A Chateauneuf Papies-Odyssey

The Papies, Elizabeth St, London
Tasted Tuesday, August 14, 2012 by Papies with 661 views

Introduction

Tuesdays are underrated days, but in the Papies household they are an institution.
This time is was a small Chateauneuf du Pape selection with some good friends.

Flight 1 - To start (1 Note)

Flight 2 - With tapas style starters (1 Note)

  • 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Another bottle from what looks to be a bad batch. Not flawed and drinking well but much like the previous one nowhere close to the level this wine can achieve out of a proper bottle. Shame really. Our earlier notes are more representative of this great wine (Papies rated this 97).

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Flight 3 - Cote de Boeuf (3 Notes)

  • 1998 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Good bottle and cork and decanted for about 1.5hrs. Decanting is advisable at this stage.
    A more elegant version of the 98 vintage in CdP. Light earthy notes to start, but very floral as it evolves in the glass. Quite round, yet vibrant on the palate. On the fruit and with some sweet dark fruit notes. Had it side by side with the Vieux Telegraph 98 and were at same grade but very different in style. Both good but none of them great. 92 and in its drinking window.

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  • 1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Good bottle and cork. Decanted for 1.5 hrs. On open it was very big and full and decanting helped it open up so we would advise it at this stage. Side by Side with the Clos des Papes. The usually "feminine" , well to our expirience with other VT 90s vintages, came out all gung ho, powerfull, dense and full on the fruit. Decanting helped to relax it but still pretty interesting to see the density of fruit and the power. Nice, spicy on the nose, very syrah-esque and quite enjoyable. 92 and drink now but with good aging capacity.

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  • 2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    The controversy continues.. 90 yesterday vs 94 2yrs ago ( admittedly different lots)
    Good bottle and cork. Deacanted for 2 hours. useful to decant.
    Very 2003, big wine, dense with dark fruits tighlty wrapped and full of powerfull (not harsh though) tannins. Big sweet core runs through this wine ( a 2003 issue we guess) especially on the palate and lacks the balance and elegance usually associated with Clos des Papes wines. 90-91 at best at this showing. We wonder if time will actually improve this wine or will it suffer like some hot Priorat fruit bombs that dry out rather than evolve...

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Flight 4 - Cheeses from Loire (1 Note)

  • 2009 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    The key word here is DECANT. On open it is tight, wound up, with a bitterness on the finish. Decant this for 1hr or so and the true magic unveils.
    The richness is there, the big round (not harsh any more) palate presence, a touch of glycerin and minerality. Opulent and holds it own and actually although we thought of starting with it we had it with strong cheeses at the end and it worked very very well. Magic. 95 easily maybe more

    To drink now or later? In reality the balance is between the roussane closing (see be low) and losing its freshness. We are borderline to voting in the try early camp.

    Marc Perin's rule with Roussanne is to check the color. if its dark/redish (hence the name roussanne) then the wine is closed and should not be opened. Once it clears then its ready to be consumed. His rule of thumb and so is Chapoutier's is that the wine shuts down between yr 5 and 12.

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Flight 5 - Pear tart straight from Paris (1 Note)

  • 1991 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Vin de Paille 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    From half bottle. Good bottle and cork
    A story of balance and elegance that usually is missing in sweet wines. Really nicely balanced but unfortunately it lacked the depth and the complexity at this stage especially given the expectation. 91-92 at best at this showing.

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Flight 6 - Last minute additions - AKA we are running low on wine - AKA this you will regret tomorrow morning (2 Notes)

  • 1990 Château Talbot 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    No decanting. Shame really as it does need some time to find its stride. Also some fine sediment distorts its clarity so we would suggest decanting carefully.
    The nose sings of classical, secondary bordeaux music. Cedar, earth, a touch of fruit ever so pleasan and ever so classical. On the palate it is round and in harmony. A few harsh edges on the finish true but overall a very well aged and enjoyable bordeaux. Great value for money too. Will look to buy more.93-94

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  • 1981 Château Cos d'Estournel 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Not decanted and served a touch too cold to be honest. A sort of last minute addition to the line-up.
    On the nose it is fully mature,barnish, very earthy with light fruit. On the palate.. the good days are over and it does feel a bit watery and thin. Not dead, not bad but not exciting either. 89ish

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Closing

The roussanne reigned supreme!

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