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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.2 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 48 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by 559Cheers on 4/30/2021 & rated 97 points: Beautiful and magic. It was a perfect bottle. Was opened a year ago. I fought for this bottle in auction and it was well worth it. (1105 views) | | | Tasted by booksmiths on 1/24/2021 & rated 92 points: What a lovely surprise.
Well worth cellaring to yield this silky gem.
Excellent with grilled New York strip steaks. (1105 views) | | | Tasted by KeithAkers on 1/4/2020 & rated 94 points: Wines that F**k to kick off the new year (Bob's, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL): Nose: The nose is deep, complex, and funky with tobacco, black cherries, black raspberries, white pepper, all sorts of savory notes, leather, earth, licorice, garrigue, and violets. This took a few swirls to wake up and when it did, it was lights out!
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with resolved, medium tannins and medium acidity. The feel is pure silk and enjoyment with black cherries, black raspberries, garrigue, white pepper, savory notes, earth, leather, and violets.
Overall: This is a gorgeously funky Chateauneuf du Pape that is right in its pomp. There is an immense amount of depth and complexity with the feel being silky and long. (1397 views) | | | Tasted by galewskj on 2/17/2019 & rated 94 points: Chateauneuf and Hermitage: This was the same bottle as Chablis28 and Rocknroller. We were all in agreement. Funky, floral and lightweight for a CDP. There is a lot of iodine and earth. This bottle was in a great place and thoroughly enjoyed by the group. (1997 views) | | | Tasted by rocknroller on 2/17/2019 & rated 94 points: Monthly Tasting Group: Older CDP's and Northern Rhones (P.S. Steak, Mpls): Medium plus orangish brick red color. PNP, drank a glass over 2 hours. Same bottle as Chablis28 and I agree with his take on this. I found the perfume quite captivating from the outset, leather, potpourri, cherry, garrigue, medium plus bodied and fully resolved tannins, nuanced and fully mature in great shape. Started to show some heat after about 90 minutes in glass. Part of a trio of older CdP's, ('94 Beaucastel, '95 Pegau) that simply just shined in all their glory. Will the wines of today ever approximate what we experienced here tonight? Hopefully at least the classicists will. (2113 views) | | | Tasted by chablis28 on 2/17/2019 & rated 95 points: Took a test pour a few hours before leaving for the venue and decided there wouldn't be a ton of upside to much airing, so put cork back in until about 30 minutes before drinking at P.S. Steaks. Cork was in great shape and fill high but I subbed in another cork to make sure no hassles later with the original 30 year old cork. I had let the blt sit almost upright for 12 hours in my cellar too to drop any sediment to the back bottom of the btl and avoid need to decant. What a gorgeous blt! This has become weightless, finessed burgundy but, with a SR aroma and flavor profile. Dam, I wish I had bought more of these! So focused, and in a way, the most precise red of the night for me. A little funk at the outtake evolved into garrigue, fading fruit and other tertiary aromas. The palate offered of up faded red cherry & raspberry along with an iron infused minerality and herbs. A gorgeous, 110% fully resolved, with weightless elegance CDP from days gone by. The cork came out with only a 3/4" soak and no crumble. The fill was excellent and color was ambering semi translucent red color. A beautiful promising color at almost age 30 from a not particularly highly coveted producer! Loved it and I hate most post 2005 CDPs. Everyone noted though that a classically made CDP really needs 15yrs at minimum. (1593 views) | | | Tasted by sharonandroland on 9/16/2018 & rated 93 points: Very Musar like. Some Brett. Beautiful evolution (1049 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 11/18/2017 & rated 92 points: Nose: B++/A- Palate: A-
My #3, Group's #2 (54 pts). Tasted blind. (1598 views) | | | Tasted by DFC on 1/18/2015 & rated 90 points: This was the third bottle opened tonight in hopes of finding a palatable one. The first two, which had the lowest fills of my cellared bottles, were oxidized and not really drinkable. So sad, too, as this wine has been a unbelievable performer over the years. Guess I shouldn't have gone 7 years between bottles! Hoping the remaining bottles with better fills are much better. (3597 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 1/6/2015 & rated 90 points: An excellent mature CdP, but not as extraordinary as the previous bottles I had... (3034 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 10/4/2014 & rated 92 points: Fully mature and drinking very well now. The structure's completely integrated, and it has a very graceful, silky mouthfeel with lots of sweet red berried fruit, spicy brambly and garrigue notes, and more savoury earthy and leathery notes that come together seamlessly. A fantastic pairing with duck confit. (4183 views) | | | Tasted by tooch on 8/12/2014 & rated 95 points: Rhone Dinner (The Bristol - Chicago, IL): A stunning wine. So much going on here with tons of secondary and tertiary notes of earth, florals, red fruits, and stone. Jim mentioned that it was more like a Burgundy with its elegant floral notes, and I'd have to agree. Still had a great backbone, and the depth of flavor was just off-the-charts. (4475 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 5/31/2014 & rated 88 points: The fruit felt like it was fading. Medium bodied, with spicy red cherries, garrigue and herbs, the soft textured wine was a bit short in the finish. Drink up if you have any bottles as it's all downhill from here. (3970 views) | | | Tasted by wineberg on 5/18/2013 & rated 94 points: CdP Night: Gently decanted. Leftovers rebottled until today. TN is on the leftovers.
