2 hr decant opened this up nicely. 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 5% Vaccarese, 5% misc and not mentioned. Lots of structure, big and bold but in an elegant way even with 15% abv. blackberry, raspberry, leather, licorice, bramble.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Verticale de la cuvée Reine des Bois du Domaine de la Mordorée (À la maison): Un nez de fruit noir et de fleurs mauves, assez charmeur. Le vin est rond et mûr, une bouche jeune et énergique, un peu moins charmeur que le suivant, mais d'une bonne profondeur. Pas très expressif au niveau des arômes, un peu terne. Encore jeune, à revoir dans quelques années.
Surprise au dévoilement. Tous ont considéré qu’il était meilleur une heure plus tard. Je croirais à son potentiel, à revoir dans 3 ans. 91-93+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wanted to like this more, but it really aged in a strange way. There are some nice things here for sure, but also some rotting Cherry notes that bother me a lot. The structure is still rather intense, suggesting it’ll go many many more years. So there’s that. Alcohol doesn’t show despite the 15% number.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
PNP. Expressive nose of black fruits and West Indian spices. Unfortunately, the heat/alcohol on this wine rendered it undrinkable. This wine would turn most anyone off of CdP. Anyone want my other bottle?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Stored in a climate controlled cellar since purchase upon release. Initially the subdued nose reveals a potent nose of cocoa, blueberry, and blackberry, though mired by clear notes of prune and alcoholic presence. Based on this bottle, 3-4 hour decant is necessary to get all of what this wine can deliver. The nose remained subdued the entire evening, showcasing the same aromatic profile though without as much of the prune/alcohol. On the palate, however, this is when the wine really came alive, building weight and depth to a full-bodied, super rich, lush, and expansive mid-palate featuring dark fruits, chocolate, a hint of game, and with time, anise and spice. The score reflects the wine's performance after 3-4 hours of decanting. The prune/alcoholic presence was off-putting though and prevented what otherwise would've been a higher score. Good, but not to the level of the '09 we had a couple years ago.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
One of my favorite CdP producers and CdP. Last had this vintage 3 years ago and was fortunate to find 2 more bottles. Per the label this is 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Vaccarese, and 5% misc. Powerful and well structured with a 15% abv. Lots of interesting palate complexity. cherry leather blackberry licorice tobacco raspberry. Glad to have 1 more bottle!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2e fois avec ce vin, Je constate qu'il cherche toujorus sa personnalité, tout est ordinaire! Nez discret, en bouche très fruits noirs, poivre blanc, legere amertume. Haute acidité. Pas certain de savoir ou cela s'en va dans les prochaines années
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
If Pegau got wasted and bumped uglies with Opus One this might be the result. What a polarizing wine and for good reason, CT scores ranging 84 to 98. I love it! Why, because wine is Subjective. Monsieur ParKair and Jebby D rating this into the stratosphere 8 years ago leaning almost perfect 100. It may have been so at that time but, today not so certain. I’d like to get their updated reviews in present time. These gentlemen have similar palates leaning high alc and fruit driven so I thought I knew what to expect.
Popped and poured nose was very expressive with old leather, dried blood orange flesh, uber animal dog paw and raw pheasant meat. also Brett. After 30 minutes these tamped down and dark blue stewed fruits emerged along with barnyard. This combination is an off putting olfactory sense for me as sweaty animal with portish fruit doesn’t work. On the palate my very first thought was is this flawed? It seemed to border on oxidized with church wine characteristics. The cork was clean and tight, purchased upon release and stored correctly for the past decade. After a full 60-90 minutes things started to come together.
Blue fruits are polished with a stewed sweetness. Acidity is adequate and powdery tannins are there for support. Interplay of bretty barnyard and stewed fruit is really an odd pairing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so how do you rate this? Imagine you’re on a date with Emily Ratajkowski you go to kiss her and she hasn’t been to a dental hygienist in 5 years. To avoid the funk open this 2 hours before service…Na zdrowie
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A real dense fruit forward CNP. I can see why many tasting reports really praise this wine. But for me, I would not buy again. Tasted like there was a high percentage of syrah, but I believe there is little or no syrah in this wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted double blind but I knew it would be a CDP. A very structured, noble CDP (and hence my guess that it must be a 2010). Everything is well balanced and elegant with first tertiary aromas adding to the complexity. This was my favorite of the 3 young CDPs we had side by side (Combe des Fous 2007, Deus Ex-Machina 2012) as it had more freshness and a firmer structural frame and slightly less ripeness and despite the fact that the other two wines had one or the other more layer. 94/95+ points.
TN: At first a rather muted nose but with time more open and expressive with ripe dark fruits and herbs. The palate is better with very ripe but fresh, pure, cool blue, black and dark red berries, kirsch liquor, garrigue, coffee, leather, tobacco and a layer of chocolate. All aromas very well defined. The highlights is the elegant, fresh and relatively (for a CDP) light structure and the very good balance. Everything is not a 200% as so often in CDPs but at solid 100%. The wine has a medium long finish driven by the earthy and fruit aromas.
Decanting: Slow-ox for roughly 4 hours but it needed time in the glass to unfurl and become softer. I would go with 2 hours in the decanter.
