Syrah at Cabotte with the TWS North London Group

Cabotte, London
Tasted Thursday, February 29, 2024 by oenanthe with 106 views

Introduction

A different group enjoyed a highly successful France vs SA faceoff at the same venue last year, and so someone came up with the great idea of copying it almost exactly. Game on!

Flight 1 - The Old guard warm-up (2 Notes)

No food, just straight into it

  • 1996 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

    Very dark red. Quite earthy and meaty on the nose, and for a wine approaching 30 years old absurdly tight still, as austere as they come. With a bit of swishing it gets going a little, some red fruit peeks out, but so so stern. This is a wine that I have absolutely no idea where it might go, and whether its best years are ahead of it or now a long way behind?

    Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2005 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Deep dark to medium red. Smells a bit shiny if that is a thing, silken perhaps, some candyfloss element. So it is a bit of a surprise that the wine is much firmer on the palate than these initial hints of sweetness indicate. Like it's flightmate the Clape '96, it is an austere wine that has ages to go seemingly. The fruit kicks in at the back end and is very delicious, I just think the wine needs longer to come together and I'd be pleased if this was the first of a case.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 2 - Col.... (2 Notes)

Duck liver parfait, smoked breast, pickled squash, quince and brioche

  • 2007 Domaine du Colombier Hermitage 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Sensational nose, deep and ripe black fruit fills the glass, it's a night and day difference to the older wines in the first flight, this is singing. Slips down very easily, immensely gluggable - lucky I was sharing this. Red and black fruit, succulent and juicy. Unlike the other wines you can be confident that this is as good as it will get and is fully ready to go - crack on. Delicious and my #3 of the night.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2010 Sadie Family Columella 89 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

    Quite dark. Nose far less giving than the Colombier, but is initially right there on the palate - a bit racier, a bit fresher, with good fruit that has a nice element of sweetness, but at the same time there is a lack of harmony and vibrancy that I can't explain and I much preferred the Hermitage. Maybe a slightly tired bottle here? High hopes for this following a sensational 2007 but ultimately this fell some way short of those heights.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 3 - Grand and Granite (2 Notes)

Pigeon, smoked beetroot, red chard, hasselback potato, pickled blackberry jus - amazing!

  • 2011 Mullineux Syrah Granite Jakkalsfontein 91 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

    Dark red. First sniff says "serious". Wow, this has real structure and build to it, beautiful red fruit and a youthful kick of tannin and spice made this feel as if it were early in its window. I'd hide this somewhere for a while. Lovely.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2009 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Bessards-Le Méal 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Deep and dark red, a luscious nose that I couldn't get enough of. Very expressive and joyous. A bit more on the red spectrum than I was expecting but very pleasingly so, it contributed to the sleekness and lightness of touch that made this wine feel very refined. Elegant was the word I wrote down, and this ended up being my #2 of the night. A shame that I only caught on as he approached retirement!

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 4 - Winners and losers (2 Notes)

Red deer saddle, parnsip treviso, trompettes, black garlic, pear and vevison jus

  • 2010 Mullineux Syrah Schist 94 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

    Wonderful nose, somebody said "gates of hell" but in positive way. It's deliciously fresh and spicy, and like the Faurie before it has this lightness of touch which is brilliant. It's stoney, dark-fruited and spiced, completely on point, with all elements working together to create a wine of fabulous composure and balance that seems to tip-toe along whilst at the same time hitting it out of the park. My WOTN.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2009 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Noticeably dark on pouring, you just knew this was going to be thick and dense. And it is, but unfortunately to the point of feeling a bit clumsy. Ponderous is what I wrote down on the night. The nose is the best part by a distance, a glorious waft of rocky fruit. But on the palate it is inelegant, disjointed and rather too dry. Given the winemaker and the terroir, maybe this is just a slightly rough bottle, or perhaps 2009 just wasn't a great year? It's not bad by any means, nobody is going to pour it away, but the unanimous feeling was that it should be better than this and the Mullineux made it feel, well, ponderous.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 5 - Cheese and the power of youth (1 Note)

  • 2020 Minimalist Wines Syrah Stars in the Dark 92 Points

    South Africa, Cape South Coast, Cape Agulhas

    Fruit forward, youthful but not young necessarily, as approachable as some of the much older wines. This is full of life, rich fruit, a sweetness of candyfloss on the nose, and on the palate lovely acidity and sharpness with a certain joie de vivre (whatever that is in Afrikaans). Great stuff. My only question mark is really how long-lived it will be, but on the night that clearly didn't matter in the slightest!

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Closing

The food at Cabotte was equisite, the service excellent, and whilst not inexpensive worth every penny. Delicious wines with some big hitters under-delivering and some less grand bottles killing it. I do like Northern Rhone Syrah, but I could definitely become a Swartland convert. Thanks to my fellow diners for sharing their cellars and let's do it all again next year.

×
×