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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.8 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 34 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by c.roy90 on 2/25/2024 & rated 80 points: No redeeming quality, just awful—VA off the charts, brett, this was a properly bad experience. Possibly one of the worst bottles of wine I've tasted in recent years.
Ordered off the list at an up-and-coming resto in Oakland, CA. (130 views) | | | Tasted by chipmuller on 1/30/2022: Med red with very fine precipitate. Decant total 0-5 days. Some legs developed and taste improved. Thin, but good. Interesting flavors. (546 views) | | | Tasted by Seth Rosenberg on 3/8/2020 & rated 88 points: This has been open about 20 hours. On day one this was pretty funky but also had high sour acid that made it downright unpleasant and also some heat. The acid has balanced some now but it’s even hotter so I put it in the fridge for 10 Minutes. It’s spicy and funky and a bit horsey. There is some old red fruit and forest floor and tomato. Palate is similar: cherry and plummy fruit. Spicy. Sour and tomato. Leaves and funk and some horse. A bit too much acid and alcohol to be in balance and a bit high toned. Finish starts off nice and spicy with some complexity and sweetness but gets really sour. Nose - 4.5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 14/20. (1629 views) | | | Tasted by mike l. on 1/20/2019 & rated 84 points: pruney and past its prime. not bad but definitely not worth paying much for. (1461 views) | | | Tasted by efeldhake@yahoo.com on 9/30/2017 & rated 92 points: Bright garnet in color with a ruby edge. Austere nose of cherries and tobacco with a hint of barnyard. Tastes of Bing cherries, cranberries, leather, pronounced barnyard and hint of tobacco and earth. Lovely purity of fruit, pronounced acidity, and nice structure. Complicated to score because the barnyard was so dominant at first. Nice wine drinking well and if one can get past the barnyard you should really enjoy. (2122 views) | | | Tasted by DIRTYHW on 3/2/2017: Such a baby. Bright and vibrant red fruit. Still so primary. Med bodied, great structure, nice acid...
This wine was delicious to drink, but it is in no need of being consumed any time soon. (2470 views) | | | Tasted by tooch on 5/23/2016 & rated 94 points: I was looking forward to trying this and it outperformed my expectations. Loved the mouthfeel of this; silky, smooth, and cool. Lots of concentration without much weight. Cranberries, cherries, wet earth, & spice. Gorgeous. (3347 views) | | | Tasted by KeithAkers on 5/20/2016 & rated 92 points: Birthday Celebration Chateauneuf-Du-Papes (Bill's, Wilmette IL): Nose: The nose was perfumed and pretty from the get go with red cherries, herbal notes, purple florals, leather, and earth tones. There is excellent depth along with the more nuanced nature of the nose.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. There is a feminine quality to the feel with red cherries, violets, herbal notes, leather, garrigue, and earth tones.
Overall: This is an extremely pretty CdP. This relies much more on nuance and it plays to a more elegant side. (3040 views) | | | Tasted by Chomsky on 11/27/2015: Pretty much what Pifcho said. This is very nice Chateauneuf drinking at peak. Richness undercut by great acidity; very delicious and fresh. (2394 views) | | | Tasted by pifcho on 9/25/2015 & rated 92 points: Another great bottle in its prime. Needs about an hour for the funk to blow off and then it is completely delicious. Elegant, yet full of Rhone flavors. (1608 views) | | | Tasted by pifcho on 5/31/2015 & rated 92 points: This has everything that I would expect from a top notch CdP. Dark blue fruits, garrigue, black peppers and olives. Very smooth, fruity, yet funky. Long finish. Drinking great right now, but feels like it has at least another decade to go. (1466 views) | | | Tasted by ekenneth on 2/23/2014 & rated 95 points: This is my last bottle of this treasure. It's a mature chateauneuf in perfect balance, with a nice mix of muted red fruit, just enough acid and a little umani. (1450 views) | | | Tasted by akolod on 2/13/2011 & rated 89 points: ready to drink; delicious; not complex (3194 views) | | | Tasted by John Nezlek on 11/25/2010 & rated 89 points: Not quite as good as the last bottle -- still well balanced, but a little less rich. (2955 views) | | | Tasted by NeuroDoc on 1/30/2010 & rated 89 points: Better than expected. Well balanced, fruit forward, lush, short finish. Likely drinking the best right now. (3425 views) | | | Tasted by John Nezlek on 10/24/2009 & rated 91 points: Fresh out of the bottle, a little too fruit forward for me -- almost new-Worldly. After just a little while, other (more standard CDP) flavors emerged. Simply delicious now. I guess it could improve, but it is "in an excellent place" now. I will drink the other one in the nest few years.
By the way, my bottle did not taste "old" at all. Rather, it was crisp, quite fresh, and delineated. Tannins all resolved. Perfect balance. Are there better CDPs -- for certain, but just as certainly, this is an excellent bottle. From the previous TNs it sounds as if a whole bunch of people had some bottles with less than optimal storage, treatment, etc. Provenance, provenance, provenance. (3109 views) | | | Tasted by JFish on 9/2/2009: It's been 2.5 years since I opened the last bottle. Given the myriad of tasting notes I was expecting to taste and dump it down the drain. Poured in the glass using a vinturi (it does make a cool noise:) the wine smells of barnyard, earth and cherries. The same followed on the palate, but the barnyard was not overwhelming and was very much in balance with the fruit and acidity. There was little tannin and I don't see it having much room for improvement so I plan to drink my remaining bottle in the next 6 months or so. (3110 views) | | | Tasted by sleepyhaus on 3/13/2009 & rated 88 points: I was quite afraid to open this considering the bad reviews here, but this bottle is drinking quite nicely. Color is cloudy and brickish, showing age for sure, and based on this and two other (different) bottles from the same source, I have to question if this wasn't perhaps stored imperfectly, despite the perfect appearance.
