Couly-Dutheil, Chinon, Baronnie Madeleine

Much better than our previous bottle but still not great. Tastes ok, some cherry, nice acidity to keep it fresh. But the nose it tough to get past so only drank about 1/2 the bottle.

1976 vintage

Structure has outlasted the fruit

1995 vintage

Much more advanced/intense than the previous bottle I opened a year ago (which was rather a frail beauty like aged chateau Lanessan), seems like there is certain bottle variation at this age. Aggressive/deep old wine nose - crushed/powdered black truffle, deeply pickled cucumber, porcini mushroom, Chinese dried plum soaked in hot lao jiu / xiao xing, wet soil, and leather/meat/spice (or juicy beef jerky). Palate confirms nose, a lot of dried plum/dark berries, totally mellowed and melting in mouth, with …

1995 vintage

Took 3 hours to come together. But the dominant aroma that emerges is candied pyrazine. The fruit is red elegant and dusty, mineral driven. It’s good but thin and at peak. But still not a great lot of things to say

1995 vintage

It was interesting to taste this after 45 year in the bottle, some earth and leafs with clear cab. franc signatures but mild tannins and strong acidity and clearly past its prime.

1976 vintage

I was worried it would be past its prime but it was not. Served at a Loire reunion. We had had this wine in Chinon in May 2010. I had saved for a reunion party Still dark. Went well with Coq au Vin. Great memories

2008 vintage

This whispers its charms, mellow and gentle. Lean and light, but savory and energetic with zippy acids. Pleasing bouquet with spices, some herbal tomato leaf, and dried cherries with a minty-smokey topnote. There's a lovely smokey, ever-so-slightly pyrazine-infused note on the finish that's the highlight here. Builds some depth further into the bottle, getting better.

1995 vintage

Black pu-er tea, dust, old wooden house (aroma from the glass). In mouth, still fruity - dates, apricot, blueberry, tar - all melted into round and soft whole without losing freshness. Gained richness and youthful energy on day2. Beautifully aged.

1995 vintage

A little bit tired

1976 vintage

If well treated and correctly paired, this is rockin. Cherryskin and green pepper, with brisk acidity

1976 vintage

Pale Garnet color. Raspberry, red bell pepper, smoked paprika, dust. Medium-light bodied, leathery tannins, red fruit, earth and anise.

1995 vintage

Dark as night. Intense rustic nose, very ripe dark fruit and a bit of green dry herbs like rosemary and sage. Very tannic ripe burnt earth finish.

1995 vintage

C's quote 'oh man, that smells like my grandparents basement!' (that was probably being kind). didn't taste any better from there. bummer...

1976 vintage

Opened and decanted 2 hours ahead of roasted chicken, mixed rice, and veggies. Needed that time to work out the bad funk aromas and wet cardboard taste. Once opened, this was delightful. Nose brings candied cherries, lavender, and savory vegetal notes of ripe tomatoes, butternut squash, and dried herbs. The palate is medium, round, and tangy, bringing black cherries, V8 juice, olives, mushrooms, and candied blackberries and blueberries into the refined, tannic finish which lasts 30-seconds+. On night two all …

1989 vintage

BYOB with wines 30+ years (Sollentuna) : Sweet fruit with some band aid. Not very fun on the nose. I guessed Bandol or Landguedoc.

1976 vintage

@BYOB, tasted blind Green classic cab franc nose, cheese, heat, good but nothing special

1976 vintage

Complex nose of red fruits, leather, pencil, green pepper and compost. The palate is balanced with great acidity and complex savory fruit on top. a fairly long and interesting profile.

1989 vintage

Lost in the cellar. Its way past its prime, but worth nothing what I discovered. A little funky on the nose at first, but after that blew off I found smoke, wet gravel, vegetal and wood notes. An indistinct black fruit. Strong fine tannins, heft vegetal notes, wood and a little tobacco leaf.

2004 vintage

Completely consistent with my previous notes from May 2015 after consuming a magnum, and for once I was right: the 750ml is much more developed than the 1.5L. Opened and decanted ahead of a jerk chicken and rice feast, and it opened up fully within 45 min. The cork was so moldy that I felt an allergy attack coming on, but somehow survived to tell this tale. Rustic nose, silky body and a refined, elegant finish. This might be in …

1989 vintage

Very enjoyable with black cherry, anise, smoke, bell pepper and sweet earth on the nose. Palate retains remarkable youth with good black fruit and cherry notes that are marked with varying amounts of sage, thyme and tar. Great wine that has years ahead. Fruit was quite pure. Very drinkable.