Glass: Zalto Bordeaux
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted blind after a 4h slow ox. Cool, rather dark fruit of bramble berry, cherry liqueur, coffee, a slightly broth-like touch initially but that dissipated after a while. Dense and concentrated, but all in good balance despite some mouth-coating tannin that felt a bit harsh initially. Adding hints of leather too. Nice and juicy. I would recommend to keep cellaring this beast as there are opportunities elsewhere in CDP for the vintage.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium dark red; somewhat muted nose, rounded, bit of pepper, dark strawberry; soft attack, spices, creamy, light tannins, towards heavy but on the elegant side with sufficient acidity; not a blockbuster but well made
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow, just wow! Stop the presses!!! Grapes: 80% Grenache, 10% mourvedre, 5% Vaccarese, 5% unknown. Btw, Vaccarese (Brun Argenté) is extremely rare, only 0.15% of CDP appelation. Color: although no Syrah in this wine it is still quite dark, even at 10 years of age. Nose: extremely complex, all dark fruits (plum, cassis, blueberries, black cherries, ...) , kirsch, coffee, spices, dried herbs, graphite, tobacco, smoke, some cinnamon. Mouth: very concentrated, all darks fruits, perfect acidity, massive tannins, very long finish (45+ sec), no alcohol burn despite 15% ABV. Very muscular wine, *POWER* wine that hits you in the face with a sledge hammer. Very different style than pegau, clos des papes, rayas ... An amazing experience. A wine were you wonder how this can be made of simple fermented grape juice, almost impossible. Not yet ready, hold. Revisit in 2023 but if you have a case - open one. Due to structure and tannins this wine will last until 2040+. One of best CDP's and best wines I ever had - legend in the making - better than the 2001. Flirting with perfection many years from now but today - and already SO good now 98 pt.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
CB Wine Night #16 - CT92 up + 10 reviews + 2013 & Older!: Comparable to the magnificent 2001 recently drank - time will tell if this achieves the same. Tasted black fruits, kirsch, spices, sweet liquorice, some leather notes. Full bodied and dense. Enjoyable today but I would give this more time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Made from 70% Grenache. 10% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault, 5% Syrah, and 5% Vaccarese (rarely used in CdP as it is so scarce). Average 60 yr old vines. 25% new French Oak. Big, bold, dark, and muscular but yet smooth and full of nuances. Blackberry, raspberry, mocha and tobacco, graphite, and dried savory herbs. This wine still has 15 more years of virility in it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This got everyone's attention. Consumed alongside a 2001 Jamet Cote Rotie, 2010 Beaucastel and three other Rhones. A huge wine accessible now but will likely improve over the next decade.
Dark, dense, and round with waves of blackberries, mulling spice, licorice. The finish starts with a massive burst of sweet tannins and seems as though it could last forever if not for cleaning your palette with food or water.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow! It is essential to give this wine some air in a decanter. I will improve dramatically with 2 hours or so of air. Maybe the best CdP I've ever had!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This a wine that is so intense that it seems to transcend the designation "wine": it has Port-like qualities in its density of dark fruit and alcohol volume. Colour is dark-plum transitioning to black. Nose is not overly lifted but gives off a muted dark perfume of cassis, liquorice, smoke and bacon; Taste = totally wonderful mouthfeel, with a depth that does not come from complexity but from the sheer assertiveness of this wine and from the quality of the winemaking. This wine takes no prisoners, and it will not be to everyone's taste. But irrespective of whether or not you find the idiom of the Super CNP attractive, one has to give credit to a wine that has such presence in the glass and such integrity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
It has been 7 years since last tasted this wine. Still dark ruby in color, hardly any changes. Lightly floral nose, fairly clean. Still plenty of tannins, spicy and long. ABV 15% on the label but likely higher, some heat at finish. As my palate changes, this type of wine no longer so attractive to me. Densely packed and very complex. Just wish they would dial back alcohol level.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
(Decanted for two hours.) It has been five years since I last tasted this beautiful wine. It remains impenetrably dark in color with no lightening at the edge. The nose is rich with ripe red fruits, smoke, bacon, forest floor and spice cabinet. In the mouth it is full-bodied with ripe plums and cherries, fennel, coffee, mushroom, and forest floor. Taken together the flavors make the wine appear fresh and autumnal at the same time. The long finish is sweet and savory with formidable still-resolving tannins. I like this wine very, very much. In another few years it might become a legend. 98+++ points.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
J’ai de la difficulté à cerner ce vin. Beaucoup de grosses notes... mais je n’y suis pas. M’est apparu lourd, tout d’un bloc. Manque de fraîcheur et de complexité. J’attendrai les autres bouteilles...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow" #027 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2010 (By JdB): Almost black juice. In the bouquet blackberries and blueberries, licorice, black olives and beautiful herbs and spices. On the palate really complex with a pleasant touch of sweetness, good and fresh acidity, tannin with still a pleasant and firm bite and a good length. Beauty!