Regardless, seems well aged, smooth, some sediment in the glass, some nice sourish cherry, just a touch of barnyard on the nose, but nothing overwhelming. Leather and earth and faint spice notes. Can't say that it is great, but has a nice complexity to it. (2580 views) | | | Tasted by joe d on 12/18/2008 & rated 85 points: OK, better than the last bottle which was definitely flawed. Similar to how this wine was last year - medium-bodied dark fruit - with the fruit sweetness receded, which is a good thing. Still not more than a decent CDP at this stage.
My discrete CT scale: 95-extraordinary; 90-very good; 85-good; 80-fair; 75-poor (2569 views) | | | Tasted by BrewWench on 11/22/2008 & rated 85 points: Meat, iodine and red cherry on the nose immediately after opening. Very tart! Went and looked up the definition of "brett" online to see what the other reviews were talking about - so that's what the earthy, pasture smell/taste is called. Yes! Definite "brett-like" aromas and tastes continued long after opening. Although this wine is by no means terrible, it's just not an outstanding wine to me. (2504 views) | | | Tasted by Pknut on 10/13/2008: This wine begins with a huge burst of Islay scotch-like complexities - peat, iodine and smoke, turning to game and brasaola (air dried beef). After a few hours of air, the fruit peeks out - wild raspberry. The brett here is huge, but the barnyard portion is in check against the more complex, very satisfying iodine/smoke/peat. The structure of this wine has softened. The brett fireworks are really center stage here and somewhat stupefying. On the second night (after putting the second half of the bottle in a .375, corked and thrown in the fridge), the brett is really objectionable. This wine raises questions like: is this particular bottle an anomaly, in terms of the brett? If the brett were toned down, what would this wine be like? The softened structure suggested that this wine, at 8 years, is at peak; but did the brett throw off that calibration? Would a less bretty wine have shown more structure and/or more fruit, which might then have suggested cellaring longer? I may never know, as this was my last bottle. (2522 views) | | | Tasted by joe d on 10/9/2008 flawed bottle: Not sure what was going on here. Little fruit, medicinal quality. Brett perhaps? Not very enjoyable. (2576 views) | | | Tasted by dfeiner on 12/24/2007 & rated 87 points: Not a lot on the nose right off the bat. Flavor that first hit is licorice. Then, after reading note below realized the flavor I got and couldn't identify was cola. Sort of pinot like. I've got a bunch of this and wish I liked it more but it isn't a bad drink. (2803 views) | | | Tasted by cdunn on 12/8/2007 flawed bottle: corked (2960 views) | | | Tasted by Colima74 on 8/30/2007 & rated 92 points: Taken to CdP dinner at Aliso Creek. I really liked this a lot.. violets, good brigh red/dark fruit and acid in balance. Refreshing, not ponderous like many of the other wines. One of the better of the night for me. (3024 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Eric Texier Producer websiteRed Rhone Blend Read about the different grapes used to produce red and white Rhone wines
On CellarTracker, Red Rhone Blend is the term for a wine consisting of two or more of the traditional 13 Southern Rhone grape varieties. Typically it's the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre or Cinsault grapes, but can also contain the Muscardin, Counoise, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Picpoul, Roussanne, Terret Noir, Picardan or Vaccarese grapes.
A 'food' wine. Lacking pretension and intended for local consumption with local cuisine. Lacks the 'high' notes on a Bordeaux, more earthy and sharper so often a better partner to meat dishes with a sauce. Vieilles Vignes Old Vine/Vieilles Vignes (Wikipedia)France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comRhône Guide to the wines, wineries and appellations in the Rhone Valley The Rhône Valley/Le Vins de la Vallée du Rhône (Comité Interprofession des vins AOC Côtes et vallée du Rhône)
### Wine Scholar Guild's Rhône valley vintage charts & ratings ###Southern Rhône Guide to the wines, wineries and appellations in the Southern Rhone Valley
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape Appellation - Read more about Chateauneuf du Pape
Another site on this appellation
Vineyards on weinlagen-info
"As I have written many times in the past, the sweet spot for drinking Châteauneuf du Papes is usually the first 5-6 years after the vintage. Then they seem to go through an adolescent, awkward, and sometimes dormant stage, only to re-emerge around year 10-12, where the majority of wines are often fully mature. The best of them will continue to hold on to life (but rarely improving) beyond 15-20 years. It is only the exceptional Châteauneuf du Papes that will evolve for 20-25+ years, and those are indeed a rarity. However, things may be improving dramatically in terms of the longevity of Châteauneuf du Pape, although Grenache-dominated wines, the vast majority of wines produced in the appellation, are wines that do not have the polyphenol (extract and tannin) content of top Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots, or Syrah-based wines. Nevertheless, the younger generation in Châteauneuf du Pape has taken seriously the farming in the vineyards. There are more organic and biodynamically run vineyards here than in any other appellation of France. The yields, which were already low, are even lower today (20-35 hectoliters per hectare), and of course, the proliferation of top luxury and/or old-vine cuvées gives a significant boost to the number of wines that will evolve past 25 or 30 years. The advantage of these wines is their broad window of drinkability." - Robert Parker
Vintage Chart 1978 to Today
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