Drank from a magnum. Decanted two hours prior to drinking. Brick red edges. Nose of black cherry, leather, meat and earth. Very complex wine with new flavor notes arriving over the hour of drinking. Tannins soft, but bracing structure of acid kept the wine lively. Finish long, but a bit bitter. Finish started to fade about 3 hours after opening.
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Absolutely wow! Cork came out in two pieces, opened an hour before dinner. Just a beautiful spicy CDP. Along with the fruit, some brett, but only as a spice. Just a lovely aged Vieux Telegraph. Back in the day, the monthly flyer would arrive, call KL, order a case, they’d ship, Send an invoice, the wine would arrive before the mail, and I’d send a check. Those were the days. Really nice wine.
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Good fill, spinning capsule, good cork. Steadily improved over the course of a couple of hours, but was never very good. Ripe, plummy/raisiny fruit aromas, but not a lot of fruit concentration left; the fruit runs out and the alcohol is sticking out on the back end. There's some nice earthiness in the mouth, but this hasn't added much complexity to compensate for the fading fruit. This is several years past its prime at least.
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Decanted for an hour, removed sediment, and poured back in bottle to take out. A tired bottle i'm afraid. All dried up fruit, leather, and plum skin sours. Really tried coaxing some life out, but it never really showed anything worthy. Nothing at all flawed...just a shell of what was probably a great wine 10 or so years earlier. I did manage some cherry wood spice, and a little tobacco at times...but faded back to dull leather and tart plum quickly. No black pepper or any grenache red licorice...really disappointing.
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Wow, another fine showing. The corkscrew just pushed the cork, and it dropped right into the bottle. Decanted and the wine was wonderful, in a great place. Yum, with grilled lamb.
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I think some people don't get the ethereal nature of good old wine. Yes, it's not what it was or might have been. I feel so privileged to be able to enjoy wine like this. I learnt about wine mostly from my father; we would have lunch together and drink claret, 1970 1966 and 1961 of the same chateau. As you tasted the older wines, each one tasted younger than the old before. But I remember clearly how the 1966s were, Palmer and Ducru especially, and they were better, but had the same delicacy of this 89 Telegraphe. I was very lucky. Palmer 1961 was magnificent. I still have one left, and a few other 61s. Takes courage and the right moment to open one. Ducru 66 a few months ago was magical. It still had a core of elegance and I wonder if wine made now at the same level will age in the same way, or last as long.
Aged well, when I took the capsule off, was cleaning the cork, and it slipped into the bottle. Hmm, so I decanted the bottle, and the wine gained weight and was quite good. There was no sign that the bottle had leaked, on it’s side for the 29 years since shipped from KL. Nice!
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My last half bottle, thankfully still alive. Decanted for an hour, and the node opened up nicely. Definitely fully mature. A little smoky with some red and black fruit.
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Opened about 2 hours prior to diner and found this seemingly well past its peak. The nose seemed tired and the palate almost fruitless. I decanted to see if that would help and nothing changed appreciably over an hour so I bailed and opened a 98 for dinner instead. In the meantime, I threw this back in the blt as a science experiment to try later. Well by the time we had the 98 rolling with dinner this had somehow righted its ship and was worth drinking. Its still a bit thin but it had definitely fleshed out enough to enjoy its geriatric stage. The nose cleaned up and palate was incredibly smooth and delicious in albeit faded fruit way. Some nice earthiness and remnants of underbrush made this fun. I should have hung longer with this btl on the front end. Not worth the $120 I paid for it about a year ago though. This would be worth buying if you can get for sub $50 at auction perhaps.
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Nez fruits secs, cuir, un peu de sous-bois. Bouche évoluée qui m’a fait changer de région deux fois. Austère, évolué, intéressant mais ça manque de fruit et de charme. Au dévoilement l’âge explique bien des choses. 87
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Typically, 65% Grenache, 15-20% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 3% Clairette, 2% Cinsault & Counoise, ave age of all vines ≈38 yrs when this was made; Unfiltered & unfined
N: Ripe, prunish, but ATTRACTIVE! Complex & surprisingly intense!
P: LM body; Nice frt met by surprising astringency (but without loss of the frt) which DOES quite recede by the LONG, tangy/swt, very, VERY slightly bitter finish. For now, but MIGHT still hold another 5 yrs? My EXC-. 91-94 pts (7x) RJonWine, 18/20 winedoctor.com, & 4*(*)/5 drinkrhone.com.
