Domaine Georges Vernay, Cote Rotie, Maison Rouge

Retail $74. Big heavy bottle. 100% Syrah. We were watching a silly telenovela and my wife urged "uno mas" (at least when it called for wine). So I obliged and grabbed this. From the first pour from this close-to-ridiculously-heavy-bottle, I was worried as it seemed to be both heavily doused with Brett and, well, corked. I hoped that one, the other, or even both would blow off with some time. Well, it took a considerable amount of time, but it …

My lovely wife asked for a Syrah and I know she meant "California" but I pulled this instead. Why? I like to be a bit contrarian from time to time, so I went full-on French. This 2001 is certainly starting to show the slightest bit of age (some moderately stewed fruit on the nose), but there is also black raspberry, anise, eucalyptus, and even tar. The palate is quite tart, with most of the fruit subtle if not subdued, but …

Retail $75. The stewed red fruit and a bit of funk on the nose scared me more than a little bit. But once the wine made it past the lips? No need for fear my dear. Subtle fruit with an acute vibrancy. The balance is near impeccable and it would be tough to argue that this is not how Syrah was intended to be. Ok, this gets a Whoa. And then another Whoa. A third? Maybe. thedrunkencyclist.com

What a difference a few years make. We took this to a dinner with 12 people so each of us only got a splash. Fantastic nose of red berry fruit and simply wonderful on the palate--luscious fruit, integrated tannins, and an impressive finish. The group of winos seemed to agree and this Côte Rotie completely outshone the two Châteauneufs that were poured along side. Outstanding. thedrunkencyclist.com

Reasonably translucent red. Gorgeous nose. Mix of tangy red fruit with darker, more serious black currant, black pepper, oregano. Wow. Delicious. Light-to-medium bodied attack of savory dark fruit, spice, pepper, leather. Beautifully concentrated mid and effortless transfer to finish. This is a delight. Long finish. Good acid, tannin. Fantastic.

Popped and poured through a Vinturi. On the nose, some dried cherries and spice. On the palate, some fruit still hanging around, but pretty austere, with some sharp acidity on the finish. Once we started eating, as expected, the acidity cut through the pork and rounded out the wine nicely. Good.

Solid Cote-Rotie Syrah. Medium bodied. Nice balance of fruit and acidity. Drinkable now. Nicely made, but way overpriced.

Winery: Elegant nose, berries w/good t’s, fuller, nice fin.