This wine just has a lot of youth on it, but after 2 hours in a decanter it finally started showing the power and yet also the finesse that it has. So much black fruit - plum and fig more noticeable on the front. Dense, complex, herbal. The finish is still quite herbal, and was quite impressed with this wine on a whole. Still quite a stiff tannic curtain, although the hours of decanting did soften things up quite a bit. This wine would have been expressing more no doubt if it was just a few years older. Although I CERTAINLY believe the best years of this wine are ahead of it, the expression of this wine was still more on the intricate side.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Weekly tasting group RWP #264: Southern Rhône 12 x 2010 (@ VD): Beautiful and clean bouquet with good ripe and dark berries and some lovely rustic flavors. On the palate dark berries, licorice, juicy acidity, coffee, round tannin and a lot of chocolate. Concentrated and a more modern style than Pégau, but certainly a beauty as well and with a good future. 96 - 97+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Typical Grenache notes dominated by cherries, but plenty of blueberries and a bit of spice underneath make this a delicious wine. Strong but balanced, this stood up well to food, even an acidic tomato sauce. A two-hour decant seemed to help this open up and it got better over a couple of hours of consumption.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The wine features an attractive bouquet of red and dark berries, plum, kirsch, spice, ash, sous-bois, moss, flint, cured meats, iron, and hints of smoke. Deftly-crafted and harmonious, the wine drinks like it smells, adding a saline element. Medium plus acid, medium tannin, with appealing texture imparting a sense of viscosity, pleasantly gripping, quite long. Great overall balance, no angularities, even the 15 percent abv seemed unobtrusive. By no means a flamboyant blockbuster, this seductive wine shows off the appellation's sleek and stylish side. Remarkably approachable and well integrated, it is probably in an early drinking window. Drink by 2025-2028+.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark red towards black; somewhat neutral nose, some licorice and dark berries; lots of flavours and spices, depth, some caramel and dry pronounced tannins in the ending; long aftertaste; probably time will solve/soften the tannins, but already very agreeable
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine was good, but the 2009 was just as good IMO. I actually echo EVERYTHING that Jeff Leve said about this one.....except the score. The bottle took about 20 minutes before it was even touchable, and I am really not sure that this one is really even ready to drink yet. The 2010 is obviously WAY MORE LOCKED UP than the 2009. Still had heat on the finish. I'm going to lock the other 3 away and see where they are in 2018!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Sweet, smoky, licorice, garrigue, coffee and ripe, jammy berry scents are followed by a full bodied, lush, plush, fleshy wine with depth, concentration, length and character. There is a lot to like about this stylish Chateauneuf du Pape!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Promising ripe fruit and lovely grenache/southern Rhone flavours but I found it a bit uninspiring at the moment. Too high expectations perhaps? Lovely wine still.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I do love drinking Chateauneuf way too early but, this one was just a shame. Strikingly deep glass coating black color with muted nose of herbs and mixed berries. Accompanying coffee marinated skirt steak and charcuterie were able to coax out some flavor however, the palate remained mostly closed off. Decanted 8 hours plus. Could have been an off bottle.
See full post at http://maxsatisfactionwine.com/post/57306715853
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Impenetrably dark color. The nose, given time and swirling, is deep, almost exotic: flowers, fruits, herbs, smoke, red meat and soil. The range and depth of flavors in the mouth make the palate sing. Plums, cherries and blackberries are combined with chocolate, coffee and minerals. And the finish is not to be believed. This is good, really good stuff. I have been rating some top 2010 CDPs rather highly because they deserve it. And this wine is no exception: 98 points with room to grow.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
C'était un infanticide, du moins selon Fabrice Delorme.....mais pourtant, aucun regret!!
À l'ouverture, un nez envoûtant de mûres et même un coté floral. L'élevage apparait ensuite, mais rien de dérangeant. C'est la bouche qui m'émerveille: veloutée, avec des tanins fermes mais relativement discrets, cachés par le fruit. C'est un vin dense mais élégant, qui me parait moins puissant que d'autres grandes réussites du domaine, avec une belle fraîcheur, une impression de parfaite maîtrise. La finale est d'un superbe équilibre, avec une finesse de tanins exceptionnelle.
Le seul bémol est qu'il montre quelques arômes de bois et, après deux heures d'aération, il se ferme et se renfrogne. Mais j'ai constaté à maintes reprises que l'élevage de ce vin s'intègre très bien avec le temps, donc pas d'inquiétude.
Cette bouteille confirme tous mes espoirs suite à la dégustation sur fûts en 2011. Fabrice pensait qu'il s'agit de leur plus belle réussite depuis le 2001. Je me demande si cette bombe ne le dépassera pas.
Un grand vin en devenir. 96+ pts
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Day 1: Decanted 2 hours and this didn't budge. It was simply dark and brooding and while very primal at the moment, there are loads of silky fruit underneath that are waiting to be unleased. Saved 1/2 bottle for day two. Poured back in the bottle and recorked.
Day two: Pop and pour. Hello! Finally showed its face to the party. There were endless layers of silky fruit delivered with finesse that I don't usually experience in such fruit forward young Chateauneuf. The finish lasted for well over a minute. Day 2 was where this bottle shined.
