2015 Trio Duel - Allemand Reynard, Chave Hermitage, Xavier Gerard La Landonne

Here we go here we go. Been wanting to take these 2015 mammoths out for a spin for awhile now, finally saw the opportunity at a dinner I put together last month.
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Poured into a decanter at 12pm. Kept at cellar temp in the decanter. Back into the bottle at 5pm. Poured at around 8:30p. All that air gave the wine plenty of time to shine.
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Hard to pick a favorite between the 15 Xavier Gerard La Landonne and the 15 Allemand Reynard. They were all packed with power and depth but the Gerard was more RPG warrior class and the Allemand more the all around class geared toward rogue stats
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The 2015 Gerard La Landonne showed more of a burly frame with structured grippy tannin on the finish but absolutely filled with black fruit, pepper, earthy root. Absolute powerhouse of a wine but with a shot of electric acid to keep it lively. I know these are coming out to retailers right now (been offered from a few different retailers in the past week to two), I recommend it so very highly. Coincidentally - a retailer on the East Coast offered me a fair number of the bottles the day before I opened these. Asked him to wait for my decision for a day and I’ll get back to him. Very glad they held it cause I reloaded!
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The 2015 Allemand Reynard has all the fruit the LaLa has but in a brighter red fruit set. The wine is vibrant and clean. It’s absolutely shimmering with that bright red fruit. It has a beautiful tactile minerality and intensity of fruit. While the Gerard showed more of the tannic grip, the allemand was absolutely seamless as it flows into a long persistent finish.
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The 2015 Chave Hermitage was good but it felt glossier and less brilliant mouthfeel wise from the Allemand and Gerard. It had ample fruit and structure but it didn’t have that extra spark the other two wines did.

man, i wish i was there to try dem fires.

Yah. Sounds like a casual small get together.

so weird. I can almost imagine you guys there.

None of them was a Juge. Slumming, I see.

Really good notes, thanks for these Charlie.

honestly, thank you for sharing these. super generous. i was on the fence about the reynard and the xg la la but after trying them i’ve been on the hunt. you know both bottles killed when it made a freakin chave hermitage an afterthought.

btw - i missed on out that screagle. would have been nice to have tried it.

this makes me lol every time…especially robert with the mop and your brother

Damn. Should have let me Known. I could have taken care of you on the la la. Store sold out now

Can you share the price since they are now gone? I’ve had a lead on some but price comparisons aren’t out there.

I’ve been offered anywhere from 200-255

Me too! Handsome man chugging that screagle.

Is that Charlie behind Mark Zuckerberg?

Thanks for the feedback Charlie - this is consistent with what I’ve been hearing about the Gerard LaLa from various sources (whose palates I tend to trust) and with my experience with the bottle of the 13 LaLa I had recently. I don’t really like the 13 vintage that much, but I thought the Gerard Lala was a very good bottle - or rather it became one after a lot of air.

Thanks again for bringing these out. Was pretty easy for me to pick my favorite on the night, being the La Landonne.

Was a great trio, tend to think the Chave was just sleeping. Let’s do a retrospective in 10.

Agreed with Ed and Robert. Thanks so much for these, Charlie. I was like throughout.

definitely agree, the 13 cote rotie was aight but the La La was a big big step up.

I meant the 13 Gerard LaLa.

I know. I’m agreeing with you that the 13 LaLa was a big step up from the regular bottling of cote rotie they did in 2013

Ahh, got it. Then yes, we’re in complete agreement. Might have to open a 15 soon, as I expect I’ll quite enjoy it; I don’t particularly love the 13s generally.