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Cork in terrific shape, fill to 1/2 -3/4 inch below cork so provenance was good. Some orange on the rim as the wine is 28 years young and this bruiser still has some big unresolved tannins which did soften overnight. Still one can taste the fruit is there. There was a little bit of Rhone funk when first opened but quickly disappeared and left some saddle leather and herbs provence with a classic big Grenache finish of raspberry and licorice. Wife claims to taste dark fruit like blueberries. A very good wine but still evolving.
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Mature black cherry, leather, meat, earth. Beautiful bouquet, nice finish. Had a little bitterness which resolved within 40 minutes following decanting. No bricking and bright deep red color. Seems like it has some years left, perhaps with further maturing. But, if it merely levels off at this stage for a few years, it will make me very happy.
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Mostly Rieslings: What a beauty, this CdP is in a perfect spot. The nose shows smoke, incense, dried violets, fennel and earth over top mixed berries. On the palate, fine tannins and balanced acid coalesce around the black cherry and currant fruit. The flavors of dusty earth, dried flowers, smoke meat, olive brine and minerals are deep, complex and inspiring. Such a long finish full of savory spices.
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Dinner with the grapemates: Meaty nose with some leather, old cedar, raspberry and graphite. The palate is medium weighted and quite restrained with good balance between savoury and fruit elements. Good layered elements that keep the interest level up. This bottle was probably near to its peak.
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Beautiful nose of classic Rhone earthiness and mature fruits. On the palate slightly stewed fruits moving into minerals, blood and iron/rust with some leather. The weight was medium and the finish initially short but came back around with some floral mixed with blood.
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Fill was in the neck with significant sediment; cork was a bit problematic and soft but no leakage. This had been cellared since the early 90s. Decanted. Light red with perhaps slight browning at the edge. Classic V-T nose of garrigue, spices, etc. Medium weight but smooth on the palate with just a hint of acidity on the finish that speaks to the wine being 23 years old. Lovely with pasta with a rich sauce; over time the finish begins to crack up a bit, so drink up. Interesting contrast to a bunch of very rich fruity 09 CdPs tasted last week.
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Montréal Passion Vin Tiré d’un impressionnant format “Salmanazare”, de 9 litres!! Si ce format assure sans doute une excellente conservation, il comporte aussi des risques! Imaginez le désarroi : un des deux Salmanazars s’est avéré bouchonné! Nous n’avons donc eu droit qu’à un demi-verre. C’est celui qui a la plus belle texture en bouche du groupe, mais je ne l’ai pas trouvé très charmeur, avec ses notes de figues et de fruits secs, accompagnées d’un peu de kirsch. Plutôt austère, un vin plus cérébral que sensuel. Une belle expérience, mais pas un grand vin. 90 pts
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Wow, what a great 22 year old CdP! The robe was a dark brick red color that faded to orange near the rim. I was taken by surprise by the sweet red fruits on the palate. I wasn't anticipating sweet fruit in a bottle of this age; there was definitely a youthful spirit to this wine. The red fruit was joined by rubber tire that morphed into leather; some spice was noted as well. The body was silky smooth. Left a couple of glasses for day 2, and the palate featured plum, leather and spice with a slight astringency on the finish. Overall, this was quite nice; I can see this wine gracefully reaching age 30.
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My first bottle of a case delivered yesterday. Decanted and then poured. Beautiful nose, with rich cherries,and earthy garrigue and spicy pepper notes. . Nice balance on the palate. Rich and concentrated , but ever so elegant and beautifully poised with lovely acidity and silky tannins. Finish was every bit as clean and round as the rest of the wine. Probably at or close to its peak but should last long enough for me to finish the case!! Excellent and good value I think, even though it is now over £100 a bottle.
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A terrific bottle. Lots of sweet high-toned fruit coming out, a bit of leather, and coming out of its dumb & awkward phase. This wine has been backward (compared to 1990, of course) for a long, long time so I didn't drink any of them. It's time to start, but it's going to last a long time to come. Really nice.
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Wednesday Night Blind - February 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): Sadly, something was "off" with this bottle. It wasn't corked, wasn't cooked, but was thin, shrill and void of pleasure. Truly a shame as this would have been a real treat, I've had this wine in the past and it's been terrific.
