....and actually tasted a bottle from this vintage yet? I've picked up
about a half dozen bottles from various producers that interest me;
Rene Rostaing, Guigal Ch.D'Ampuis, Gaillard etc. but seeing as they
are so hard to come by I am sitting on them for now as I suspect I
probably should...

Anyone have any deep insights into this vintage and when I should take
the plunge and crack the capsule on one? Also, is the 2000 vintage as
mediocre as some would suggest as these are pretty common and I've
picked up some of these as well...

Thanks
Michael Leduc

th_duck > wrote:
: ...and actually tasted a bottle from this vintage yet? I've picked up
: about a half dozen bottles from various producers that interest me;
: Rene Rostaing, Guigal Ch.D'Ampuis, Gaillard etc. but seeing as they
: are so hard to come by I am sitting on them for now as I suspect I
: probably should...

I believe in letting these age awhile yet, for my tastes, they are
still much too young. That being said, I am *sure* you can drink them now,
but I find syrah needs a good 8 years to turn into the surly little
sauvage animal that is behind its elegant breeding.




: Anyone have any deep insights into this vintage and when I should take
: the plunge and crack the capsule on one? Also, is the 2000 vintage as
: mediocre as some would suggest as these are pretty common and I've
: picked up some of these as well...

Keep in mind that 2000 made lighter wines, so they will age faster
than the riper 1999's. A Gallet drunk recently confirmed this, but 2-3
years on that bottle would have rounded things out more. This is assumming
they had some concentration there to begin with; some producers really
made washed-out wines that year.

Mark S

Hi there Micheal

I was lucky enough to attend a Guigal tasting which covered quite a few of
his wines including his 99 d'Ampuis. My tasting note is as follows

Appearance: Has an intense dark purple core with a purple rim.

On the nose very complex and intense with furniture polish, floral notes
(violets), wax, sour cherries, herbs (lavender?) and a definite new oak
aroma. (I describe it as marzipan).

On the palate the mouthfeel is silky with terrific length, beautifully
balanced, acidity, tannin and rich, ripe fruit just sing together in the
most delightful chorus. Quite promenent new oak but it's balanced well with
the rich red and black fruits. Dark chocolate, black olives and chocolate
mocha on the finish.

As a conclusion I've noted that it's a beautiful wine which will only
improve with age - but as you've already bought it I guess you know that
already!

Regards

Siobhan

"Siobhan Leachman" > wrote in message >...
> Hi there Micheal
>
> I was lucky enough to attend a Guigal tasting which covered quite a few of
> his wines including his 99 d'Ampuis. My tasting note is as follows
>
> Appearance: Has an intense dark purple core with a purple rim.
>
> On the nose very complex and intense with furniture polish, floral notes
> (violets), wax, sour cherries, herbs (lavender?) and a definite new oak
> aroma. (I describe it as marzipan).
>
> On the palate the mouthfeel is silky with terrific length, beautifully
> balanced, acidity, tannin and rich, ripe fruit just sing together in the
> most delightful chorus. Quite promenent new oak but it's balanced well with
> the rich red and black fruits. Dark chocolate, black olives and chocolate
> mocha on the finish.
>
> As a conclusion I've noted that it's a beautiful wine which will only
> improve with age - but as you've already bought it I guess you know that
> already!
>
> Regards
>
> Siobhan


Well I have bought a couple, but have not actually tasted it--hence my
inquiry. Thank you very much for the notes...have you tried any other
99's...and what of 98's and 2000's? To age (a long time) or not to age
(so long)

Though you have set my mouth a watering I must say...no, must not
touch! (sound of one hand slapping the other)

Thanks
M.Leduc

Parker had this to say about E. Guigal's 1999 Brune et Blonde. Lovely. Both
elegant and intense. Medium-bodied, with floral, red berry and mineral
notes. Subtle and fruity finish, with smooth tannins, but the intense finish
suggests it might improve with age. Drink now through 2006. 25,000 cases
made.


"th_duck" > wrote in message
om...
> ...and actually tasted a bottle from this vintage yet? I've picked up
> about a half dozen bottles from various producers that interest me;
> Rene Rostaing, Guigal Ch.D'Ampuis, Gaillard etc. but seeing as they
> are so hard to come by I am sitting on them for now as I suspect I
> probably should...
>
> Anyone have any deep insights into this vintage and when I should take
> the plunge and crack the capsule on one? Also, is the 2000 vintage as
> mediocre as some would suggest as these are pretty common and I've
> picked up some of these as well...
>
> Thanks
> Michael Leduc

We basically ran the gauntlet of Guigal's wines and the line up included the
following

Condrieu 2001
Condrieu 'La Doriane' 2001
Cote du Rhone 2000
Gigondas 2000
Chateauneuf du Pape 2000
Croze Hermitage 2000
Hermitage 2000
Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde 1999
Chateau d'Ampuis Cote Rotie 1999
Cote Rotie 'La Mouline' 1999
Cote Rotie 'La Turque' 1999
Cote Rotie 'La Landonne' 1999

The last three were the reason I paid quite a bit to attend as I had never
tasted them and am unlikely to again - mainly for two reasons. The first
cost - I've got a mortgage and I would have to take out a second one to
afford them , secondly the lack of availability in New Zealand - my region
got allocated about three bottles each of the top three wines and New
Zealand as a whole got under a case of each for the WHOLE COUNTRY. But I
guess that's as a result of the cost.

As for the ageing question I certainly would NOT open any of the Cote Roties
yet, with the possible exception of the Brune et Blonde. Although they were
all beautifully intense and complex they had little if any complexity that's
brought on by bottle age. But how long you age them I'm not qualified to
tell as I've only been collecting and aging wine for about five years.
Other people in the tasting were talking about them aging for at least 15
years before opening. For the d'Ampuis a figure of around 10 years was
mentioned. But I guess it depends on how you like your wines - open earlier
if you enjoy the fruity aspects or later if you enjoy the bottle aged
tertiary flavours.

I've got tasting notes for all of the above although as usual they get more
and more illegible as the night went on. Let me know if you're interested
and I'll have a go at deciphering them.

Regards

Siobhan





>
> Well I have bought a couple, but have not actually tasted it--hence my
> inquiry. Thank you very much for the notes...have you tried any other
> 99's...and what of 98's and 2000's? To age (a long time) or not to age
> (so long)
>
> Though you have set my mouth a watering I must say...no, must not
> touch! (sound of one hand slapping the other)
>
> Thanks
> M.Leduc