by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. Chapoutier Cote-Rotie 1989: Med.color; some roasted rather meaty/smoked/smoked hot dog slight green olive/Syrah bit toasty fairly complex nose; tart bit green olive/Syrah  pungent some smokey elegant bit tannic complex flavor; drying out a bit but fairly elegant/ complex old C-R; not a lot of the classic roasted/espresso/coffee character.
2. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1989: Med.dark color; some smokey/gamey light blackberry/Syrah light pungent complex elegant nose; soft mild some smokey/gamey light toasty elegant complex flavor; a smooth elegant mature complex Hermitage that's ready to drink; wouldn't hold a lot longer but it's note going to go downhill right away.
3. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1990: Med.dark color; deeper more blackberry/Syrah light gamey/smokey rather aromatic nose; rich bit chalky/dusty light blackberry/gamey/Syrah/meaty complex slight tannic flavor; showing a bit more Syrah fruit and a bit of gritty tannins.
4. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1991: Dark color; deep blackberry/Syrah bit floral/aromatic some  earthy/dusty/old vines slight smokey/gamey/pungent complex nose; tart bit tannic/drying  low-key/blackberry/Syrah bit hard/tannic some complex flavor; not the fruit intensity of the '90 & a bit harder on the palate; needs a few more yrs yet.
5. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1992: Med.dark color; rather perfumed/aromatic low-key/blackberry/ Syrah more fruity/forward light roasted/pungent nose; tart bit lean/hard rather dusty/tannic light roasted/pungent flavor; very attractive/perfumed nose but a bit hard/unyielding on the palate; don't think it has the fruit to outlast the hard tannins.
6. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1993: Med.dark color; bit roasted/minerally light Syrah fruit bit weak nose; tart/lean bit thin some tannic slight pungent/roasted flavor; from a weak vintage and shows it; probably will never show much.
7. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1994: Med.dark color; fairly strong blackberry/Syrah light roasted/ pungent some gamey/meaty/minerally bit aromatic/alcoholic some complex nose; tart dusty/chalky  slight stemmy/green light blackberry/Syrah light roasted bit hard/tannic flavor; really attractive/complex nose but a bit hard/chalky/dusty on the palate.
8. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1995: Med.dark color; rather roasted/pungent/minerally very peppery/ cracked black pepper complex some blackberry/Syrah light spicy nose; rich black pepper/ light roasted/Dr.Pepper/spicy some tannic light blackberry/Syrah flavor; loads of fresh cracked black pepper light toasty/pungent character; needs 2-5 yrs.
9. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1996: Dark color; some black pepper fairly strong blackberry/boysenberry/ Syrah rather spicy/pungent/minerally fairly complex nose; rather tannic/chalky/dusty some  black pepper strong blackberry/Syrah slight gamey flavor; much more Syrah fruit w/ nice touch of pepper&spicy and well-integrated oak. Beautiful Calif-style Syrah.
10. Chapoutier Le Pavillon 1997: Dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight peppery/gamey bit pungent very Calif/Syrah-like light toasty nose; soft/round/lush rich/ blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cola/spicy light gamey/peppery/spicy bit dusty/hard light toasty/oak flavor; very Calif-style Syrah.
11. Godinean Domaine des Petits Quarts Bonnezeaux Le Malabe 1997: Med.gold color; very floral/ perfumed/aromatic/honeysuckle bit earthy/chalky/dusty light botrytis/apricotty complex nose; tart minerally/chalky sweet botrytis/apricotty floral/honeyed/honeysuckle very lush rich flavor; nice touch of botrytis and lots of lush fruit w/ a brisk/cleansing acidity to it; a really lovely/beautiful sweet Loire.

1. I've only had a couple of Le Pavillons, courtesy of Howard&Rhoda, so don't have a wealth of background to speak on these wines. Nonetheless, being a LosAlamos guy, I will speak with the usual air of authority even if I know nothing about the subject!! It's the LosAlamos way. I would probably label Hermitage as my favorite of the Northern Rhones, although Cote- Rotie is right up there. Hermitage, as a generalization, seems to me to have more Syrah fruit and only a slight degree of that roasted/espresso/smokey character that makes C-R so distinctive. Alas, with much fewer players in the field than C-R, one doesn't see quite such a broad range in styles and quality as one sees in C-R.  The Hermitages strike me as the most Calif-style of the Rhone wines because of their (again, speaking in generalities) strong Syrah fruit. Howard usually takes umbrage when I label a French wine as Calif in style. I don't mean to imply that Calif-style is the ne plus ultra when it comes to making wine. Just that Calif wines are typically much more fruit-driven and richer and lusher (again, in general terms). That's exactly what RP claims Calif should be doing w/ their more lenient climate. It's always struck me a bit ironic that the French  wines that receive the most raves and high scores are in those yrs that permit a more Calif- style of wine with more lush fruit & richness than they receive in a rain-besotted vintage. Go figure.  These Le Pavillons were an impressive set of wines. I certainly don't see them as 20 yr wines like some of the Chaves or LaChapelles. But they all struck me as very balanced wines, very well-made. Though the oak was there, especially in the younger ones ('96&'97), it seemed very well integrated and not blatent/obtrusive like in can often be in Calif Syrah. For the older ones (using the weak '93-'94 vintages as sort of a dividing line), I preferred slightly the '90 for its greater intensity of fruit. The '89 was all about finesse and  elegance and complexity, qualities that a guy who does epee has not learned to appreciate, where power and brute-force is where it's at. For the younger ones, it was pretty much a toss-up of the '95 and the '97. I really loved the fresh cracked black pepper character & complexity in the '9It reminded me much of the EdmundsStJohn, the failla-jordan, and the Lagier-Meredith Syrahs in character (I know... it sacrelidge to mention those wines in the same breath as Le Pavillon!!). But I equally loved the '97 as well for its intense fruit and Calif style, reminding me of the Alban, the Tensley, the Linne Calodo/BoneRock, and the Garettson/Alban in style. Both of them are going to be exceptional wines down the road a bit, I think. The question that many of us had was was there a change of style in the wines over the yrs. Not having tasted the older ones when they were young, it was hard for me to say.  I sort of sensed a more Calif/international style in the '96 & '97 vintages, but that may only be because of the vintage condition and not a concious stylistic change. And, of course, Rhoda's contribution of cheeses & pates and well-done (in the sense of well-prepared) roast beef and horseradish mayo cannot be overlooked.  All in all, a terific night of pretty special wines and exceptional company.