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Medium garnet color with layered bleeding out to the rim. A highly pleasurable bouquet with big garrigue, soft vanilla and a hint of bacon. The palate is an explosion of huge berry fruit and slate. A one-two punch type minerally finish with a late meaty accent. A complex and powerful wine that lacks only grace. At or near peak.
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Châteauneuf-du-Pape tasting: The nose had brett and medicinal red fruit aromas.. The palate had dry mineral, red fruit and leathery flavors. I don't drink older CdP very often, and this just isn't my preferred flavor profile. Several others in the group really enjoyed it.
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Softer, redder fruit than the 90 with a much cleaner nose. Noticeably older/more mature than the 90 and purer, more classic, less wild/rustic. Still, slightly dry finish.
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At first , plums , spice and bitter chocolate but firm leathery tannins still there . After an hour a quite glorious complex bottle - the plums , cinnamon and chocolate have subdued the tannins and there is a wonderful vanilla but also garriguey warmth to the wine .
This is what Chateauneuf should taste like not the overly sweet confected alcoholic wines now in vogue.
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Belated Peking Duck House notes. Mostly Rhone, some Burgs, Champagne & California. (Peking Duck House- Midtown): This is a classic, masculine, lean and austere CDP. I personally prefer their style post 1993, which while remaining classic in style, is more fruit forward and less tannic and herbal, though this bottle is showing nicely. It's compact and muscular in the mouth with firm tannins and good acid levels for a CDP. Black fruit with plenty of garrigue, iodine and mineral. Best with some food and I'm not sure the fruit will outlast the structure here. A-/B+.
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Outstanding VT. This is totally a classic CdP in a somewhat straight, austere style. Nose showed a little fruit (dark berry) with a lot of spice and herbs along with some leather and earthy notes. Medium body, very focused on the palate, it is a real pleasure to drink. Definitely a masculine wine.
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Sinewy and masculine. Started off funky, but quickly evoloved into a powerful, muscular CDP, with a polished mouthfeel and minerally undertones. Plenty of dark spicy fruit. Probably at or near its peak.
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Wonderful, rich and alive. Decanted about one hour ahead, but the first pour still showed tannins. It softened very quickly in the glass to reveal dark fruits, leather, spice, and cocoa. All in balance. Only regret is that I don't have more.
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Vieux Telegraph at Chez Moi: No notes taken. My least favorite of the flight. This came across as stern. Good flavor profile, but compact on the palate with darker fruit than the other wines tasted.
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Tasting Group Dinner - Vieux Telegraphe (Dave's House): Fresh dark cherries on the nose. Much more "masculine" than the '82 and '86 VT. Thick, assertive, dark, powerful, and sweet. The palate shows lblack cherries, minerals, leather, and soy, with a whiff of VA that mainly stays in the backgound. Approachable but still young. Excellent.
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Decanted 1 hour. Second bottle of two. More vibrant ruby color than the other bottle, which translated to a bit more fruit on the nose. Currant, cherry, pepper, and mineral notes. More complex mid-palate and again, spice notes into medium tannins on the finish. A sip of this wine at the end of the night (roughly 5 hour decant) showed it was still evolving and drinking well. With good provenance, this will continue to drink well for another year or two, consider a 2-3 hour decant now. With OK to no knowledge of provenance, open now, decant, and watch it change over the course of a few hours. foodandwineblog.com
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Medium-ruby color, a bit dusty. Dark fruits, barnyard, eucalyptus notes on the nose. Less fruit on the palate but some currant and cherry left, good spice notes rolled into the soft tannins. Opened side by site with another 1989 which showed a bit better. foodandwineblog.com
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Spectacular bottle of wine. Had with a smoked rib roast with garlic and black pepper rub and it was PERFECT. If you have any drink it now. I wish I had more!
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Vieux Telegraphe Vertical Dinner (Rubicon, San Francisco): I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with this bottle. Good color but very musty nose which cleared transiently to reveal good fruit underneath, but the funk returned soon thereafter. Some thought TCA, others not.
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Drinking perfectly right now, this is a fine example of perfectly aged Chateauneuf du Pape. Lovely deep cherryish color without much in the way of bricking on the edge, the overall impression is one of seamless complexity. The flavors are perfectly integrated with red fruits, wood, and herbal notes intermarried. This went perfectly with a bean stew. My wife who normally doesn't enjoy red wine loved it as did I. Probably at its peak, but can hold for awhile (1-2 years). From Larry's passive cellar, purchased on release.
