A fine showing at a tasting of 8 CDP's. Slight medicinal quality but good fruit and improved over the course of the evening and my opinion of this wine improved too so that I ended up really liking this wine. It may be at or slightly over its peak but this bottle was very enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cloudy red, wow nose, complex complete kaleidoscope of cherries, loam, funk, a wine that entices you to just contemplate its aromas, so hard to put down, the palate is excellent with velvety tannins, good depth, in short a wine of high quality that was at its peak 95
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wine gathering at RJ's; 4/4/2023-4/7/2023 (South Carolina): Pale color with noticeable brown. Fully mature complex tertiary dominating nose, dry red fruit, cherry liqueur, dry cherry, fruitcake, licorice, strong tobacco, brown sugar, garrigue, root beer, strong ginger, cinnamon and other baking spices, and earth. Fully integrated palate, subtle dry red fruit, cedar, silky and fluid, sweet tannins, and a medium to long dry red fruit driven finish with tobacco at the end. I mentioned to Justin this is a Rayaesque with garrigue and dry cherry. He mentions lacking strong black pepper which I agree. The fruit has faded and the expression is mostly tertiary which is really fascinating.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lukta tawny og var mørkebrun i glasset, men gjemte en søt kirsebærfrukt og søt sigar i alt det modne. Eldre herre med røkejakka på. Definitivt drikk nå, men en flott burgervin (!) som livnet til med luft.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
As antique lace, so fragile and refined. Absolutely wonderful, fanning out in the mouth. Beautifully complex and delineated. Long lingering on. Notes of earth, dried prunes, horse-stable and leather, dried raisins. Light in color, bit cloudy. Reminds of Burgundy. Wish I had some more bottles left.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drunk at Chiu Tang Hong Kong - Dark and dense with more prominent alcohol than most CNDP's I've tried from this vintage. Some pleasant rusticity however.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
À l'ouverture, effet "madère" décevant, presque imbuvable. Après 10 minutes, il se porte de mieux en mieux, mais tjs l'arrière note olfactive de vin cuit. MAIS : il lui reste des traces du très grand vin qu'il a du être il y a 3 ou 4 ans. Re goûté 1 heure après ouverture (resté dans la bouteille), c'est très bon, je dis bien "très", surtout sur la longueur. C'est un peu dommage qu'à la mise en bouche il y ait le ton un peu trop prononcé de vin cuit. Si c'est juste cette bouteille qui a pris un "coup de chaud", alors celles qui vont suivre seront excellentissimes ! Et enfin, 1h30 après ouverture, il est passé de "imbuvable" à EX-CEL-LENT! Je décide de faire passer sa note de 91 à 92! J'ai même hésité à lui mettre 93...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decades of Decadence - x5s: Fresh on the nose, with rhubarb, redcurrant, a herbal lift and licorice. The palate shows a similar lifted red fruit profile, with good acidity playing off against the suppleness of the fruit. Has plenty of fruit but it isn't full throttle in style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pop and pour, fully integrated harmonious nose of garrigue, leather, tobacco, plum, cherry liquor and anise. Silky and polished palate, nicely integrated but noticeable tannins and seamless long finish. With air, very similar to the initial nose but also ash and tapenade. In addition, sous bois note gives Burgundian impression. Licorice and dry leafy palate also reminds me Barolo. I wouldn’t be surprised if this carries 15%+ alcohol. Due to the complex tertiary profile, the alcohol is not noticeable. I am confident that if tasted blind, this will be identified as a classic CDP. I have never really liked the 07 CDPs from the beginning but will they transformed to be a wonderful CDP like this? We will need at least ten more years to tell. A lovely classic fully mature CDP.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Color was light and cloudy with brown edges. Initial PNP taste was pruney and somewhat of an oxidized taste, but this blew off in about 20 minutes. Strong black pepper, earth and completely mature with excellent balance. Ready to drink now but has some years left.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The color looked older than I would have thought, especially since I've had this bottle in my cold cellar since release. The showy nose delivered black pepper, kirsch, earth and garrigue. Silky, soft and smooth, with really good concentration, there was only a minor hint of the harsh tannins that had been there in its youth. The wine remained at the same level in the glass for over an hour. I would not bother aging it further, but there is probably no reason to hurry either.