $10 bottles? Abso-friggin-lutely.

Night One

At first this was disappointing. The nose was sour and boring. However, after about 20 minutes it started to really come around. The nose was mostly red- cherries, strawberries, and cranberry juice. There were also some blueberries, cedar, and a distinct (and very pleasant) lingering after-scent of roses.

Cranberries were more obvious on the palate, with cherries and blueberries. The same rose and cedar were there, too. Tannins were soft, acid mild. Mouth feel was a bit thin and there wasn't much of a mid-palate. The finish was short, too. Basically, this was a good up-front quaffer that fell off quickly- about what you would expect at this price point. What makes it better, though, is the lovely combination of scents and flavors on the initial attack. Those distinguish this wine from most other similarly priced California blends.

Night Two

I did not take detailed notes on Night Two. There was no reason to. Simply stated, this fell down on Night Two. It was just, well, boring.

Conclusion? This is a competent reasonably-priced effort that will neither rock your world nor offend your senses.

Jean-Luc Colombo Les Abeilles Cotes du Rhone 2005

13.5% alcohol

Night One

Thick fruit opens the nose, strawberry jam and plums. These are followed by cinammon and green pepper.

The palate starts with the same strawberry jam and plums, with a clear midpalate of asian spices and smoked meat. Tannins are very fine, even dusty, but firm, still strong and not fully integrated, adding leather to the finish.

Night Two

Florals were way out front on night two, violets and lilacs. There was fruit, too, mostly bruised plums. In all fairness, I think this got a little over-oxidized from one night to the next so it is really not fair to keep judging it.

This was pleasant but not wonderful on Night One and gone on night two. The bottle was well sealed, the Vacuu-Vin top still had a good seal and suction. I expect I will not be running out to buy more of this one.

Domaine de l'Oratoire St Martin Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Réserve des Seigneurs 2004

Cotes du Rhone Villages
France
14% alcohol
$26.99

The little wooden guy is pleased to make a new friend.

The nose opens with definite minerality, red fruit cooled on a bed of cold crushed rocks. The fruit smells are light, cranberry and strawberry, the flowers and tobacco. It is a little closed immediately after opening.

"Oh my that's interesting!" That was my immediate thought when I tasted this wine. First, it was absolutely nothing like the nose. Strawberries and cola, licorice and tobacco, all meet on the attack. Mid-palate is dark cherries, pastry and vanilla, then it ends with sea salt and olives. This is really interesting. Tannins are clearly present but not drying, and fine. Finish is very long, and the after-taste continues to evolve just like the wine in your mouth.

Two hours later- The nose is still fairly closed, giving up mostly strawberry and mineral. If I smelled it blind I would guess pinot noir. Tannins are far more dominant now. Strawberries and cola are there, but more concentrated, darker, and black pepper has joined the band. Tobacco is more dominant on the midpalate and the licorice has entirely disappeared, with black pepper flowing throughout the wine's narrative. The end, also, is more tannic, a taste of strong black tea washing over the olives. I was wondering after the first try whether this would be too flabby, lacking in tannins, to last for any length of time. Now, though, a tannic backbone is not just making an appearance, but dominating. It should really be interesting to see what it does on night two.

Two more hours later- Now, for the first time, this smells like a southern Rhone wine. It has that barnyard bouquet I have come to expect, along with smoked meat, pepper and dark fruits. Dark fruit, pepper, orange peel, and meat make a mouth-filling palate. The tannins are smoother, silkier, but still firmly making themselves known, providing a strong foundation. Tobacco shows up on the midpalate, and the finish is still long.

NIGHT TWO

Barnyard, licorice, and meat open the nose, but it quickly settles down into sweet caramel, vanilla and flowers. The nose is entirely different than NIGHT ONE. Blackberries and blackcurrants, then smoked meat and tobacco, finishing with firm tannins and unsweetened cranberries. The finish lingers, with a memory of cranberry and tobacco.

This is a very interesting wine, rapidly evolving and showing terrific complexity and depth, particularly for the price point, $27.