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Sunday, February 19, 2006 cooked (that damn Brannock again tried to foist off his poorly stored swill on the rest of us. Don’’t trust anything stored before he built his cellar - about 2002.) See notes on Rednecks & Red Rhones 06
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From Magnum. Medium-dark Ruby with no bricking, nose at first restrained but opened up. Slight barnyard blows off. Black cherry, currant, anise and minerals. Seems quite youthful for an 89. Nice CNDP, but not outstanding. Still always nice to have an older bottle purchased at auction while waiting for wines purchased at release to develop.
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With K and Miranda at lunch at Table 29 in Napa. Excellent as always. Fine color, rich, complex nose, and perfectly textured and unctuous wine with lots of flavor. 89/100.
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With K and Miranda at home at dinner (carbonara). Very dark ruby. Coats the glass. Quite viscous. Rich red fruits, especially raspberry. Sleek and fine. On the palate, peppery and tannic. Excellent potential but hard now. 5-11-15-7: 88/100.
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At Singer & Foy survey of new Rhones. Very nice ruby color. Beautiful. The nose is a knockout. Just beautiful fruit. Complex, peppery, even flowery. On the palate, big with layers of fruit and flavors. Incredible. Rich and wonderful. I LOVE it. 5-12-18-8: 93/100.
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4/27/2024 - Christoffer Karlsson Likes this wine: 90 Points
A bit past it’s peak. But still very deep and nice flavours
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4/1/2024 - jjones Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank from a magnum. Decanted two hours prior to drinking. Brick red edges. Nose of black cherry, leather, meat and earth. Very complex wine with new flavor notes arriving over the hour of drinking. Tannins soft, but bracing structure of acid kept the wine lively. Finish long, but a bit bitter. Finish started to fade about 3 hours after opening.
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7/31/2023 - ttholst wrote: 89 Points
Dekantert. Moden og på hell. Mørkt frukt, lakris, sopp, gule krydder.
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6/15/2023 - TomEndresplass Likes this wine: 92 Points
2hours decant. Amazing wine. Paired with deer and red wine sauce. Big, bold, round, fruity and with multiple layers. Just wow!
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1/8/2023 - Brain Capers Likes this wine:
Absolutely wow! Cork came out in two pieces, opened an hour before dinner. Just a beautiful spicy CDP. Along with the fruit, some brett, but only as a spice. Just a lovely aged Vieux Telegraph. Back in the day, the monthly flyer would arrive, call KL, order a case, they’d ship, Send an invoice, the wine would arrive before the mail, and I’d send a check.
Those were the days. Really nice wine.
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9/16/2022 - coremill wrote: 83 Points
Good fill, spinning capsule, good cork. Steadily improved over the course of a couple of hours, but was never very good. Ripe, plummy/raisiny fruit aromas, but not a lot of fruit concentration left; the fruit runs out and the alcohol is sticking out on the back end. There's some nice earthiness in the mouth, but this hasn't added much complexity to compensate for the fading fruit. This is several years past its prime at least.
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5/5/2022 - Mrbuzz Does not like this wine: 82 Points
Decanted for an hour, removed sediment, and poured back in bottle to take out. A tired bottle i'm afraid. All dried up fruit, leather, and plum skin sours. Really tried coaxing some life out, but it never really showed anything worthy. Nothing at all flawed...just a shell of what was probably a great wine 10 or so years earlier. I did manage some cherry wood spice, and a little tobacco at times...but faded back to dull leather and tart plum quickly. No black pepper or any grenache red licorice...really disappointing.
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3/27/2022 - Brain Capers Likes this wine:
Wow, another fine showing. The corkscrew just pushed the cork, and it dropped right into the bottle. Decanted and the wine was wonderful, in a great place. Yum, with grilled lamb.