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Two bottles both the last of the lot from Martys. Bought on release, perfect fill, but dead. This vintage of this wine was so inconsistent, with one good bottle for every 2-3 bad ones.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is a lovely wine. It has softened and come together. Colour is medium red with a touch of tawny. The nose is dark and moody with dried stewed fruit with a little sweetness. Lovely elegant palate long finish. A top wine drinking perfectly.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Coming from someone who loves Chateauneuf and loves funk, this is just too much Brett. Simply unpleasant. Really disappointing for a wine of this value. Gave it a rating but Brett to the point of basically being undrinkable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The color is medium red, not pitch black as one would expect from a special cuvee made from 100 yr old vines. Very ripe and sweet Grenache that due to the age produces flavors of prunes, raisins and dark plum jam along with garrigue. Quite intense wine, perhaps slightly over the top for me. Very good with the lamb dish at Veritas though. And food is indeed needed to deal with the concentration and scale here.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Perfect fill, perfect cork, and finally, a great bottle of this wine. All 6 are from the same purchase (on release) so the bottle variation is the most frustrating part of this wine. This one was full, great barnyard and leather, with a slightly thin finish but overall a real pleasure to drink. Will not make old bones if I had to guess - I just hope my last two bottles are like this one. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Mixed blindtasting (Henriks appartment): Dark red color with a browning hue. Christmas dinner on the nose, roasted duck, prunes, dried berries and brown sauce, with just a note of glue stick. Nice fruity palate with sweet raspberries, dried fruit, prunes, raisins and fruit cake. Licorise and pepper on the midpalate and finish. Very nice taste with amazing intensity, complexity and superb length.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark red. Opens with lots of toasty oak, caramel notes. They blow off and leave a beautiful nose of cherries, oranges, fish sauce and pencil shavings. Sweetest of the Cailouxs this evening. Lots of tannins and acid left for the long haul. A luxury cuvee well worth the extra $$$.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Surprisingly really needed air to open up. Started off a bit angry, hard, and unyielding. In fact I prefer the "baby fat" era for this wine as it was so great for the first 7 years after release. After a few hours of air, the red fruited wonder began to emerge and the tannic back end subsided.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This bottle is much better than its predecessor. The wine is medium ruby with a tawny rim and is showing a mature nose of griotte and raspberry fruits, spice, toffee and tar. Long and rich with waves of ripe fruit, perhaps a bit lighter than the modern "fad" would tend to favor, but I love it. Probably has a good percentage of syrah; the wine has that taut, firm finish one associates with a cote rotie or hermitage. Mature but will certainly hold at this level for a long time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Med red. Some stewed fruit on the nose. Tannins were noticable at first but softened over the next hour. I know there are varied experiences with this, but I would say I do not have a batch that has "fallen apart" as this has fruit and structure. What I do think is that it is a bit overdone, with the stewed fruit and even some heat on the finish. I have no problem drinking it or serving it, but it is not worth seeking out given the price. B+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Continunes to be absolutely sick. Enormous palate of red fruits, smoke, ash, with a depth of flavor and aroma nearly unparalleled. Not a conventional wine, but a joy. Ready to drink but will continue to mature for many years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Clearly there are good and bad bottles, and I got a batch of good ones. Another stunning wine, long, complex, fruity but not over-ripe or hot, drinking perfectly but with a long life ahead of it. I don't doubt the problems other people have had, but my bottles (Bobby Kacher ones) have been great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I opened this bottle two nights ago and poured half off to a clean 375ml bottle. The first half was consumed over a period of a few hours.
The first half I thought was a bit Rayas like in weight, a bit Burgundian. Quite primary still and grapy when first opened. The fruit leans to the red side, precise and well balanced it added a little weight and some spice notes after an hour or so.