This is definitely a wine to buy for aging. I will leave my others alone for at least 5 years, and am hoping they go a long distance, as I'd like to taste this wine in 20 years.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is an extremelly focused Chateaueneuf du Pape exploiting the appelation's entire potential of finesse. Its dark-purple robe is extremelly concentrated, actually forecasting how close this wine is going to be in its mouth. Today, its most impressive component is its nose as it displays a complexity rarily matched by any top notch Chateauneuf. Its first nose has the softness of white honey intermixed with cinnamon, slighty joined by some smashed dark berries. The second nose goes onto some more mineral aspects such as chalk and dried pebbles...almost sand. This nose composition is extremelly effective and could by itself push me in putting back the glass and saying: well...still a perfect Chateauneuf. However, the mouth has quite shot down in its minerality, shortening this wine's final. By far one of the most compelling wine I have tasted from this compelling vintage, Mordorée Reine des Bois 2010 is full of potential and will, when its orchestra of component shows up complete, be a lengendary wine. Score is 97+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Good nose, better than 2009 vintage. Clean, intense, and forward. Notes of dried prune, licorice, dark plum, underbrush and cherry liqueur. Sweet and smooth on entry, great texture. Dark chocolate aftertaste. Label indicated 15% alcohol with no heat. Good acidity level. Full-bodied with great concentration and remarkable balance, exceptional stuff. This is a 'WOW' wine, near perfection. Surprisingly approachable now and much better than 2009 vintage which is a beautiful wine in its own right. 95-98 pts
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The dress is a wow dense opaque grenat profiling a nose full of spices and cinnamon. It's fresh and perfectly built up but it first and foremost is extremely well packed up with notes of berries and dried garrigue - a genuine dive into an provencal open market. There are beautiful tannins that gracefully kick back in the final to build a multidimensional mouthfeel underlining the majesty of this baby. I popped and poor this beauty and it showed wonderfully, hence: yes it's open for business. A perfect wine.
Very dark purple red; powerful brooding nose of dark red fruit; tannic, powerful, burning (15%), lots of silky fruit underneath; simply too overwhelming right now; (too) young and fiery; will be interesting to revisit in 5 and 10 years time, there is certainly sufficient power, fruit and tannins for it to develop
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Powerfull nose of black fruit, mineral, meaty, tobacco, lead pencil, very fresh... in the mouth, huge concentration of ripe black cherries, strawberries, loads of ripe tannins, licorice, very fresh, huge wine with huge potential!!
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Au domaine Une cuve contenant un assemblage qui se retrouvera dans le Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois 2010 montrait la même fraicheur, jusqu’au nez floral et fruité. En bouche, c’est très long, intense, tout en demeurant d’une fraicheur et d’une gourmandise presque insolentes. Fabrice pense que c’est ce qu’ils ont fait de plus grand depuis leur célèbre 2001 (100 pts Parker). Je ne saurais dire, et encore moins le contredire! Mais cet échantillon me semblait en effet approcher la perfection. Un vin d’anthologie qui marquera l’histoire de la propriété....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
4/2/2024 - tedcholl Likes this wine: 93 Points
2 hr decant opened this up nicely. 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 5% Vaccarese, 5% misc and not mentioned. Lots of structure, big and bold but in an elegant way even with 15% abv. blackberry, raspberry, leather, licorice, bramble.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/7/2024 - d'Artagnan wrote: 93 Points
Verticale de la cuvée Reine des Bois du Domaine de la Mordorée (À la maison): Un nez de fruit noir et de fleurs mauves, assez charmeur.
Le vin est rond et mûr, une bouche jeune et énergique, un peu moins charmeur que le suivant, mais d'une bonne profondeur. Pas très expressif au niveau des arômes, un peu terne. Encore jeune, à revoir dans quelques années.
Surprise au dévoilement. Tous ont considéré qu’il était meilleur une heure plus tard. Je croirais à son potentiel, à revoir dans 3 ans. 91-93+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2023 - Bjweiss Likes this wine: 89 Points
Wanted to like this more, but it really aged in a strange way. There are some nice things here for sure, but also some rotting Cherry notes that bother me a lot. The structure is still rather intense, suggesting it’ll go many many more years. So there’s that. Alcohol doesn’t show despite the 15% number.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2023 - Villon wrote: 94 Points
Le fruit est encore primaire, les tannins fondus, riche mais élégant, attendre encore 5 ans pour davantage de complexité.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/8/2023 - 67Riche Does not like this wine: 80 Points
PNP. Expressive nose of black fruits and West Indian spices. Unfortunately, the heat/alcohol on this wine rendered it undrinkable. This wine would turn most anyone off of CdP. Anyone want my other bottle?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/27/2023 - Frijole wrote:
inky black burgundy, cloudy, ruby hue
Nose: blackberry, cassis, licorice, leather, coffee, graphite, toasted spice, violets, minerals, smoke, oak