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3/24/2021 - johneagle Likes this wine: 90 Points
I think some people don't get the ethereal nature of good old wine. Yes, it's not what it was or might have been. I feel so privileged to be able to enjoy wine like this. I learnt about wine mostly from my father; we would have lunch together and drink claret, 1970 1966 and 1961 of the same chateau. As you tasted the older wines, each one tasted younger than the old before. But I remember clearly how the 1966s were, Palmer and Ducru especially, and they were better, but had the same delicacy of this 89 Telegraphe. I was very lucky. Palmer 1961 was magnificent. I still have one left, and a few other 61s. Takes courage and the right moment to open one. Ducru 66 a few months ago was magical. It still had a core of elegance and I wonder if wine made now at the same level will age in the same way, or last as long.
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1/7/2021 - prof b wrote: flawed
This started off nicely but as time went on, a very slight TCA effect became clear. Sad, as it seemed to be heading towards a nice experience.
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12/31/2020 - Brain Capers Likes this wine:
Aged well, when I took the capsule off, was cleaning the cork, and it slipped into the bottle. Hmm, so I decanted the bottle, and the wine gained weight and was quite good. There was no sign that the bottle had leaked, on it’s side for the 29 years since shipped from KL. Nice!
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11/26/2020 - rgrosz6 Likes this wine: 91 Points
My last half bottle, thankfully still alive. Decanted for an hour, and the node opened up nicely. Definitely fully mature. A little smoky with some red and black fruit.
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11/23/2019 - chablis28 wrote: 90 Points
Opened about 2 hours prior to diner and found this seemingly well past its peak. The nose seemed tired and the palate almost fruitless. I decanted to see if that would help and nothing changed appreciably over an hour so I bailed and opened a 98 for dinner instead. In the meantime, I threw this back in the blt as a science experiment to try later. Well by the time we had the 98 rolling with dinner this had somehow righted its ship and was worth drinking. Its still a bit thin but it had definitely fleshed out enough to enjoy its geriatric stage. The nose cleaned up and palate was incredibly smooth and delicious in albeit faded fruit way. Some nice earthiness and remnants of underbrush made this fun. I should have hung longer with this btl on the front end. Not worth the $120 I paid for it about a year ago though. This would be worth buying if you can get for sub $50 at auction perhaps.
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5/26/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote:
A Few Wines with BBQ (Chez Whitehead - Northbrook IL): A very tired bottle.
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5/23/2019 - d'Artagnan wrote: 87 Points
Nez fruits secs, cuir, un peu de sous-bois. Bouche évoluée qui m’a fait changer de région deux fois. Austère, évolué, intéressant mais ça manque de fruit et de charme. Au dévoilement l’âge explique bien des choses. 87
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8/25/2018 - mbo1 wrote: 92 Points
Still good. The after palate was a tiny bit sour, but the fruit was still somewhat fresh.
I think I preferred the 1990 to the 1989.
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8/4/2018 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [4 Whites, 8 Reds, & 7 *shared* wines] from 08/03/18] (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Storage conditions unclear
Typically, 65% Grenache, 15-20% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 3% Clairette, 2% Cinsault & Counoise, ave age of all vines ≈38 yrs when this was made; Unfiltered & unfined
N: Ripe, prunish, but ATTRACTIVE! Complex & surprisingly intense!
P: LM body; Nice frt met by surprising astringency (but without loss of the frt) which DOES quite recede by the LONG, tangy/swt, very, VERY slightly bitter finish. For now, but MIGHT still hold another 5 yrs? My EXC-. 91-94 pts (7x) RJonWine, 18/20 winedoctor.com, & 4*(*)/5 drinkrhone.com.
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8/26/2017 - ElAzul Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cork in terrific shape, fill to 1/2 -3/4 inch below cork so provenance was good. Some orange on the rim as the wine is 28 years young and this bruiser still has some big unresolved tannins which did soften overnight. Still one can taste the fruit is there. There was a little bit of Rhone funk when first opened but quickly disappeared and left some saddle leather and herbs provence with a classic big Grenache finish of raspberry and licorice. Wife claims to taste dark fruit like blueberries. A very good wine but still evolving.
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3/19/2017 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
This was surprisingly young and delicious!
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4/27/2015 - Old Joe wrote: flawed
Wine was well over the hill, oxidized
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1/12/2015 - norsktorsk wrote: 92 Points
On the end of its legs. Still enologic and holding up.
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8/7/2014 - steinersing wrote: 92 Points
Mature but still good fruit and balance. Lighter and more elegant than expected.