1989 vintage

There is frankly not enough mid palate fruit for this wine at this stage. Interesting, and yes very much alive, but that is all I can say..earth and herbs remain in this bottle

1976 vintage

I am not as positive as others, not oxidized but way too funky for me.

1976 vintage

At first pour it's surprisingly red fruited and fresh with strong hints of green peppers. It doesn't take long for a bretty-ish barnyard funk to show up, but that quickly blows off. What's left are notes of smokey leather and decomposed earth. The palate is thin but sharp with a surprising amount of red fruit present (don't interpret this too mean there's a lot, more that I can still taste some on a 39 year old bottle of wine). The …

1976 vintage

At times I close my eyes and I'm reminded of great old classed growth Bdx on the nose; it's slightly green, some currant fruit, woodsmoke, leather, mint, damp earth. Unfortunately there's just no fruit sweetness on the palate, the acidity takes over, buffered only by tea, capsicum, and dirt. Thin body. Interesting to drink, but not very satisfying.

1976 vintage

Color is fairly light, with a brick rim. Floral, lightly earthy/waxy smell. Taste is a little watery. Acidity very prominent in the finish. Not bad, but it seems a little too plain.

1976 vintage

I'll second Stefan's notes with similar experience. Black truffle, forest floor, tannins present but must have been massive before, fruit has just about left but what remains is a wonder. Since others mentioned cork condition, I used a Durand and it came out in one piece and looked excellent and plump. The aftertaste as you take in some air as it goes down is just beautiful. I have been trying a number of these older Couly's and have not been …

1976 vintage

Opened a magnum the night before my son's birthday with tons of family in town. The cork was saturated to the tip, which was covered in mold. On opening, it was sharp, burnt, and overall woody with vinegar. The next day we decanted about 2 hours ahead of a dinner feast featuring a whole Copper River Salmon on smoked cedar plank. The color was a light, cloudy ruby with a pronounced orange tint and obvious bricking around the edges. It …

1989 vintage

Smokey, tar, burnt moist log on nose; timeless youth; cab franc very noticeable, smooth, enjoyable, tannin well balanced, nice tartness. This wine is singing with subtle fruit and has probably decades to go. The cork wet through 2/3rds to the end but holding up very well and not crumbling in the least bit - pulled out in one clean stroke and consistent with experience of last four bottles. I could see this holding for 10-20 years, maybe not improving but …

1989 vintage

3rd time lucky! 1st btl was smashed inside the suitcase, 2nd was incredibly, undrinkably dead. Magnificiently black cork, with layers of "black hard stuff", like crystals. Broke upon extraction, the bottom part crumbled. Took some tinkering... Very light matured red. Aromas are faint to start with but blooms in to a purple, flowery CF-bouquet with cold cut veggies and (especially) star fruit en masse. Elegant, gentle, mature and graceful. After a while, also faint grilled Schinken. The foundation is always …

1976 vintage

Doftar övermogna jordgubbar, grön paprika, inlagd gurka och multna löv. Smakmässigt samma ljusa frukt och de väldigt gröna, lite picklade, tonerna. Inte mycket till tanniner att tala om. Ganska kort och lite tunt. Mer intressant än gott. Har sett bättre dagar. Det gröna ogina tar över samtidigt som det är för lite stoppning i vinet. Drickbart men flaskan avslutades inte (brukar säga en del). Andra verkar ha haft bättre upplevelser av vinet i relativ närtid så misstänker att det finns …

1976 vintage

Having read numerous tasting notes, I expected this wine to have a funky nose. It did not! Very transparent and pure dark fruit. I would have guessed there was a bit of Merlot blended in. Somewhat reminiscent of a mature Pichon Lalande. A bit simple in the mouth, but a pleasure to drink with hearty food. Will hold, but not likely improve.

1976 vintage

Facinating bottles, we had two. The cork broke while opening on both bottles. The wine is really nice. Nose of ceder, leather, coffe, herbs etc. The mouth is slighly earthy but with ceder, leather, coffe herbs, plus more integrated to a big taste pallet. The wine went extremly well to moose entrcote with rose pepper sauce and gratinted brussels sprouts.

