Chateauneuf du Pape tasting at Hi-Time

Working through entering my cellar into Cellar Tracker, and now entering the Chateauneuf du Papes. Fingers hurting from typing, so I started browsing through one of the several mailers we get from local retailer. Lo and behold, Hi-Time is having a CDP tasting tonight. Thought it would be a great way to taste many (hopefully) of the wines resting in the cellar without disturbing them.

• 2001 Domaine des Relagnes Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée Vigneronne 89 Points

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

  Light brownish color. Fairly open nose of plums and pepper. On the palate, very open fruit. Notes similar to nose - lots of plums and very peppery. Not overpowering - but very elegant. Nice structure. Fruity, slightly short finish, balanced by a pleasant tartness.

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• 2000 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Mourre des Perdrix 91 Points

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

  Reddish purple in color. Openly fruity nose with lots of pepper. On the palate, a little closed, but subdued notes of cherries and plums clearly waiting to emerge. Great finish - powerful, lingering tannins and nicely structured.

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• 1999 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou 91 Points

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

  Label states "cuvee vielle vignes" Reddish brown in color. Very open nose of plums, red fruit and pepper. On the palate - delicious - openly fruity, balanced with mouth puckering tartness. Excellent structure to the wine. Smooth finish - slightly short - pepper really emerges on the finish. Very enjoyable.

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• 1998 Clos Saint Michel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 88 Points

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

  Reddish brown in color. Very peppery, slightly candied nose. On the palate, lots of pepper, which slightly overpowers the fruit notes. Candied element remains on the palate. Smooth, short finish. Nice drinking, but a notch below the rest of the wines in the tasting so far.

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• 2001 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Kristial 90 Points

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

  Fairly light brownish/red in color. Open nose, with notes of plums and pepper (again!) - a little funk to the nose as well. On the palate, not as open as the nose - pepper notes dominate the fruit, but it's definitely resting comfortably, waiting to emerge. Powerful, tannic finish, still dominated by the pepper notes. Hard to taste now - Not too enjoyable, but seems to have lots of potential in front of it.

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• 2000 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde 90 Points

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

  Reddish purple, with browning on the edges. Open nose of plums and spice (peppery!). On the palate, very open - lots of red fruit, with a hint of citrus balancing out the fruit. Smooth finish - short/medium in length. Drinking nicely now.

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• 1999 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Grenache 91 Points

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

  Dark brownish red, brickish color. Open nose of candied plums and pepper/spice, with a little funk. On the palate, very fruity - plums, cherries, etc. Medium finish, very smooth, really good.

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• 1998 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Very brown in color. Not a pleasant nose - tea, prunes - smells much older than it is. Very similar notes on the palate - thin, no fruit, tea-like flavors. No finish to speak of (at least in anything resembling a pleasant finish). We all tried to figure out if this was a bad bottle, or just really, really aging prematurely. We decided to go with a bad bottle, and hold out hope for the bottles in our cellars. No rating.

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• 2001 Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Impériale 89 Points

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

  Ruby red in color. Nose of plums, citrus and flowers. On the palate, seems a little closed. Pepper notes clearly emerge, but seems to have fruit hiding beneath it. Solid, structured, slightly short finish.

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• 2000 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Chante Le Merle Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

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

  Purple reddish color. Open nose of plums/cherries and pepper/spice. Similar notes on the palate - very openly fruity, with balancing but not overpowering pepper notes. Solid, structured medium finish. Very nice.

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• 1999 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul 90 Points

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

  Dark purple color. Nose very open with lots of red fruit and pepper. On the palate, the fruit and pepper have a nice balance, with the fruit having a slightly candied tasted. Plums and prunes on the nicely structured finish.

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• 1998 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve 94 Points

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

  Dark, dark purple in color. Completely different nose from all the other wines in the tasting - very floral and fruity, gingerbread - and no pepper! Tons of fruit on the palate - plums, flowers, cherries, gingerbread again - very open and delicious. Solidly structured, medium/long finish - super wine!

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Fun tasting. Accomplished the objective of tasting many of the resting wines. We were really struck by the similar notes of plums and pepper in many of the wines. They all tasted different and distinct, but had many of the same notes. The Julienne Reserve was clearly our favorite of the flight.