Pal: blackberry, cassis, licorice, leather, tar, coffee, touch graphite, chocolate, toasted spice, almond, caramel, minerals, fine tannins, smoke, oak
Feel: full, savory, touch astringent, touch acidic
Finish: medium, long
T9 (could be a 10)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/11/2023 - Apollo5710 wrote: 93 Points
Stored in a climate controlled cellar since purchase upon release. Initially the subdued nose reveals a potent nose of cocoa, blueberry, and blackberry, though mired by clear notes of prune and alcoholic presence. Based on this bottle, 3-4 hour decant is necessary to get all of what this wine can deliver. The nose remained subdued the entire evening, showcasing the same aromatic profile though without as much of the prune/alcohol. On the palate, however, this is when the wine really came alive, building weight and depth to a full-bodied, super rich, lush, and expansive mid-palate featuring dark fruits, chocolate, a hint of game, and with time, anise and spice. The score reflects the wine's performance after 3-4 hours of decanting. The prune/alcoholic presence was off-putting though and prevented what otherwise would've been a higher score. Good, but not to the level of the '09 we had a couple years ago.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/9/2023 - BobMcK Likes this wine:
Lovely smoky earth black fruit nose. Bi t brooding fruit and silky persistant tannins; Long, elegant. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2023 - tedcholl Likes this wine: 93 Points
One of my favorite CdP producers and CdP. Last had this vintage 3 years ago and was fortunate to find 2 more bottles. Per the label this is 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Vaccarese, and 5% misc. Powerful and well structured with a 15% abv. Lots of interesting palate complexity. cherry leather blackberry licorice tobacco raspberry. Glad to have 1 more bottle!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/21/2023 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 3 hours, kirsch, black fruits, rich but balanced & agreeable tannins, make sure you drink this cooler at 13-14 degrees
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2023 - paul canet wrote: 89 Points
2e fois avec ce vin, Je constate qu'il cherche toujorus sa personnalité, tout est ordinaire! Nez discret, en bouche très fruits noirs, poivre blanc, legere amertume. Haute acidité. Pas certain de savoir ou cela s'en va dans les prochaines années
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/24/2022 - Oechsle wrote: 92 Points
If Pegau got wasted and bumped uglies with Opus One this might be the result. What a polarizing wine and for good reason, CT scores ranging 84 to 98. I love it! Why, because wine is Subjective. Monsieur ParKair and Jebby D rating this into the stratosphere 8 years ago leaning almost perfect 100. It may have been so at that time but, today not so certain. I’d like to get their updated reviews in present time. These gentlemen have similar palates leaning high alc and fruit driven so I thought I knew what to expect.
Popped and poured nose was very expressive with old leather, dried blood orange flesh, uber animal dog paw and raw pheasant meat. also Brett. After 30 minutes these tamped down and dark blue stewed fruits emerged along with barnyard. This combination is an off putting olfactory sense for me as sweaty animal with portish fruit doesn’t work.
On the palate my very first thought was is this flawed? It seemed to border on oxidized with church wine characteristics. The cork was clean and tight, purchased upon release and stored correctly for the past decade. After a full 60-90 minutes things started to come together.
Blue fruits are polished with a stewed sweetness. Acidity is adequate and powdery tannins are there for support. Interplay of bretty barnyard and stewed fruit is really an odd pairing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so how do you rate this? Imagine you’re on a date with Emily Ratajkowski you go to kiss her and she hasn’t been to a dental hygienist in 5 years. To avoid the funk open this 2 hours before service…Na zdrowie
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/31/2022 - carl.cornaglia@gmai.com wrote: 90 Points
A real dense fruit forward CNP. I can see why many tasting reports really praise this wine. But for me, I would not buy again. Tasted like there was a high percentage of syrah, but I believe there is little or no syrah in this wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/23/2021 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Tasted double blind but I knew it would be a CDP. A very structured, noble CDP (and hence my guess that it must be a 2010). Everything is well balanced and elegant with first tertiary aromas adding to the complexity. This was my favorite of the 3 young CDPs we had side by side (Combe des Fous 2007, Deus Ex-Machina 2012) as it had more freshness and a firmer structural frame and slightly less ripeness and despite the fact that the other two wines had one or the other more layer. 94/95+ points.
TN: At first a rather muted nose but with time more open and expressive with ripe dark fruits and herbs. The palate is better with very ripe but fresh, pure, cool blue, black and dark red berries, kirsch liquor, garrigue, coffee, leather, tobacco and a layer of chocolate. All aromas very well defined. The highlights is the elegant, fresh and relatively (for a CDP) light structure and the very good balance. Everything is not a 200% as so often in CDPs but at solid 100%. The wine has a medium long finish driven by the earthy and fruit aromas.
Decanting: Slow-ox for roughly 4 hours but it needed time in the glass to unfurl and become softer. I would go with 2 hours in the decanter.