Two nights later the second half was quite similar when first opened, primary and a bit grapey, the color was a bit darker than two nights ago. The fruit had moved to the darker spectrum with a more obvious showing of the syrah component with a nice pepper note standing out in the finish. For a few minutes during the time spent with it tonight there was a bit of a sour note that left as quickly as it appeared. The finish was good, not great but I did not notice any bitterness that others have noted.
I was a bit concerned reading a number of recent notes about this wine falling apart. This is the first bottle of the ’95 I have tried. Based on this bottle, I don’t see that this is the case. With a few left it will be interesting to follow this over the next few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Not remotely as good as I had hoped it would be. Medium ruby with some amber tint. Apparently mature, the wine is rich with acid fruits and slightly bretty aromas. A bit thin and disjointed on the palate, with a distinctly bitter finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
La robe est presqu'aussi évoluée, à peine plus sombre que la cuvée regular. Le nez est plus lourd, cuir, sous-bois, poivre. Des notes fumées et du pruneau à l'armagnac. La bouche confirme. Moins séduisante que la cuvée regular à ce stade, une petite amertume en fin de bouche gâche un peu le plaisir. Evoluera-t-elle ? Impression mitigée pour l'instant ...
The colour is very evolved. Nose is heavier than the regular cuvée. Leather, pepper an hint of smoke, prunes. Slightly bitter. Humm, disappointing ...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
See previous TNs... This was my last bottle. As I mentioned in a previous TN, I have drunk well over a case of the '95 Centenaire; I witnessed its peak around 1999, and then I watched it fall off a cliff a couple years later. Everything about this wine suggests a wine much older than it is. While still okay on the palate, the nose is a mess of cheese and stewed fruits. I drank only one glass from the bottle, and then opened something else...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Fight Night at J-P's (J-P's place in Yaletown, Vancouver): A fully mature wine. Nice complex nose with smoke and a touch of fly-oil. On the palate, smoke, pepper, leather, and sweet spicy berry fruit. My guess is this wine is an older Rhone wine - say 1980s. I was surprised to learn it was a '95. Super-nice wine to drink right now, but not sure how long this will hold - if you got 'em, drink 'em.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Again, I loved this wine in its youth, and I've had a hard time watching this wine fall apart over the last few years - though this was perhaps the best showing of the last five or so bottles I've had. TONS of sediment - carefully decanted, there was still over 1/3 of the bottle left with heavy sediment. Wide open and evolved on the nose: faded red fruit, tea leaves and spices, plus obvious alcohol. Especially following two Burgundies, the heat really stood out on the palate as well. Again, blind you would probably be thinking this was a 25+ year old wine. Though there was still much to like, we decided to move on to a more thrilling '95 Santa Duc Gigondas (see TN).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1995 Chateauneuf du Papes Blindtasted: Group's #1, my #1, 77 pts. - blackberry, berries, mulberries, mint nose; intriguing tart berry, ripe currant palate with elegance; long finish 97+ points
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Color very advanced for its age. IMO, not much attractive about the nose, which is dominated by cheese, a bit of rotting leaves, and some light cinnamon notes. Smells like a really old wine - blind, I might have guessed 25+ year old Burgundy that was in decline. Luckily, the palate is a great deal more interesting. Mature flavors of licorice, tea leaves, red cherry, and pepper. Surprisingly balanced, with good underlying acid and overall texture, and a fairly long, spicy finish. I wish this were more aromatically appealing because it's really missing something without it. That said, this is a much better showing than the last few bottles I've had, though consistent with the direction in which this wine has been heading for the last four years. I absolutely loved this wine from release through about 2000 and wish I had drained my stash in that time frame. Two more left... Hmmmm ?????
