My local wine shoppe has a bunch of the 1990 Guigal Hermitage in its temp-controlled store-room marked at $100 apiece. Yesterday, they had a clearance sale, offering 25% off everything in the store. So I decided to buy this as a birthday present for myself. My wife and I took the wine to Kiki's Bistro last night and it was absolutely fantastic.

Dark purple color, with hardly any signs of age. Explosive blackberry nose that you could smell several feet away right from the first pour. Some interesting tea and cardamom nuances. No brett or Rhone stink, whatsoever. On the palate, there is a core of intense black raspberry fruit and razor sharp black pepper, with some bacon fat lurking in the background. Still full of vibrant acidity and sturdy tannins, this wine is probably at its peak and will probably hold there for another 2-3 years. A terrific match with my meal (a duck-breast and leg-confit composition with a green peppercorn sauce). 94P.

Side note: I can't believe that I have been living in Chicago for 17 years and had never ate at Kiki's Bistro. What a great restaurant. Can't wait to go back. Corkage was $15.

Cheers,

Otis

I had this wine in October and enjoyed it as well.

Good to hear the 90 is showing so well.

Had a 92 not so long ago that was rather tired. Of course since I found it on a grocery store shelf for $10.99, I still got my moneys worth.

I had this last September. It is a very nice wine, but I was expecting a more fullier bodied wine.

Doc