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6/7/2014 - le fouloir wrote: 92 Points
Mature black cherry, leather, meat, earth. Beautiful bouquet, nice finish. Had a little bitterness which resolved within 40 minutes following decanting. No bricking and bright deep red color. Seems like it has some years left, perhaps with further maturing. But, if it merely levels off at this stage for a few years, it will make me very happy.
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4/6/2014 - Longnose Gar wrote: 92 Points
Still youthful. Not ripe at all. Terroir and acidic. Good sense of place. Not a big wine like modern CDPs.
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2/7/2014 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points
Platinum Tasting - Rhones (Andre and Sabine's House, Mountain View, CA): Generous nose, still green (B++/A-). Great depth on the palate (B++/A-).
My #6, Group's #7 (59 pts). Tasted blind.
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12/25/2013 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Very healthy garnet red. Kirsch nose, ripe red fruits flavours with some liquorice and herbs. Good but not great. Has a decade or more ahead of it.
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6/9/2013 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 94 Points
Mostly Rieslings: What a beauty, this CdP is in a perfect spot. The nose shows smoke, incense, dried violets, fennel and earth over top mixed berries. On the palate, fine tannins and balanced acid coalesce around the black cherry and currant fruit. The flavors of dusty earth, dried flowers, smoke meat, olive brine and minerals are deep, complex and inspiring. Such a long finish full of savory spices.
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6/9/2013 - EhrlichDY wrote:
Well stored bottle. Tannins resolved. Kirsch liquor and dark fruit. Gorgeous.
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4/24/2013 - CamWheeler wrote: 91 Points
Dinner with the grapemates: Meaty nose with some leather, old cedar, raspberry and graphite. The palate is medium weighted and quite restrained with good balance between savoury and fruit elements. Good layered elements that keep the interest level up. This bottle was probably near to its peak.
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5/29/2012 - Battleship wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful nose of classic Rhone earthiness and mature fruits. On the palate slightly stewed fruits moving into minerals, blood and iron/rust with some leather. The weight was medium and the finish initially short but came back around with some floral mixed with blood.
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3/3/2012 - rosenst1 wrote: 89 Points
Fill was in the neck with significant sediment; cork was a bit problematic and soft but no leakage.
This had been cellared since the early 90s. Decanted. Light red with perhaps slight browning at the edge. Classic V-T nose of garrigue, spices, etc. Medium weight but smooth on the palate with just a hint of acidity on the finish that speaks to the wine being 23 years old. Lovely with pasta with a rich sauce; over time the finish begins to crack up a bit, so drink up. Interesting contrast to a bunch of very rich fruity 09 CdPs tasted last week.
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11/27/2011 - reichken wrote: 90 Points
thanksgiving- medium dark color, nose of red cherries. plums and leather. light in mouth but with a few layers of flavor. nice drink
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11/26/2011 - d'Artagnan wrote: 90 Points
Montréal Passion Vin
Tiré d’un impressionnant format “Salmanazare”, de 9 litres!! Si ce format assure sans doute une excellente conservation, il comporte aussi des risques! Imaginez le désarroi : un des deux Salmanazars s’est avéré bouchonné! Nous n’avons donc eu droit qu’à un demi-verre. C’est celui qui a la plus belle texture en bouche du groupe, mais je ne l’ai pas trouvé très charmeur, avec ses notes de figues et de fruits secs, accompagnées d’un peu de kirsch. Plutôt austère, un vin plus cérébral que sensuel. Une belle expérience, mais pas un grand vin. 90 pts
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10/31/2011 - Rupert wrote: 88 Points
Beaucastel v Vieux Télégraphe 1978-1990 (The Square, Mayfair, London): A high oxidative pong on the nose, but cleaner on the palate, but lacking in distinction. Fierce grippy finish
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10/3/2011 - wineaux2 wrote: 93 Points
Wow, what a great 22 year old CdP! The robe was a dark brick red color that faded to orange near the rim. I was taken by surprise by the sweet red fruits on the palate. I wasn't anticipating sweet fruit in a bottle of this age; there was definitely a youthful spirit to this wine. The red fruit was joined by rubber tire that morphed into leather; some spice was noted as well. The body was silky smooth. Left a couple of glasses for day 2, and the palate featured plum, leather and spice with a slight astringency on the finish. Overall, this was quite nice; I can see this wine gracefully reaching age 30.
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8/18/2011 - keith prothero wrote: 93 Points
My first bottle of a case delivered yesterday. Decanted and then poured.
