Matthew Cohen

9.5

Nose is graphite and lavender. Maybe some rose petal.

Palate is rehydrated dried roses. A hint of old burgundy water on hot brick.

As this opens some cherry liquor.

This bottle is like drinking old Burgundy or Bordeaux in its twilight. Very interesting. Some beauty. Some echoes of beauty. I have no idea what the average of 10 bottles would taste like.

Still a thing of beauty.

Bought from fass selections. — 2 days ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Another amazing wine from the Master of Cornas. Elegant & floral with a silky texture showing a perfumed nose of dark cherry, berry fruits, graphite, licorice, olive tapenade, forest floor, lavender & violets. Rich & deep on the palate with good balance & length. — 4 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Tasted blind. Amber tawny, not too thin. Northern Rhone nose, very exotic. More specifically you can guess Cote-Rotie on this wine just from the nose. Notes of black fruit, graphite, gravel and what my wife would say is dirty socks. Guessed 89 La Turque, which (looking back) is a complement to how well the 61 performed today. — 2 days ago

Chris Shultz

9.3

Lots of blackberries to start, then the cured black olive savoriness is on the palate. It’s dry and rich at the same time, rich/dry. With air the blueberries start to grow. They ripen with time. The long finish becomes eating huge and hugely ripe blueberries from deep Maine. Some camphor opens too, when you first open it it’s charcuterie, but it gets more smoky. There’s a bit of black and roasted red pepper on the aired-out finish. Good, easy but complex. — 11 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Significant new oak on the nose. Vanilla. Spice. Floral. Smoke. But this has not budged since release. Palate is concentrated and deep with tiny berry fruit. Raspberry, black raspberry and blackberry. Terrific purity, grip and freshness and lovely creaminess. Billon has really toned down the wood signature since 2013 on this cuvee. The raw material is there. I’d wait 5 more years. I bet it’s a 9.4 - 9.5 then.

UPDATE - huge improvement overnight, integrated oak, better more vivid aromas and amazing pure concentrated fruit. 9.2 to 9.4 — 9 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Best terroir in Crozes. Nose is herbal, rocky, with bright berry fruit, super mineral and loamy. Loads of wet earth, almost moss. Blackberry coming with air. Palate is exquisite, complex, bacony, meaty, juicy and so so deep. So fresh and pure. Exceptional density and loads of granitic minerality. Long and complex with terrific restrained opulence. Lovely. Really showing well. — 8 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Tawny with thin amber rims. Dry fruit nose. Notes of dried cherries, some cranberry, a fresh cigar cut, a dollup of raspberry jam and a hint of menthol. Silky in the mouth. Tannins resolved with enough fruit to balance with the structure. Probably past it’s prime showing but very nice tonite nonetheless. — 3 days ago

Eli Barton

8.9

Super violet color, a bit grapey on the nose, but good fruit flavors and acidity. Tasted younger than I expected. Maybe it would’ve helped to let it breath a bit more... — 6 days ago

with Jennifer

Conrad Green

9.3

A lovely perfume nose with violets, some roses, dark cherry. On the palate good savory backbone with some dark sour plum flavors and real purity. Intense and quite long, this has a lot of life ahead — 2 days ago

with Bex and Major-General

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

A superb vintage for Rostaing and the Northern Rhône. Intensely perfumed and seductive on the nose. Further reveals smoke, black raspberries and currants and hints of charred meats and spices. Finishes with excellent length and depth. A tremendous showing after a 2 hour decant. Only wish I had more bottles to hold! — 5 days ago