Hard as it may be to believe, there was a time in the distant past when
I considered the pronouncements of Robert Parker to be akin to divine
judgment. Back in those benighted days, I was invited to a conference
in Nice and took that opportunity to visit a few choice producers in the
Rhone Valley en route to Nice. Among our visits was the tasting room
(that alone should be a beacon of warning) of Chapoutier in Tain, the
most Californian of experiences we had during our '98 visit (quite a
contrast to chatting with the most engaging Nöel Verset in his cramped
cellar space in painfully broken French). Our only purchase at that
visit was a '96 Cote-Rotie that seemed both decent and fairly priced.
Last night, with a dinner of pan-seared venison steaks, we opened it:

1996 Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie
nose: fair anemic, slightly meaty, hints of berries
palate: medium weight, high acidity, drying fruit

Overall, had I tasted this blind, I would have guessed that it was a
Crozes-Hermitage past its prime, certainly never given much thought to
Côte-Rôtie. How it could be so devoid of aromatic interest, I fail
understand. Decent enough Syrah, but nothing remarkable.

Mark Lipton