TN: 1996 Gloria St Julien

[jal]

A gift from a famous boulevardier; this is a delicious wine; dark color just a bit light on the edges; cedar and earth on the nose, the tannins are still not fully resolved but the wine is still excellent. It has a fine structure and an elegant texture, with a lot of cassis and sachertorte, a little sourness on the finish enhances the taste. Thank you Comte.

[Comte Flaneur]

Mon plaiser, mon brave! I bought quite a lot from WH Franks on LI, and some 01s and 02s which were also very good and excellent QPR...could not keep my hands off them.

[JimHow]

I was gonna say, that's a Comte Flaneur kind of wine....

[Houndsong]

"Sachertorte?" Give that man $100! Now, would you mind telling me what that is?

[DavidG]

Chocolate cake. But not just any chocolate cake. Chocolate cake as only a boulevardier would know it. An amazingly, densely, purely chocalatey chocolate cake, in 2 layers, with an apricot layer between. One of my med school roomates was an expert at making them. Haven't had one that comes close since.

[Chasse-Spleen]

I had this wine on my birthday about 5 years ago, at the old Montrachet restaurant. It was beautiful then, I'm sure it's even better now. Isn't it one of the funny things that Gloria has some 2nd growth parcels in there? I mean, it's not in the classification, but if it were, it would be 3rd or 4th growth, not just 5th growth. Maybe a little inconsistent at times. The 1996 is the goods though. The current price for their new wines is a shame.

[jal]

Oh boy, I love sachertorte, and I did taste dense chocolate and apricot in there so that immediately came to mind. Sorry Chris.

[Michael Malinoski]

Thanks, Jacques. I've enjoyed several bottles of the 1995 Gloria but never have tried the 1996.

We did coincidentally drink a 2000 Ch Gloria two nights ago at the end of a long tasting of Alsatian wines (the masses were clamoring for red wine the way some carnivores clamor for red meat). It was showing rather well and was a very nice wine, just short of outstanding (sort of an 88-89 points range, if that helps with what I mean to convey). Lots of forward jammy fruit on the nose, with some earthier tones and cedar and herb accents running beneath. It is still showing a bit of oak on the fleshy palate and also a bit of structural austerity, but also lots of lovely fruit, nice streaks of minerality and a fresh, tangy finish. I think a few more years in the cellar will be well-rewarded.

Michael

[jal]

We did coincidentally drink a 2000 Ch Gloria two nights ago at the end of a long tasting of Alsatian wines (the masses were clamoring for red wine the way some carnivores clamor for red meat). It was showing rather well and was a very nice wine, just short of outstanding (sort of an 88-89 points range, if that helps with what I mean to convey). Lots of forward jammy fruit on the nose, with some earthier tones and cedar and herb accents running beneath. It is still showing a bit of oak on the fleshy palate and also a bit of structural austerity, but also lots of lovely fruit, nice streaks of minerality and a fresh, tangy finish. I think a few more years in the cellar will be well-rewarded.

Michael

I like the 2000 Gloria very much as well, Michael. I found the 2003 extracted and hot and didn't care for it too much.