Clos des Papes Offline
Tasted September 19, 2008 by SimonG with 681 views
Introduction
Phil W's C des P offline at St John, London. An excellent evening with, in the main, a recognisable family style amongst the reds. I did find the 03/04/05, whilst similar amongst themselves, to be of a different style to the other wines though - somehow fuller, fruitier and more alcoholic, more difficult at present and difficult for me to predict their future development. The 2001 and older wines were lovely though and hid their alcohol well.
Flight 1 (2 notes)
White
2007 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Pale. Quite a lifted, floral nose, minerally and clean, not unlike Sauv Blanc. Recognisably C9 on the palate but not too heavy. Quite refreshing but the 15% would take its toll after a couple of glasses. ***
White
1998 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Mid-colour, slightly wet wool nose, lanolin. More viscous, slightly oxidised. Decent, Rhone characteristics albeit not as full-on as Hermitage. Not my style. **
Flight 2 (3 notes)
Red
1995 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nicely plummy, raspberry more, quite spicy. Good fruit, quite light and elegant, moderate length. A slightly austere hint to the finish. Complex. Not an overtly fruity style. Elegant. Olive and kirsch develop on the nose with air. Lovely. ****
Red
1999 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Less fruity nose initially, a bit muted, some vanilla and a touch of caramel. Fuller on attack, quite viscous. Spicy fruit. Chewy and plummy. Drinking nicely now though fruit still quite primary. Seems more simple with time. ***
Red
2000 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
More like the 99 initially on the nose. Vanilla and muted fruit, then becoming prici and far more interesting with some air. Fullest fruit of the three. Spicy, full, harmonious. Oliver and black fruit. Really lovely. ****1/2
Flight 3 (3 notes)
Red
1998 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Meaty, lovely nose initially. Spice, garrigue. Soft, some glycerol. Them seems thinner in the middle. A bit disjointed. Ok to good but poorer by comparison. ***
Red
1990 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Similar nose to 95, slightly more olivey. Nice cool, restrained entry and them a fraction hot on the finish. Very nice though. Complex, demands concentration. ****1/2
Red
2001 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
More restrained nose, beef, olives. Tight fruit but complex and nuanced. This will be excellent. A blend of complexity and young fruit. Makes the 99 seem like fruit juice. ****(*)
Flight 4 (3 notes)
The following flight really quite hard to evaluate for me:
Red
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very fragrant, floral, scented high notes. Kirsch, slightly lifted. Full certainly, but actually quite balanced. Possibly a little hot on the finish but really just big. Hedonistic but possibly a touch simple. Difficult to predict the future. ***?
Red
2004 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
More balanced, dark fruit and olive nose, cool attack, quite complex. Iron fist in a velvet glove. A little hotter than I remembered it being when tatsed last year. **(**)
Red
2005 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Similar nose to the 04. More savoury, leathery finish. Still very full and fruity. An elegance somewhere here fighting to get out. **(**)
Flight 5 (2 notes)
Closing
Also a 2004 Reccioto di Soave Classico but I didn't quite note the producer. Cortepittora? Anyway, a slightly medicinal nose, more aperitif than pudding. Quite rich but a little on the dry side. **
The Ridge was a big disapointment.
The 2000 and 2001 were my WOTN, followed by the 90 and 95. The 98 was a bit below par, the 99 'ok, but so what'. A convivial evening and I thought the food at St John (lovely lambs' tongue salad followed by grouse) was a little better than my one previous visit. Thanks to Phil for persevering with this one and to everyone for their wines and company.
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