Beautiful nose, with rich cherries,and earthy garrigue and spicy pepper notes. . Nice balance on the palate. Rich and concentrated , but ever so elegant and beautifully poised with lovely acidity and silky tannins. Finish was every bit as clean and round as the rest of the wine. Probably at or close to its peak but should last long enough for me to finish the case!! Excellent and good value I think, even though it is now over £100 a bottle.
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6/29/2011 - ronlite wrote: 91 Points
Excellent
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6/7/2011 - markmadsen Likes this wine:
A terrific bottle. Lots of sweet high-toned fruit coming out, a bit of leather, and coming out of its dumb & awkward phase. This wine has been backward (compared to 1990, of course) for a long, long time so I didn't drink any of them. It's time to start, but it's going to last a long time to come. Really nice.
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2/9/2011 - Vinomarcus wrote: flawed
Wednesday Night Blind - February 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): Sadly, something was "off" with this bottle. It wasn't corked, wasn't cooked, but was thin, shrill and void of pleasure. Truly a shame as this would have been a real treat, I've had this wine in the past and it's been terrific.
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9/7/2010 - magyarsvensk wrote: 95 Points
Medium garnet color with layered bleeding out to the rim. A highly pleasurable bouquet with big garrigue, soft vanilla and a hint of bacon. The palate is an explosion of huge berry fruit and slate. A one-two punch type minerally finish with a late meaty accent. A complex and powerful wine that lacks only grace. At or near peak.
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7/31/2010 - last chance wrote: 86 Points
Châteauneuf-du-Pape tasting: The nose had brett and medicinal red fruit aromas.. The palate had dry mineral, red fruit and leathery flavors. I don't drink older CdP very often, and this just isn't my preferred flavor profile. Several others in the group really enjoyed it.
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7/28/2010 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Softer, redder fruit than the 90 with a much cleaner nose. Noticeably older/more mature than the 90 and purer, more classic, less wild/rustic. Still, slightly dry finish.
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7/3/2010 - Ardross wrote: 97 Points
At first , plums , spice and bitter chocolate but firm leathery tannins still there . After an hour a quite glorious complex bottle - the plums , cinnamon and chocolate have subdued the tannins and there is a wonderful vanilla but also garriguey warmth to the wine .
This is what Chateauneuf should taste like not the overly sweet confected alcoholic wines now in vogue.
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7/31/2009 - HamishR wrote:
Delightful and even better than expected, ripe, lush, complex good length anfd very fine. Good with the cheddar, aged gruyere and chevre cheeses.
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7/15/2009 - BradKNYC wrote:
Belated Peking Duck House notes. Mostly Rhone, some Burgs, Champagne & California. (Peking Duck House- Midtown): This is a classic, masculine, lean and austere CDP. I personally prefer their style post 1993, which while remaining classic in style, is more fruit forward and less tannic and herbal, though this bottle is showing nicely. It's compact and muscular in the mouth with firm tannins and good acid levels for a CDP. Black fruit with plenty of garrigue, iodine and mineral. Best with some food and I'm not sure the fruit will outlast the structure here. A-/B+.
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6/11/2009 - french16 wrote: 92 Points
Outstanding VT. This is totally a classic CdP in a somewhat straight, austere style.
Nose showed a little fruit (dark berry) with a lot of spice and herbs along with some leather and earthy notes. Medium body, very focused on the palate, it is a real pleasure to drink. Definitely a masculine wine.
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6/10/2009 - otisabdul wrote: 92 Points
Sinewy and masculine. Started off funky, but quickly evoloved into a powerful, muscular CDP, with a polished mouthfeel and minerally undertones. Plenty of dark spicy fruit. Probably at or near its peak.
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11/1/2008 - formula1 wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful, rich and alive. Decanted about one hour ahead, but the first pour still showed tannins. It softened very quickly in the glass to reveal dark fruits, leather, spice, and cocoa. All in balance. Only regret is that I don't have more.
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3/11/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 89 Points
Vieux Telegraph at Chez Moi: No notes taken. My least favorite of the flight. This came across as stern. Good flavor profile, but compact on the palate with darker fruit than the other wines tasted.
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3/11/2008 - Siggy wrote: 91 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - Vieux Telegraphe (Dave's House): Fresh dark cherries on the nose. Much more "masculine" than the '82 and '86 VT. Thick, assertive, dark, powerful, and sweet. The palate shows lblack cherries, minerals, leather, and soy, with a whiff of VA that mainly stays in the backgound. Approachable but still young. Excellent.
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2/9/2008 - HenryW wrote: 88 Points
Funky, jammy nose. Slightly medicinal. Tannic.
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1/26/2008 - foodandwineblog wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 1 hour. Second bottle of two. More vibrant ruby color than the other bottle, which translated to a bit more fruit on the nose. Currant, cherry, pepper, and mineral notes. More complex mid-palate and again, spice notes into medium tannins on the finish. A sip of this wine at the end of the night (roughly 5 hour decant) showed it was still evolving and drinking well. With good provenance, this will continue to drink well for another year or two, consider a 2-3 hour decant now. With OK to no knowledge of provenance, open now, decant, and watch it change over the course of a few hours. foodandwineblog.com
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1/26/2008 - foodandwineblog wrote: 88 Points
Medium-ruby color, a bit dusty. Dark fruits, barnyard, eucalyptus notes on the nose. Less fruit on the palate but some currant and cherry left, good spice notes rolled into the soft tannins. Opened side by site with another 1989 which showed a bit better. foodandwineblog.com
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1/20/2008 - rwgray wrote: 93 Points
Spectacular bottle of wine. Had with a smoked rib roast with garlic and black pepper rub and it was PERFECT. If you have any drink it now. I wish I had more!
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7/7/2007 - doctoroflaws wrote: 94 Points
Excellent.
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5/14/2007 - drwine2001 wrote: flawed
Vieux Telegraphe Vertical Dinner (Rubicon, San Francisco): I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with this bottle. Good color but very musty nose which cleared transiently to reveal good fruit underneath, but the funk returned soon thereafter. Some thought TCA, others not.
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5/6/2007 - JLeader wrote: 89 Points
Very good structure but still very tight. With some air, the fruit strated to emerge, but this needs more bottle age to come around.
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3/10/2007 - MThorpe wrote: 92 Points
Drinking perfectly right now, this is a fine example of perfectly aged Chateauneuf du Pape. Lovely deep cherryish color without much in the way of bricking on the edge, the overall impression is one of seamless complexity. The flavors are perfectly integrated with red fruits, wood, and herbal notes intermarried. This went perfectly with a bean stew. My wife who normally doesn't enjoy red wine loved it as did I. Probably at its peak, but can hold for awhile (1-2 years). From Larry's passive cellar, purchased on release.
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7/12/2006 - kstoddard wrote: 87 Points
Vieux Telegraphe Dinner with Henri Brunier's daughter Catherine (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix): Very muted cherry fruit and rustic in style. It’s either seen better days or has not been stored well. I bought this at auction several years ago so the provenance is suspect. A bit disappointing.
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2/19/2006 - timewithwine wrote:
Sunday, February 19, 2006 cooked (that damn Brannock again tried to foist off his poorly stored swill on the rest of us. Don’’t trust anything stored before he built his cellar - about 2002.) See notes on Rednecks & Red Rhones 06
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1/1/2006 - Venice Al wrote: 90 Points
From Magnum. Medium-dark Ruby with no bricking, nose at first restrained but opened up. Slight barnyard blows off. Black cherry, currant, anise and minerals. Seems quite youthful for an 89. Nice CNDP, but not outstanding. Still always nice to have an older bottle purchased at auction while waiting for wines purchased at release to develop.
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2/2/1992 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 89 Points
With K and Miranda at lunch at Table 29 in Napa. Excellent as always. Fine color, rich, complex nose, and perfectly textured and unctuous wine with lots of flavor. 89/100.
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11/2/1991 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 88 Points
With K and Miranda at home at dinner (carbonara). Very dark ruby. Coats the glass. Quite viscous. Rich red fruits, especially raspberry. Sleek and fine. On the palate, peppery and tannic. Excellent potential but hard now. 5-11-15-7: 88/100.
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9/27/1991 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 93 Points
At Singer & Foy survey of new Rhones. Very nice ruby color. Beautiful. The nose is a knockout. Just beautiful fruit. Complex, peppery, even flowery. On the palate, big with layers of fruit and flavors. Incredible. Rich and wonderful. I LOVE it. 5-12-18-8: 93/100.
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