Definitely in it's drinking window, with years left to it. Cranberry, rose, garrigue, herbs, bit of funk, a slight smokiness.
Very smooth on the palate, with a 30+ second finish. Probably another decade at least on this with proper storage. (3235 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 10/28/2012 & rated 93 points: Rhone-Themed Euro Lunch (Donato Enoteca, Redwood City, California): Bricked medium dark red violet color; lifted, brett, roasted plum, garrigue, ginger cake nose; silky textured, garrigue, tart black fruit palate; medium-plus finish 93+ points (1124 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 10/28/2012 & rated 92 points: Euro Themed Lunch - Rhones (Donato Enoteca, Redwood City, CA): In line with previous showing of this wine, with licorice, spices, leather and well integrated tannins but a little bit of heat on the nose. Outstanding mature Cailloux! (3802 views) | | | Tasted by zovizule on 9/14/2012: beautiful, silky mature and fully integrated. This bottle defintely not over the hill - but seemingly holding at a lovely place - wish I had more. (3164 views) | | | Tasted by DUKEUNC on 2/12/2012 & rated 93 points: Very nice, smooth, great nose. (3425 views) | | | Tasted by spaniel on 11/17/2011 & rated 93 points: Still drinking well. Very complex. Mellowing tannins. (3635 views) | | | Tasted by fclarity on 8/14/2011 & rated 91 points: Tasted blind, this wine had a medium red center with light, oranging rims. The medium+ intensity nose featured soil, black cherry, and smoked meat.
In the mouth it was medium bodied with nice rounded tannin and good length. This appears to be drinking now and should stay in the zone for the next 10 years or so. (2688 views) | | | Tasted by Eric on 10/18/2010: Dinner at Le Pichet with Dan Kravitz (Seattle, WA, USA): I tend to love this giant killer of a wine, and it started in a very promising way with deep, intense color on first pour. The palate offered less than I hoped for, nicely peppery and loaded with sweet cherries and bramble, this seemed to break up rather quickly. As it sat in the glass it seemed to lose color and was clearly quite cloudy. On any other night I think this one have been one to savour, but in this lineup it ended up a bit lost. Still a terrific pour. (4652 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 8/16/2010 & rated 94 points: Once again, this wine delivers! What an intoxicating nose!! As reported by others: Red fruit and complex spice and leather notes. Silky smooth palate with integrated tannins. Outstanding! (3148 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 6/4/2010 & rated 95 points: AWESOME nose that makes you want to smell this wine for hours!! I didn't see the little annoyance in the finish that I saw with the previous bottle. I was worried when I opened the bottle since the cork was very wet with a wine stain on top of it, but it didn't seem to affect the wine too much. The amazing nose fades away with heat so make sure to drink chilled (60-64) and not at room temperature or it will kill the experience... but I'm sure you already know that!! ;) (3385 views) | | | Tasted by spaniel on 5/27/2010 & rated 94 points: What an intoxicating nose! I simply could not stop thrusting my nose into the glass and taking in deep inhalations of its heady perfume. Red fruit and complex spice notes. Silky smooth palate with integrated tannins. Lovely gear. (3431 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 4/19/2010 & rated 92 points: Brown/red ruby color, lots of sediments, amazing nose, very well integrated tannins, but somewhat strange finish that stops me from giving this bottle a 93-95. Great bottle! (3332 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Bonus Reviews (9/2/2007)
(Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Bonus Reviews (2/26/2006)
(Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (10/28/2012)
(Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape) Bricked medium dark red violet color; lifted, brett, roasted plum, garrigue, ginger cake nose; silky textured, garrigue, tart black fruit palate; medium-plus finish 93+ points 93 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Producer website - Read about Les Cailloux
The Brunel family have been making wine in the Chateauneuf du Pape region since the 17th Century and the estate, currently under the guidance of Andre, is without doubt making some of the finest wines in the region, whether they are the entry level Cotes du Rhone or Chateauneuf du Pape, Les Cailloux. Since 1989, from a small parcel of land whose vines average over 115 years in age, he has in the finest vintages produced a separate "Cuvee du Centenaire".
