11 replies to this topic

[Florida Jim]

It has been awhile since I have had a wine like this and, of course, these days I can’t afford them. But yesterday, an old friend brought over a bottle that carried me away:

1990 Gentaz-Dervieux, Côte- Rôtie Côte Brune Cuvée Réservée:
12.5% alcohol; a truly harmonious but complex nose with warmed red fruits, smoked bacon, pepper and hints of flowers and earth; medium bodied with enough grip to make me think this has years left, flavors that follow the nose and the texture of worsted wool; lovely balance and a long, intricate finish. There is such a sense of completeness here and yet still some rusticity in the tannins. Benchmark Côte- Rôtie.
A life list wine for me; very, very special.
Thanks Dave.

Best, Jim

[Anthony Bonner]

I mean this in the nicest possible way - Braggart.

Weird things department - when we were in Japan, where verticals of old Burgundy flow like water, I kept asking at the nicer wine stores who had some older Rhone stuff for Gentaz - and very few of the people had even heard of him. I thought that was interesting.

[Sneakeater]

Should I mention about the '82 La Dominique (St. Emilion) I had with the meat portion of dinner on Monday? As Eric Asimov said in the Times this week, concerns about that vintage's age-worthiness are not being borne out by time. (Although I have to admit that the bottles of this truly lovely wine I had at home did not make to the current century.)

[Anthony Bonner]

Should I mention about the '82 La Dominique (St. Emilion) I had with the meat portion of dinner on Monday? As Eric Asimov said in the Times this week, concerns about that vintage's age-worthiness are not being borne out by time. (Although I have to admit that the bottles of this truly lovely wine I had at home did not make to the current century.)

Lemme translate this for you in language you'll understand.

Jim "I saw the Sex Pistols in Early '76"
AB - cool
SE - "well I saw Yes on tour - with Rick Wakeman"


(An exaggeration of course)

[Sneakeater]

No, no, it's more like Yes with Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford.

[GordonCooks]

No, no, it's more like Yes with Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford.

Bill Bruford is a wine guy and friend of an acquaintance winemaker in Ont. I met him in passing as "Bill" not having any idea who he was (and I'm a big drum guy)

[SFJoe]

Weird things department - when we were in Japan, where verticals of old Burgundy flow like water, I kept asking at the nicer wine stores who had some older Rhone stuff for Gentaz - and very few of the people had even heard of him. I thought that was interesting.

Don't worry, the supply is expanding to meet the demand.

[Anthony Bonner]

Weird things department - when we were in Japan, where verticals of old Burgundy flow like water, I kept asking at the nicer wine stores who had some older Rhone stuff for Gentaz - and very few of the people had even heard of him. I thought that was interesting.

Don't worry, the supply is expanding to meet the demand.

well yeah - I don't know I sort of naively thought I was a lot safer buying something like this in Japan from a large retailer rather than from an auction - which I would just not do.

[SFJoe]

I think of that sort of wine as a ship that's sailed. For me, anyway. If a friend has an old bottle, great, but you can't go chasing that sort of thing.

I still have one Trollat, and I've had it long enough that it's real. But no Gentaz, at least at home.

[Anthony Bonner]

I think of that sort of wine as a ship that's sailed. For me, anyway. If a friend has an old bottle, great, but you can't go chasing that sort of thing.

I still have one Trollat, and I've had it long enough that it's real. But no Gentaz, at least at home.

Probably the healthiest way to look at it. Also justification for buying what you can find and not getting upset about things you can't find

[Sneakeater]

To be serious, it's really emblematic of the change in wine culture Eric Asimov discussed in the Times last week that a Cote-Rotie could ever be assumed to be more exiting than a Bordeaux. When I started drinking wine, that would have been unthinkable.

[SFJoe]

True.

Also a sign of how boring much Bordeaux has become. (Though the same could be said of a lot of Cote-Rotie).