Glass: Zalto Bordeaux
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/17/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points
Tasted blind after a 4h slow ox. Cool, rather dark fruit of bramble berry, cherry liqueur, coffee, a slightly broth-like touch initially but that dissipated after a while. Dense and concentrated, but all in good balance despite some mouth-coating tannin that felt a bit harsh initially. Adding hints of leather too. Nice and juicy. I would recommend to keep cellaring this beast as there are opportunities elsewhere in CDP for the vintage.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/5/2021 - Miceri Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium dark red; somewhat muted nose, rounded, bit of pepper, dark strawberry; soft attack, spices, creamy, light tannins, towards heavy but on the elegant side with sufficient acidity; not a blockbuster but well made
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2020 - aknot13 wrote: 98 Points
Wow, just wow! Stop the presses!!! Grapes: 80% Grenache, 10% mourvedre, 5% Vaccarese, 5% unknown. Btw, Vaccarese (Brun Argenté) is extremely rare, only 0.15% of CDP appelation. Color: although no Syrah in this wine it is still quite dark, even at 10 years of age. Nose: extremely complex, all dark fruits (plum, cassis, blueberries, black cherries, ...) , kirsch, coffee, spices, dried herbs, graphite, tobacco, smoke, some cinnamon. Mouth: very concentrated, all darks fruits, perfect acidity, massive tannins, very long finish (45+ sec), no alcohol burn despite 15% ABV. Very muscular wine, *POWER* wine that hits you in the face with a sledge hammer. Very different style than pegau, clos des papes, rayas ... An amazing experience. A wine were you wonder how this can be made of simple fermented grape juice, almost impossible. Not yet ready, hold. Revisit in 2023 but if you have a case - open one. Due to structure and tannins this wine will last until 2040+. One of best CDP's and best wines I ever had - legend in the making - better than the 2001. Flirting with perfection many years from now but today - and already SO good now 98 pt.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/27/2020 - mp44 wrote: 92 Points
dark, dense, full-bodied - didn't wow me initially the way it has for others - but first of the case and lots of time yet...
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/18/2020 - StefanV Likes this wine: 97 Points
Already very accessible. Very well structured. Dark fruit. Will definitely improve over the next years. Long live ahead
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/12/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
CB Wine Night #16 - CT92 up + 10 reviews + 2013 & Older!: Comparable to the magnificent 2001 recently drank - time will tell if this achieves the same. Tasted black fruits, kirsch, spices, sweet liquorice, some leather notes. Full bodied and dense. Enjoyable today but I would give this more time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/21/2020 - tedcholl Likes this wine: 93 Points
Made from 70% Grenache. 10% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault, 5% Syrah, and 5% Vaccarese (rarely used in CdP as it is so scarce). Average 60 yr old vines. 25% new French Oak. Big, bold, dark, and muscular but yet smooth and full of nuances. Blackberry, raspberry, mocha and tobacco, graphite, and dried savory herbs. This wine still has 15 more years of virility in it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/22/2020 - flah00 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Black olives, some iron, blackberry on the nose
Silky tannins, excellent balance
Palette floated between mint, tobacco, and dark chocolate
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2020 - Vinogan(s) Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Mushroomy, pure brandy. I don't understand the appeal of this type of wine (so often found in chateauneuf...)
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/2/2020 - Kris G Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Very concentrated, intense black fruits, the alcohol is showing and the wood presents itself in an unpleasant bitter experience.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2019 - overhill wrote: 95 Points
This got everyone's attention. Consumed alongside a 2001 Jamet Cote Rotie, 2010 Beaucastel and three other Rhones. A huge wine accessible now but will likely improve over the next decade.
Dark, dense, and round with waves of blackberries, mulling spice, licorice. The finish starts with a massive burst of sweet tannins and seems as though it could last forever if not for cleaning your palette with food or water.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/21/2019 - RichD2 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wow! It is essential to give this wine some air in a decanter. I will improve dramatically with 2 hours or so of air. Maybe the best CdP I've ever had!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/18/2019 - vide Likes this wine: 94 Points
This a wine that is so intense that it seems to transcend the designation "wine": it has Port-like qualities in its density of dark fruit and alcohol volume. Colour is dark-plum transitioning to black. Nose is not overly lifted but gives off a muted dark perfume of cassis, liquorice, smoke and bacon; Taste = totally wonderful mouthfeel, with a depth that does not come from complexity but from the sheer assertiveness of this wine and from the quality of the winemaking.
This wine takes no prisoners, and it will not be to everyone's taste. But irrespective of whether or not you find the idiom of the Super CNP attractive, one has to give credit to a wine that has such presence in the glass and such integrity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/1/2019 - pclin wrote: 90 Points
It has been 7 years since last tasted this wine. Still dark ruby in color, hardly any changes. Lightly floral nose, fairly clean. Still plenty of tannins, spicy and long. ABV 15% on the label but likely higher, some heat at finish. As my palate changes, this type of wine no longer so attractive to me. Densely packed and very complex. Just wish they would dial back alcohol level.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/25/2019 - lirvingham wrote: 97 Points
Truly wonderful! My idea of a perfect CndP. Surprisingly no Syrah, but great wine from a great vintage.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/15/2018 - BobMcK wrote:
Lovely bottle: big muscular and tannic. Years of life left.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/23/2018 - Wine Fool Likes this wine: 98 Points
(Decanted for two hours.) It has been five years since I last tasted this beautiful wine. It remains impenetrably dark in color with no lightening at the edge. The nose is rich with ripe red fruits, smoke, bacon, forest floor and spice cabinet. In the mouth it is full-bodied with ripe plums and cherries, fennel, coffee, mushroom, and forest floor. Taken together the flavors make the wine appear fresh and autumnal at the same time. The long finish is sweet and savory with formidable still-resolving tannins. I like this wine very, very much. In another few years it might become a legend. 98+++ points.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/24/2018 - fontaine wrote: 89 Points
J’ai de la difficulté à cerner ce vin. Beaucoup de grosses notes... mais je n’y suis pas. M’est apparu lourd, tout d’un bloc. Manque de fraîcheur et de complexité. J’attendrai les autres bouteilles...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/15/2018 - peterk Likes this wine:
Black as night, big, mouth-filling, beautiful wine. A long life ahead of this beast, but with a good decant a wonderful wine right now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/20/2018 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow" #027 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2010 (By JdB): Almost black juice. In the bouquet blackberries and blueberries, licorice, black olives and beautiful herbs and spices. On the palate really complex with a pleasant touch of sweetness, good and fresh acidity, tannin with still a pleasant and firm bite and a good length. Beauty!