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I have had this wine well over a dozen times, from five different cellars, and despite its early glory, it has taken a serious nose dive. The '95 regular Les Cailloux cuvee dropped first, and then the Centenaire followed. Upon release, I tried the wine and remember saying that I thought it would show best after just two or three years in the cellar, for it was a soft, lush, almost Burgundian beauty that just didn't strike me as a long-ager. That said, I did get to experience a few bottles in their prime ('99-'00, IMO), and they were singing. FWIW, in a fifteen wine '95 CNP horizontal tasting in Jan of '00, this was the group's favorite - and it deserved it! But just a little over a year later, it was showing signs of a downward trend... even a bottle drunk in March of '01 - in a restaurant near Chateauneuf-du-Pape - was not what it should have been... Three bottles left... The last few have been a light red / orange in color; the wine is throwing a ton of sediment; it is hot, slightly sharp, gamey, and unbalanced...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Red with slight browning at the rim. Shoe polish and, believe it or not, scents of cheese on the nose. Quite smoky bouquet. Incredibly lush and flowy in the mouth. Nice ripe fruit and great balance to this wine, that came in a medium sized body with plenty of style and a great finish to match. A great wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2/2/2024 - burlingtonm Likes this wine: 93 Points
A fine showing at a tasting of 8 CDP's. Slight medicinal quality but good fruit
and improved over the course of the evening and my opinion of this wine improved too so that I ended up really liking this wine. It may be at or slightly over its peak but this bottle was very enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/8/2023 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 95 Points
Cloudy red, wow nose, complex complete kaleidoscope of cherries, loam, funk, a wine that entices you to just contemplate its aromas, so hard to put down, the palate is excellent with velvety tannins, good depth, in short a wine of high quality that was at its peak
95
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/4/2023 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Wine gathering at RJ's; 4/4/2023-4/7/2023 (South Carolina): Pale color with noticeable brown. Fully mature complex tertiary dominating nose, dry red fruit, cherry liqueur, dry cherry, fruitcake, licorice, strong tobacco, brown sugar, garrigue, root beer, strong ginger, cinnamon and other baking spices, and earth. Fully integrated palate, subtle dry red fruit, cedar, silky and fluid, sweet tannins, and a medium to long dry red fruit driven finish with tobacco at the end. I mentioned to Justin this is a Rayaesque with garrigue and dry cherry. He mentions lacking strong black pepper which I agree. The fruit has faded and the expression is mostly tertiary which is really fascinating.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2022 - Krokfjord Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lukta tawny og var mørkebrun i glasset, men gjemte en søt kirsebærfrukt og søt sigar i alt det modne. Eldre herre med røkejakka på. Definitivt drikk nå, men en flott burgervin (!) som livnet til med luft.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/27/2019 - Ary Likes this wine: 95 Points
As antique lace, so fragile and refined. Absolutely wonderful, fanning out in the mouth. Beautifully complex and delineated. Long lingering on. Notes of earth, dried prunes, horse-stable and leather, dried raisins. Light in color, bit cloudy. Reminds of Burgundy. Wish I had some more bottles left.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2018 - KoalaHK wrote:
Drunk at Chiu Tang Hong Kong - Dark and dense with more prominent alcohol than most CNDP's I've tried from this vintage. Some pleasant rusticity however.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/6/2018 - shutto1992@gmail.com Does not like this wine: 85 Points
PNP. Brown edges. Strong pruney smell and flavor. Did not blow off. Not pleasant. Will retaste tomorrow.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/16/2018 - JOsgood wrote:
Gorgeous stuff. Big cherry notes on the palate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/29/2015 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 93 Points
Enfin une bonne bouteille après les 2 précédentes qui avaient souffert. EXCELLENT!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2015 - k H i L o wrote:
N'a pas supporté le temps....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2015 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 92 Points
À l'ouverture, effet "madère" décevant, presque imbuvable. Après 10 minutes, il se porte de mieux en mieux, mais tjs l'arrière note olfactive de vin cuit. MAIS : il lui reste des traces du très grand vin qu'il a du être il y a 3 ou 4 ans.
Re goûté 1 heure après ouverture (resté dans la bouteille), c'est très bon, je dis bien "très", surtout sur la longueur. C'est un peu dommage qu'à la mise en bouche il y ait le ton un peu trop prononcé de vin cuit. Si c'est juste cette bouteille qui a pris un "coup de chaud", alors celles qui vont suivre seront excellentissimes !