1976 vintage

Dinner with a few Berserkers (Will, Philadephia, PA) : There was some discussion and disagreement as to whether this was slightly corked. I don't think it was. Lots of earthy, leathery, mushroom notes with hints of anise. Slight leafy, herbaceous, green pepper notes. Olive as well. Soft and very dry on the finish. Lean and needs food. I thought this was fun and interesting but probably not something I would want more than a glass of.

1976 vintage

This is really nice. absolutely fresh at 25 years. Cherry, earth anise dried leaves. Pure.

1989 vintage

Opened at A Food Affair (French Cuisine, West LA) and ate with a mushroom torte and beef bourguignon. Lots black pepper on the nose, tasted notes of black pepper and bell pepper. Decent Cab Franc, especially for $60. Would buy again.

1989 vintage

Brick colored. On the nose: wet earth, mushrooms, truffle, some anise. On the pallet dark fruit, but with an austere and mineral finish. Still retains some tannins but drinking well, obvious secondary characteristics. An absolute bargain for 50$.

1989 vintage

Black cherry, mulberry and red currant on the nose with notes of tobacco, graphite, violets and some animality. Medium bodied palate with pretty dry green tea-like tannic astringency pushing through the juicy but slightly thin fruit. Graphite and leafy notes. Good length. Time to finish with these '01 Baronnies. Well this was my last bottle anyhow. Thank you, it's been a joy.

2001 vintage

BYOB HT14#1; 9/6/2014-9/7/2014 : Lots of mushrooms, freshly picked porcini, dirt and pine forest undergrowth. High acidity, ok fruit with a dry finish. Impressively alive for its age, but painfully lacking both length and complexity.

1976 vintage

This really needed time to show its best. It displayed lots of cooked plums, cherries, saladitos, minerals, smoke, and a dry finish. It's adequately put together and fleshed out nicely over the course of dinner.

2008 vintage

Library offer directly from producer so wine has been impeccably stored for last 40 years. Very high shoulder fill; cork was soft but did not break upon opening. Aromas of plum, cassis, leather, tobacco and earthiness. At this point, the leather and earthiness were most pronounced aromas, but the fruit was still there. For its age, this wine did not lose steam after opening. Kept getting better and more vibrant for hours after opening. In the mouth, acid was still …

1976 vintage

Not nearly as interesting as the bottle I had in January. Still nice, smooth, well structured. But much more subtle green vegetable aromas, less of the licorice, menthol and other aromas. I guess with a 24 year-old wine you take your chances....

1989 vintage

The top of the cork is covered in black mould and the entire thing is crumbling to pieces as I pull it, but boy there was a beauty hiding in there. Mature ruby, bricking. Cabbage, old cellar at first, then leather, dried fruits, and intense black truffle. Intriguing. Soft and generous on the palate, dried fruits, still fresh acidity. Long, oaky, nutty finish. Settled and absolutely lovely. I usually don't find black truffle in wine but this is screaming Perigord …

1976 vintage

Lovely.

1976 vintage

Beautiful, fully mature Chinon drinking fabulously.

1976 vintage

Fading garnet color. Lots of green olive and green pepper on the nose, then some black fruit, licorice, violet, menthol. Same on the palate, with the green vegetables dominating. This was better the second day, maybe because I knew what to expect. Some interesting aspects, good structure, and fairly mellow and smooth. Update - funny, after 6 weeks or so, I keep remembering that green olive nose and palate, and I want more of it. I'll have to try more …

1989 vintage

Light center. All sorts of green aromatics. Very light weight, picks up a bit of body with air, but missing the extra richness of the better wines of the vintage. Olive and discrete red fruit, fairly short. It never quite inches its way to the point of delivering any drinking pleasure. This was sound but below average, and I certainly wouldn't purchase another bottle.

1989 vintage

Feels surprisingly young for a 37 years old Chinon!

1976 vintage

Cork was black with white fuzzy areas. Wine was undrinkable.

1976 vintage

red, amber, in the color. dried fruit, blackcurrant, vegetable, hints of spice, mushroom, on the nose. mild acid on the finish.

1989 vintage

Nuanced and finely tuned nose of blackcurrants and cherries complemented by smoke, leafy airiness, meat, pepper, bellpepper, pencil shavings, blood, a hint of dark chocolate and all these lovely aromas coming and going. Pretty light on the palate with cooling touch of silky tannins, juicy acidity and thin fruit - so, this could use a bit more fruit, but that's just like talking about an ideal world. The fruit we have here is juicy and bright with no sign of …

2001 vintage

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Couly-Dutheil, Chinon, Baronnie Madeleine

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