December 31, 2022 - My last bottle and for some reason the only one listed on my CT inventory. It is possible I drank all my other 2003s before enrolling on CT....Anyway, this was part of a NYE dinner. It was opened, but not decanted for over an hour. It was spectacular. Subdued fruit, followed by spices, it was medium bodied with a long finish. A nose of violets.
October 3, 2021 - Vinetasters: 2001 Châteauneuf-du-Pape et al. (Skokie, IL): Served double blind. Smells like purple. Candied sweet cherry profile. Bitter and getting to the overdone category here. Clean though, but the tannins are astringent and overdone. My 1st, group's 3rd.
February 17, 2021 - 14.5%. Nose of alcohol and some macerated cherry. Some baked earth and alcohol. Frankly, this was simply monumentally dull. We couldn't be bothered to finish the bottle.
November 8, 2020 - Drinking perfectly now. The nose is truffles and vegetable compost and the flavours are like a nice soft ganache. Very approachable now and I wish I had more bottles
March 26, 2020 - Just a beautiful wine, drinking seductively and beautifully now at its 17 years. I wish that I had other bottles.
February 29, 2020 - Medium garnet in color. The nose is mostly dried dark fruits with some game and farmyard. On the palate, it is dry, medium plus bodied, with a good amount of extract. Acid is medium and balancing. Tannins are soft and fully resolved. Alcohol is high but well integrated. The stewed notes of plums, the prunes and the funkiness tell me this wasn't meant to age this long. There is fruit and sweetness on the midpalate but the tertiaries are abundant. It may be too ripe a vintage for my taste. A good bottle that may have seen better times a few years ago.
November 21, 2019 - Note: I use a scale on which 85 represents a very good wine.
Given the house and the vintage, I expected a bit more, maybe 90 or 90+.
Took a little time to open up, but this bottle never devloped the richness I hoped it would.
Still flavorful, but not as smooth as I hoped it would be.
I suspect that it is time to drink up.
November 18, 2018 - This bottled was a little stewed. Had its moments, but based on prior notes (both my own and others) not representative.
November 23, 2017 - Still tight and young! 1-2 years for my last
October 29, 2017 - Bought at the domaine. Really at the top of its game. Wonderful notes of plum and leather. Sadly I have only 2 more bottles.