La Chavaroche Côte-Rôtie Syrah

Opened and decanted about an hour before dinner. No formal notes. The 2007 B. Levet "La Chavaroche" is flat out beautiful right now. The aromatics are off the charts with gorgeous, ripe dark fruits, a bit of the animal, a veritable hillside of lavender, black olives, some deli case, black pepper, some leather and earth. The structure is still firm but everything is well integrated at this point; superbly balanced; great acid. The finish is long and has some ferrous minerals that I simply love. A sublime pairing with a Morgan Ranch Wagyu tenderloin served with corn purée, charred broccolini and juniper ash. The 2007's are absolutely ready to drink now with a short decant (mostly to remove any sediment) however, they will continue to drink well for another 10+ easy from good cellars.

This was presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine appeared deep ruby with a nearly opaque core. There’s slight staining of the tears and the viscosity appears medium+. On the nose the wine is intense. It’s slightly funky with an almost cheese rind sort of thing going on. There’s a combination of red and dark fruits with some purple flowers, dried tobacco leaf, something that sort of resembled pyrazines and a little bit of baking spices which suggests there’s some French barrique being used. On the palate, the wine is bone dry and fiercely tannic. Acid is medium ++. It’s definitely on the darker fruit side with some black berries and blue berries, black pepper and baking spices which all but confirms French barrique at this point. Long finish. I’m scratching my head with this one. It’s wild. Clean and fresh…but wild.

I could see this in a few places: Moulin-à-Vent is one possibility considering all the darker fruit and firm structure. However, I find some real Italian sensibilities to this wine. Despite the monumental structure, I cannot place this in northern Italy. Given the presence of French barrique, I could see this being a Cabernet Sauvignon-based Super Tuscan with a little Syrah and Sangiovese for good measure. So that was my call: 2015 Super Tuscan.

Wow…what a lovely surprise. I mistook the Rotundone for pyrazines (a recurring issue for me) which had me thinking Bordeaux varieties instead of Syrah. And to be fair, we don’t see a lot of Côte Rôtie at Tasting Group. This was my first time tasting the 2016 “La Chavaroche” and while it was a real treat (big thanks to the generous member of the group), it was also a reminder as to why I cellar my bottles of “La Chavaroche” for so long. This is a wee babe and frankly, pretty tough for me to love right now. That being said, the quality and character is unquestionable. I say give it until 2030+ and these will light up your right prefrontal cortex like a supernova.

More appropriate for dead of winter than May. Burly and jabs you in the face on open but showed so much better with aeration. Cured meats, dark blackberry, dried dark fruit came out eventually.

A warming traditional Rotie for a winter’s night. Game, smoke, savory herbs, cherries, plums, olive brine, smooth, vibrant, alive

Amazing depth, a menthol quality, dark fruit, touch of tar. Great richness but so fresh. Amazing. From Magnum.

Young but delicious

Just at the right spot. Deep but not heavy, complex, refined

Still one of the most underrated wines of the appellation

Twas a late night delight. Let's have another

Lovely after being open a while. Blue fruit, violets, smoked meat - wild and feral without being weighty. Northern Rhone case study. Thanks @Max Kogod and #kogodwinemerchant !