Et enfin, 1h30 après ouverture, il est passé de "imbuvable" à EX-CEL-LENT! Je décide de faire passer sa note de 91 à 92! J'ai même hésité à lui mettre 93...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/3/2015 - CamWheeler wrote: 92 Points
Decades of Decadence - x5s: Fresh on the nose, with rhubarb, redcurrant, a herbal lift and licorice. The palate shows a similar lifted red fruit profile, with good acidity playing off against the suppleness of the fruit. Has plenty of fruit but it isn't full throttle in style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/5/2014 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Pop and pour, fully integrated harmonious nose of garrigue, leather, tobacco, plum, cherry liquor and anise. Silky and polished palate, nicely integrated but noticeable tannins and seamless long finish. With air, very similar to the initial nose but also ash and tapenade. In addition, sous bois note gives Burgundian impression. Licorice and dry leafy palate also reminds me Barolo. I wouldn’t be surprised if this carries 15%+ alcohol. Due to the complex tertiary profile, the alcohol is not noticeable. I am confident that if tasted blind, this will be identified as a classic CDP. I have never really liked the 07 CDPs from the beginning but will they transformed to be a wonderful CDP like this? We will need at least ten more years to tell. A lovely classic fully mature CDP.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/26/2013 - shutto1992@gmail.com Likes this wine: 95 Points
Color was light and cloudy with brown edges. Initial PNP taste was pruney and somewhat of an oxidized taste, but this blew off in about 20 minutes. Strong black pepper, earth and completely mature with excellent balance. Ready to drink now but has some years left.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/12/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
The color looked older than I would have thought, especially since I've had this bottle in my cold cellar since release. The showy nose delivered black pepper, kirsch, earth and garrigue. Silky, soft and smooth, with really good concentration, there was only a minor hint of the harsh tannins that had been there in its youth. The wine remained at the same level in the glass for over an hour. I would not bother aging it further, but there is probably no reason to hurry either.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2013 - MC wrote:
Two bottles both the last of the lot from Martys. Bought on release, perfect fill, but dead. This vintage of this wine was so inconsistent, with one good bottle for every 2-3 bad ones.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/29/2012 - johnn89 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is a lovely wine. It has softened and come together. Colour is medium red with a touch of tawny. The nose is dark and moody with dried stewed fruit with a little sweetness. Lovely elegant palate long finish. A top wine drinking perfectly.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/3/2012 - moonmountain wrote: 80 Points
Coming from someone who loves Chateauneuf and loves funk, this is just too much Brett. Simply unpleasant. Really disappointing for a wine of this value. Gave it a rating but Brett to the point of basically being undrinkable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/4/2011 - pbaek wrote:
The color is medium red, not pitch black as one would expect from a special cuvee made from 100 yr old vines. Very ripe and sweet Grenache that due to the age produces flavors of prunes, raisins and dark plum jam along with garrigue. Quite intense wine, perhaps slightly over the top for me. Very good with the lamb dish at Veritas though. And food is indeed needed to deal with the concentration and scale here.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/3/2010 - spaniel wrote: 95 Points
Stupendously good. Rich complex nose of red fruit, spice, truffle, bacon and funk. Long smooth powerful palate. Sweet fine-grained tannin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/9/2010 - spaniel wrote: flawed
Oxidised. Bugger.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/18/2009 - MC wrote:
Perfect fill, perfect cork, and finally, a great bottle of this wine. All 6 are from the same purchase (on release) so the bottle variation is the most frustrating part of this wine. This one was full, great barnyard and leather, with a slightly thin finish but overall a real pleasure to drink. Will not make old bones if I had to guess - I just hope my last two bottles are like this one. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/2/2008 - Terkel wrote: 95 Points
Mixed blindtasting (Henriks appartment): Dark red color with a browning hue. Christmas dinner on the nose, roasted duck, prunes, dried berries and brown sauce, with just a note of glue stick. Nice fruity palate with sweet raspberries, dried fruit, prunes, raisins and fruit cake. Licorise and pepper on the midpalate and finish. Very nice taste with amazing intensity, complexity and superb length.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2008 - David J Cooper wrote:
Dark red. Opens with lots of toasty oak, caramel notes. They blow off and leave a beautiful nose of cherries, oranges, fish sauce and pencil shavings. Sweetest of the Cailouxs this evening. Lots of tannins and acid left for the long haul. A luxury cuvee well worth the extra $$$.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2008 - ski695 wrote: 93 Points
Surprisingly really needed air to open up. Started off a bit angry, hard, and unyielding. In fact I prefer the "baby fat" era for this wine as it was so great for the first 7 years after release. After a few hours of air, the red fruited wonder began to emerge and the tannic back end subsided.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/30/2008 - MC wrote:
stewed, cooked - just not pleasant. something happened to this. i don't know what or why, but it's just not right. C
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/8/2008 - BradKNYC wrote: flawed
Dinner at Abood's: Burgundy, Rhone, Napa & Loire. (Michel's.): Clearly heat damaged. NR
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/24/2007 - KPB wrote: 93 Points
This bottle is much better than its predecessor. The wine is medium ruby with a tawny rim and is showing a mature nose of griotte and raspberry fruits, spice, toffee and tar. Long and rich with waves of ripe fruit, perhaps a bit lighter than the modern "fad" would tend to favor, but I love it. Probably has a good percentage of syrah; the wine has that taut, firm finish one associates with a cote rotie or hermitage. Mature but will certainly hold at this level for a long time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2007 - MC wrote:
Med red. Some stewed fruit on the nose. Tannins were noticable at first but softened over the next hour. I know there are varied experiences with this, but I would say I do not have a batch that has "fallen apart" as this has fruit and structure. What I do think is that it is a bit overdone, with the stewed fruit and even some heat on the finish. I have no problem drinking it or serving it, but it is not worth seeking out given the price. B+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2006 - Tree512 wrote: 96 Points
Continunes to be absolutely sick. Enormous palate of red fruits, smoke, ash, with a depth of flavor and aroma nearly unparalleled. Not a conventional wine, but a joy. Ready to drink but will continue to mature for many years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2006 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Brown color. Muddy. Stewed. Gone. Note: this bottle was from a different source than previous (also bad) bottles.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/23/2006 - Tree512 wrote: 96 Points
Clearly there are good and bad bottles, and I got a batch of good ones. Another stunning wine, long, complex, fruity but not over-ripe or hot, drinking perfectly but with a long life ahead of it. I don't doubt the problems other people have had, but my bottles (Bobby Kacher ones) have been great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/21/2006 - JohnB wrote:
I opened this bottle two nights ago and poured half off to a clean 375ml bottle. The first half was consumed over a period of a few hours.
The first half I thought was a bit Rayas like in weight, a bit Burgundian. Quite primary still and grapy when first opened. The fruit leans to the red side, precise and well balanced it added a little weight and some spice notes after an hour or so.
Two nights later the second half was quite similar when first opened, primary and a bit grapey, the color was a bit darker than two nights ago. The fruit had moved to the darker spectrum with a more obvious showing of the syrah component with a nice pepper note standing out in the finish. For a few minutes during the time spent with it tonight there was a bit of a sour note that left as quickly as it appeared. The finish was good, not great but I did not notice any bitterness that others have noted.
I was a bit concerned reading a number of recent notes about this wine falling apart. This is the first bottle of the ’95 I have tried. Based on this bottle, I don’t see that this is the case. With a few left it will be interesting to follow this over the next few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2006 - KPB wrote: 89 Points
Not remotely as good as I had hoped it would be. Medium ruby with some amber tint. Apparently mature, the wine is rich with acid fruits and slightly bretty aromas. A bit thin and disjointed on the palate, with a distinctly bitter finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2006 - THT wrote:
La robe est presqu'aussi évoluée, à peine plus sombre que la cuvée regular. Le nez est plus lourd, cuir, sous-bois, poivre. Des notes fumées et du pruneau à l'armagnac. La bouche confirme. Moins séduisante que la cuvée regular à ce stade, une petite amertume en fin de bouche gâche un peu le plaisir. Evoluera-t-elle ? Impression mitigée pour l'instant ...