André Brunel owns this well-known Chateauneuf du Pape property. He is the third generation of his family to manage the property. Fittingly, Domaine Les Cailloux takes its name from the cailloux roulés, which is the the French term for the large stones found littered all over the Chateauneuf du Pape region, and of course their vineyards.
The entire property of Domaine Les Cailloux is vast, covering well over 50 acres. Their vineyards occupy 17.3 hectares. The main grape variety they grow is Grenache. Some of their vines are among the oldest in Chateauneuf du Pape. They are close to 120 years old! The terroir is filled with loam, limestone and as we mentioned earlier, stones. They also have plantings on sandy terroir as well.
The Les Cailloux standard Chateauneuf du Pape is usually a blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 12% Syrah and 3% of different grape varieties. The vines are on average 60 years of age. After harvest, about 70% of the grapes are destemmed. Following fermentation, the Grenache ages in enamel coated vats. The Syrah and Mourvedre are aged in 1 – 3 year-old small barrels. On average, the wines remain in vat or barrel for between 15 to 20 months, depending on the character and grape varietal.
The top wine of Les Cailloux is their Cuvee Centenaire, which made its debut in 1989. comes from their oldest Grenache from vines averaging over 100 years of age. About 10% Syrah and an equal portion of 10% Mourvedre are included in the blend. For this special wine, the Grenache ages for 15 to 20 months in a combination of foudres and one to three year old barrels. The other varieties age in demi muids. Not much of this is made, production hovers close to 500 cases per vintage, when the wine is produced.
Domaine de 18 hectares à Châteauneuf-du-Pape qui doit son nom à l’une des douze parcelles qui le composent, celle de Farguerol au sol typique recouvert de cailloux roulés.
C ‘est cette parcelle qui est représentée sur l’étiquette et dont on a fêté le centenaire de la plantation qui a eu lieu en 1989 en élaborant pour la première fois une cuvée spéciale du millésime 1989, la « Cuvée Centenaire », qui sera renouvelée à chaque millésime exceptionnel.
Les autres parcelles sont situées sur des types de sols presques tous caillouteux, avec des sables ocres, des argiles blanches et grises, des terres rouges et des graviers.
L’encépagement
Sur les 16 hectares qui produisent du vin rouge, 65 % sont plantées en Grenache, 20 % en Mourvèdre, 12 % en Syrah et 3 % avec les autres cépages.
Récolte, vinification et élevage
Les raisins sont vendangés très mûrs au cours du mois de septembre et octobre, ils sont éraflés à 70 %, puis foulés à 50 %. La cuvaison dure de trois à quatre semaines.
Une fois les fermentations alcooliques et malolactiques terminées, le vin est débarrassé de ses grosses lies, puis élevé sur lies fines, la majure partie en cuves émaillées, le reste en fûts de chêne, 1/3 de fûts neufs, 1/3 de fûts d’un vin, 1/3 de fûts de deux vins.
L’élevage dure de seize à vingt mois, puis les différentes cuvées sont assemblées et deux mois plus tard le vin est mis en bouteilles.
On peut commencer à le boire quelques mois après, car l’élevage long lui a apporté de la rondeur, mais on peut aussi le conserver plus de dix ans au cours desquels il évoluera lentement.
La production annuelle en rouge est d’environ 70 000 bouteilles ; la Cuvée Centenaire, lorsqu’elle est embouteillée séparément représente 6000 bouteilles (80% Grenache, 12% Mourvedre, 8% Syrah). Red 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. 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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