Kopi-O

What's in a wine? Usually you have the 'nose', ie the fragrance commonly described with flowers, fruits and minerals. The 'body', or the palette, describe with names such as silky, lean, brooding. The 'finish' or after taste as sharp, smooth, long, sweet.

One in a while, a wine appears and throws the terminology dictionary out of the window, and the 2003 Hermitage Chapoutier is one of them. Opened at 3pm, and till ~9pm+, the wine was compellingly huge, still purplish at the rims, and threatens to beat any nosy drinker into submission. When serve lightly chilled, the palette was silky, creme, akin to heavy dose of condensed milk to a Kopi-O (Plain black coffee). At a certain stretch, the nose AND the finish was darlie-liciously minty. The palette was big, but smooth....until the bouncer jerks you at the neck and gives you a sharp blow right at the end with unusually rough tannins of 8 years. Even with food, this wine was difficult to handle. I enjoyed the experience of this, especially when the stars was aligned with another bottle (the 1988) of the same maker and plot at the same tasting was totally unexpected! The 1988 was herbish, delicate, smooth on the palette and was completely different!