The colour is very evolved. Nose is heavier than the regular cuvée. Leather, pepper an hint of smoke, prunes. Slightly bitter. Humm, disappointing ...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/8/2005 - Ben Andersen wrote:
See previous TNs... This was my last bottle. As I mentioned in a previous TN, I have drunk well over a case of the '95 Centenaire; I witnessed its peak around 1999, and then I watched it fall off a cliff a couple years later. Everything about this wine suggests a wine much older than it is. While still okay on the palate, the nose is a mess of cheese and stewed fruits. I drank only one glass from the bottle, and then opened something else...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2005 - Blair Curtis wrote: 95 Points
Fight Night at J-P's (J-P's place in Yaletown, Vancouver): A fully mature wine. Nice complex nose with smoke and a touch of fly-oil. On the palate, smoke, pepper, leather, and sweet spicy berry fruit. My guess is this wine is an older Rhone wine - say 1980s. I was surprised to learn it was a '95. Super-nice wine to drink right now, but not sure how long this will hold - if you got 'em, drink 'em.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/12/2005 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Again, I loved this wine in its youth, and I've had a hard time watching this wine fall apart over the last few years - though this was perhaps the best showing of the last five or so bottles I've had. TONS of sediment - carefully decanted, there was still over 1/3 of the bottle left with heavy sediment. Wide open and evolved on the nose: faded red fruit, tea leaves and spices, plus obvious alcohol. Especially following two Burgundies, the heat really stood out on the palate as well. Again, blind you would probably be thinking this was a 25+ year old wine. Though there was still much to like, we decided to move on to a more thrilling '95 Santa Duc Gigondas (see TN).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/30/2004 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 97 Points
1995 Chateauneuf du Papes Blindtasted: Group's #1, my #1, 77 pts. - blackberry, berries, mulberries, mint nose; intriguing tart berry, ripe currant palate with elegance; long finish 97+ points
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/19/2004 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Color very advanced for its age. IMO, not much attractive about the nose, which is dominated by cheese, a bit of rotting leaves, and some light cinnamon notes. Smells like a really old wine - blind, I might have guessed 25+ year old Burgundy that was in decline. Luckily, the palate is a great deal more interesting. Mature flavors of licorice, tea leaves, red cherry, and pepper. Surprisingly balanced, with good underlying acid and overall texture, and a fairly long, spicy finish. I wish this were more aromatically appealing because it's really missing something without it. That said, this is a much better showing than the last few bottles I've had, though consistent with the direction in which this wine has been heading for the last four years. I absolutely loved this wine from release through about 2000 and wish I had drained my stash in that time frame. Two more left... Hmmmm ?????
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2004 - Ben Andersen wrote:
I have had this wine well over a dozen times, from five different cellars, and despite its early glory, it has taken a serious nose dive. The '95 regular Les Cailloux cuvee dropped first, and then the Centenaire followed. Upon release, I tried the wine and remember saying that I thought it would show best after just two or three years in the cellar, for it was a soft, lush, almost Burgundian beauty that just didn't strike me as a long-ager. That said, I did get to experience a few bottles in their prime ('99-'00, IMO), and they were singing. FWIW, in a fifteen wine '95 CNP horizontal tasting in Jan of '00, this was the group's favorite - and it deserved it! But just a little over a year later, it was showing signs of a downward trend... even a bottle drunk in March of '01 - in a restaurant near Chateauneuf-du-Pape - was not what it should have been... Three bottles left... The last few have been a light red / orange in color; the wine is throwing a ton of sediment; it is hot, slightly sharp, gamey, and unbalanced...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/8/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 95 Points
Red with slight browning at the rim. Shoe polish and, believe it or not, scents of cheese on the nose. Quite smoky bouquet. Incredibly lush and flowy in the mouth. Nice ripe fruit and great balance to this wine, that came in a medium sized body with plenty of style and a great finish to match. A great wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment