Star Tours

Reynaud “Château des Tours” 1998 Vacqueyras “Réserve” (Rhône) – Open several days, with a few glasses absent by the time I get to it. Darkly concentrated blackberry and even darker smoke liqueur, with a counterpoint of walnut soda. Open-ended, by which I mean the initial impression of fruit does a reverse dovetail and leaves an ever-increasing gap as the wine progresses towards the finish. A fruit microbomb, not sophisticated in the least, but not truly explosive either. Freshly-opened bottles have been impenetrable, and given the state of this wine I see absolutely no reason to open any more at this stage. (2/09)

Tours de France

Reynaud “Château de Tours” 1998 Vacqueyras “Réserve” (Rhône) – Mute as if it’s corked, though the exact nature of the flaw – other than the absence of the wine – isn’t fully clear in the time we give the bottle. We put it aside. Twenty-four hours later, I’m told it has blossomed into something dark, rich, and full of fruit (as it’s understood in Vacqueyras, at least), but still youngish. Oh well. (1/09)

Pignan in a poke

Reynaud “Pignan” 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Corked. (1/08)