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
2/18/2018 - Philippe_C wrote: 94 Points
Completely black wine, nose of cappucino, very dark cherries, hint of vanilla.... A wall of tannin, still very primary, requires at least 5 more years
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/29/2017 - mflesh wrote:
This wine just has a lot of youth on it, but after 2 hours in a decanter it finally started showing the power and yet also the finesse that it has. So much black fruit - plum and fig more noticeable on the front. Dense, complex, herbal. The finish is still quite herbal, and was quite impressed with this wine on a whole. Still quite a stiff tannic curtain, although the hours of decanting did soften things up quite a bit. This wine would have been expressing more no doubt if it was just a few years older. Although I CERTAINLY believe the best years of this wine are ahead of it, the expression of this wine was still more on the intricate side.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/25/2017 - Zweder wrote: 97 Points
Weekly tasting group RWP #264: Southern Rhône 12 x 2010 (@ VD): Beautiful and clean bouquet with good ripe and dark berries and some lovely rustic flavors. On the palate dark berries, licorice, juicy acidity, coffee, round tannin and a lot of chocolate. Concentrated and a more modern style than Pégau, but certainly a beauty as well and with a good future. 96 - 97+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/23/2017 - Honeyburst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Needed a lot of time and air but then opened up beautifully. Clearly too early to drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2017 - Crunge Likes this wine: 94 Points
Typical Grenache notes dominated by cherries, but plenty of blueberries and a bit of spice underneath make this a delicious wine. Strong but balanced, this stood up well to food, even an acidic tomato sauce. A two-hour decant seemed to help this open up and it got better over a couple of hours of consumption.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/19/2016 - Rubinstein wrote: 96 Points
Absolutely delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2016 - jhieb Likes this wine: 95 Points
One of my favorite cndp's of all time. Huge fruit flavor a with solid, grippy tannin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/25/2015 - Motz wrote: 94 Points
The wine features an attractive bouquet of red and dark berries, plum, kirsch, spice, ash, sous-bois, moss, flint, cured meats, iron, and hints of smoke. Deftly-crafted and harmonious, the wine drinks like it smells, adding a saline element. Medium plus acid, medium tannin, with appealing texture imparting a sense of viscosity, pleasantly gripping, quite long. Great overall balance, no angularities, even the 15 percent abv seemed unobtrusive. By no means a flamboyant blockbuster, this seductive wine shows off the appellation's sleek and stylish side. Remarkably approachable and well integrated, it is probably in an early drinking window. Drink by 2025-2028+.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/29/2014 - Miceri Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark red towards black; somewhat neutral nose, some licorice and dark berries; lots of flavours and spices, depth, some caramel and dry pronounced tannins in the ending; long aftertaste; probably time will solve/soften the tannins, but already very agreeable
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2014 - mflesh wrote:
This wine was good, but the 2009 was just as good IMO. I actually echo EVERYTHING that Jeff Leve said about this one.....except the score. The bottle took about 20 minutes before it was even touchable, and I am really not sure that this one is really even ready to drink yet. The 2010 is obviously WAY MORE LOCKED UP than the 2009. Still had heat on the finish. I'm going to lock the other 3 away and see where they are in 2018!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/21/2014 - Opusone99 wrote: 92 Points
Sans prise de notes. 92-93.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Sweet, smoky, licorice, garrigue, coffee and ripe, jammy berry scents are followed by a full bodied, lush, plush, fleshy wine with depth, concentration, length and character. There is a lot to like about this stylish Chateauneuf du Pape!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/29/2013 - SineQuaNon Likes this wine: 92 Points
Promising ripe fruit and lovely grenache/southern Rhone flavours but I found it a bit uninspiring at the moment. Too high expectations perhaps? Lovely wine still.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/25/2013 - Rubinstein wrote: 95 Points
Very promising. Not quite open for business, but will give lots of pleasure with time. 95+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2013 - davidthi wrote: 93 Points
nez puissant couleur sombre, tanin très présent mais souple pour l'age, veillira sans problème de nombreuses années
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/3/2013 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 Points
I do love drinking Chateauneuf way too early but, this one was just a shame. Strikingly deep glass coating black color with muted nose of herbs and mixed berries. Accompanying coffee marinated skirt steak and charcuterie were able to coax out some flavor however, the palate remained mostly closed off. Decanted 8 hours plus. Could have been an off bottle.
See full post at
http://maxsatisfactionwine.com/post/57306715853
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/13/2013 - Wine Fool Likes this wine: 98 Points
Impenetrably dark color. The nose, given time and swirling, is deep, almost exotic: flowers, fruits, herbs, smoke, red meat and soil. The range and depth of flavors in the mouth make the palate sing. Plums, cherries and blackberries are combined with chocolate, coffee and minerals. And the finish is not to be believed. This is good, really good stuff. I have been rating some top 2010 CDPs rather highly because they deserve it. And this wine is no exception: 98 points with room to grow.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/26/2013 - d'Artagnan wrote: 96 Points
C'était un infanticide, du moins selon Fabrice Delorme.....mais pourtant, aucun regret!!
À l'ouverture, un nez envoûtant de mûres et même un coté floral. L'élevage apparait ensuite, mais rien de dérangeant.
C'est la bouche qui m'émerveille: veloutée, avec des tanins fermes mais relativement discrets, cachés par le fruit. C'est un vin dense mais élégant, qui me parait moins puissant que d'autres grandes réussites du domaine, avec une belle fraîcheur, une impression de parfaite maîtrise. La finale est d'un superbe équilibre, avec une finesse de tanins exceptionnelle.
Le seul bémol est qu'il montre quelques arômes de bois et, après deux heures d'aération, il se ferme et se renfrogne. Mais j'ai constaté à maintes reprises que l'élevage de ce vin s'intègre très bien avec le temps, donc pas d'inquiétude.
Cette bouteille confirme tous mes espoirs suite à la dégustation sur fûts en 2011. Fabrice pensait qu'il s'agit de leur plus belle réussite depuis le 2001. Je me demande si cette bombe ne le dépassera pas.
Un grand vin en devenir. 96+ pts
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2013 - gigmoney Likes this wine: 95 Points
Similar notes to those below.
Day 1: Decanted 2 hours and this didn't budge. It was simply dark and brooding and while very primal at the moment, there are loads of silky fruit underneath that are waiting to be unleased. Saved 1/2 bottle for day two. Poured back in the bottle and recorked.
Day two: Pop and pour. Hello! Finally showed its face to the party. There were endless layers of silky fruit delivered with finesse that I don't usually experience in such fruit forward young Chateauneuf. The finish lasted for well over a minute. Day 2 was where this bottle shined.
This is definitely a wine to buy for aging. I will leave my others alone for at least 5 years, and am hoping they go a long distance, as I'd like to taste this wine in 20 years.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/18/2013 - cr84 Likes this wine: 97 Points
This is an extremelly focused Chateaueneuf du Pape exploiting the appelation's entire potential of finesse. Its dark-purple robe is extremelly concentrated, actually forecasting how close this wine is going to be in its mouth. Today, its most impressive component is its nose as it displays a complexity rarily matched by any top notch Chateauneuf. Its first nose has the softness of white honey intermixed with cinnamon, slighty joined by some smashed dark berries. The second nose goes onto some more mineral aspects such as chalk and dried pebbles...almost sand. This nose composition is extremelly effective and could by itself push me in putting back the glass and saying: well...still a perfect Chateauneuf. However, the mouth has quite shot down in its minerality, shortening this wine's final.
By far one of the most compelling wine I have tasted from this compelling vintage, Mordorée Reine des Bois 2010 is full of potential and will, when its orchestra of component shows up complete, be a lengendary wine. Score is 97+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2012 - pclin wrote: 94 Points
Good nose, better than 2009 vintage. Clean, intense, and forward. Notes of dried prune, licorice, dark plum, underbrush and cherry liqueur. Sweet and smooth on entry, great texture. Dark chocolate aftertaste. Label indicated 15% alcohol with no heat. Good acidity level. Full-bodied with great concentration and remarkable balance, exceptional stuff. This is a 'WOW' wine, near perfection. Surprisingly approachable now and much better than 2009 vintage which is a beautiful wine in its own right. 95-98 pts
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/6/2012 - cr84 wrote: 100 Points
The dress is a wow dense opaque grenat profiling a nose full of spices and cinnamon. It's fresh and perfectly built up but it first and foremost is extremely well packed up with notes of berries and dried garrigue - a genuine dive into an provencal open market. There are beautiful tannins that gracefully kick back in the final to build a multidimensional mouthfeel underlining the majesty of this baby. I popped and poor this beauty and it showed wonderfully, hence: yes it's open for business. A perfect wine.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
7/8/2012 - Miceri wrote: 92 Points
Very dark purple red; powerful brooding nose of dark red fruit; tannic, powerful, burning (15%), lots of silky fruit underneath; simply too overwhelming right now; (too) young and fiery; will be interesting to revisit in 5 and 10 years time, there is certainly sufficient power, fruit and tannins for it to develop
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/4/2012 - Philippe_C wrote: 97 Points
Powerfull nose of black fruit, mineral, meaty, tobacco, lead pencil, very fresh... in the mouth, huge concentration of ripe black cherries, strawberries, loads of ripe tannins, licorice, very fresh, huge wine with huge potential!!
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/26/2011 - d'Artagnan wrote:
Au domaine
Une cuve contenant un assemblage qui se retrouvera dans le Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois 2010 montrait la même fraicheur, jusqu’au nez floral et fruité. En bouche, c’est très long, intense, tout en demeurant d’une fraicheur et d’une gourmandise presque insolentes. Fabrice pense que c’est ce qu’ils ont fait de plus grand depuis leur célèbre 2001 (100 pts Parker). Je ne saurais dire, et encore moins le contredire! Mais cet échantillon me semblait en effet approcher la perfection. Un vin d’anthologie qui marquera l’histoire de la propriété....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment