Sentiment towards the 2006 vintage has become more positive as the wines have aged, but based on this bottle Usseglio is not one of the best wines. Ripe, ready but rather muddled. A tad disappointing.
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Un nez agréable, la couleur indique des signes de vieillissements. En bouche c'est bien : le vin est toujours riche et puissant même si des signes d’évolution sont présents. Il est a boire mais toujours agréable. 15/20
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Wow, first bottle since 2014 of this for me, and that bottle was not very good. This bottle, on the other hand, is quite nice. It is certainly bricking in color these days. Initially on a pop and poured this definitely is showing itself as ready, and more restrained than prior bottles. The aromas are of soil and pruney fruit (but no in an extracted way), some violets, some black licorice, dirty, muddy soil... overall, it's quite rich on the nose. Hey, it smells like a properly aged Châteauneuf-du-Pape at this point. Fairly mild, soft and fruity on the palate, and nicely composed. Plush even, and acidity builds nicely as its held in the mouth. The finish builds with nice acidity, showing tannins present but not dominant. Some nice blueberry and blackberry fruits, some soil notes. It's predominantly the blueberry flavors that linger. This is showing pretty composed at this point, and I think it's peaking. Last bottle I had I thought I should either burn these or let them sit and see where they develop. Well, glad I chose the developed side of things as this is precisely why I do enjoy aging these entry level CDPs. The fruit bombiness has left it but the fruit is still bright and not over ripe. I'll feel good to dig into these in earnest now, whenever it strikes my fancy. I shouldn't let myself miss this peak!
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Tasted over 3 hrs -med dark red minimal clearing -juicy kirsch grenache some mature elements -med acidity, med+ weight while not super high on its own the heat dominates the palate as much of the fruit concentration has faded and leaves a bitter note -not as good as prior bottles
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A tough showing, Very acidic profile and unbalanced from start to finish. Among the grouping probably last. Plum and forest floor flavors with a sharp biting mid palette. Almost like the wine was reacting to air. Un pleasant. Not rating since the vintner deserves better.
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Dark fruit and old wood, some dried brown leaf, good balance with good acidity, smooth yet grippy tannins. Good, not great, decent value for the age though
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Quite an honest CD9P. Bouquet of blackberries, muscat, cinnamon and interestingly some apricot. It’s full-bodied but not tiring. At 14,5% it is quite balenced and showing its terroir. Overall I often prefer the „basic“ cuvée over the „Parker“ ones which rarely stand the test of time. This should hold for another decade.
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Light ruby with faded edge. Red fruit and licorice. Medium to full bodied with reasonably lush glycerine texture. Some harshness from alcohol, but deep black cherry, anise, and leather with low remaining tannin. Ready but not special.
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Deep garnet color. Expected CdP nose with some game, died cherries and a bit of pine/rosemary. Good mouthfeel with dark fruit and pepper on the palate. Tannins are getting thin, but this is drinking nicely now. Can go longer but not sure what, if anything, it would yield. Good stuff.
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Medium dark red color. Slow-O for 90 minutes. Drank 1 glass with dinner. Very spicy, pepper, tart black cherry and garrigue on the nose. The palate is also rather spicy, pepper, sour cherry, black licorice, raspberry with a little umami on the finish. Drink now.
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1 foot tall, weighs 2.5 lbs. graduated 23rd in his class. Smells like Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream and tastes like ripe strawberries and Dr. Pepper. A strange hybrid of Beaucastels illegitimate child and Caymus. Needs an hour out of the bottle to get some manners and needs to be served at 70 degrees to get the perfume and the bell ringing fruit candy on the palate. Any hotter and the mid palate is a shitshow of hairspray. Anything under 67 degrees is going to kill the secondary flavors and soft spice. Experiment! At $40 or under, you are stealing this wine. BDX fans pay though the nose to get this much fruit, this pure.
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Cork was stained so dark, though we may be in for a beast. But the wine was nicely balanced and drank very nicely. Certainly a more modern, flush style but with our beef course this worked nicely. Deep coloring, but lighter moutfeel. Some softer earth flavors, but more of a fruit driven composition. Nice QPR. Paired with the '06 Beaucastel
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The first night I warmed it from my 50 degree cellar before decanting, and it was not the best, maybe 80 pts. The next night I had salmon, and I wasn't sure if I would like this wine at all. It had a fairly strong smell of barnyard when I first poured it from the decanter. After that smell had blown off, the wine was amazingly drinkable, even with salmon! It was a 85 point wine, maybe more. The fruit and acid were beautifully blended into a seamless whole, with the tannins fully integrated. The aroma was of a fully aged red, with some leather.
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Medium ruby. Dark red fruit on the nose, red and black fruit on the palate with a touch of garrigue. Roundly tannic finish. This bottle was not yet fully mature.
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This a very balanced and food-friendly CdP. Medium (+) ruby with some garnet on the rim. The nose is clean and still developing, with ripe red fruit and black fruit and little earthiness. The palate is dry and consistent with the nose, but with both tart and ripe fruit. The acidity and tannins are medium. The alcohol is medium (+) to high (at $14%) but not really out of balance. The body, flavor intensity and length are medium (+). It actually paired very well with a grilled peppered tuna steak with roasted potatoes and Provencal herbs. It is definitely in its optimal drinking window now and - although it could certainly age for several more years - I would be inclined to drink it in the shorter term.
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Right up the middle here, recognizable CdP funk, core purple fruit and rocks. Nice balance. Not a wow wine, but drinking well and food friendly. At 10 years in a nice spot where the fruit is still playful but the structure and tannins are in balance. No pronounced secondary flavors yet.
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Prototypical CnP, straddling the line between traditional and modern. Resolved tannins, black raspberry and plum aromas and flavor. A hint of garrigue adds interest - very well done.
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Classic easy to drink CDP that's in a solid place now. Bright fruit, medium finish and just enough tannin to hold it all together. Drink now but can last a few years more
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This bottle was drinking wonderfully - dark cherry, a little tobacco, and a great finish that stretched on. It will be interesting to see what my last bottle is like next year!
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Light ruby/garnet color. Plum, cherry, and light garrigue. Medium weight (light for Chateauneuf), supple sweet red fruit that shouts Grenache, completely open, easy style with a bit of tobacco leaf and an interesting truffled component as well. One could quibble and ask for more acidity and tannin, but this is a damn good basic cuvee which is currently saying "Come hither".
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PopnPour, tasted over 3 hrs -nearly opaque dark red -moderately expressive, a little meaty with dark red/black fruits and earthiness initially followed by some grenache-y red fruits emerging after an hour -med+ acidity, med/med- weight with excellent concentration and an elegant mouthfeel though lacking some complexity, dark red fruit, trace heat and med/med- tannins -darker fruit profile similar to '99 and '04 CdPs, reaching early mature plateau
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On day one, this was nice, deep, and refined, with blackberry, plum and, pepper. Didn't hold up though, turning towards raisin and showing much more heat causing me to question a bit my 2011 note concerning ageing potential. Still quite nice upon opening. Dark crimson.
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Day 1: Pop and poured, in glass for 2 hours. Aromas are light in depth, but on the darker side of the spectrum, offering some mentholated herbs, and dark plum skins. There's a noticeable bit of heat here, too. Palate enters with very soft, inviting texture, but quickly things get rather spicy and alcoholic, with flavors on the darker side. The initial attack on the finish is out of balance alcohol, lots of spiced red fruit and also those plum skins. I'm not sure what to do with my remaining bottles... this is most definitely not my style of wine. I appreciate the lovely texture, but the alcohol is completely out of balance with the other elements, as it doesn't really offer very much flavor. 83 Points.
Day 2: This is a different wine on day two so I might as well write a whole new note. The aromas are spicy, with nice pure plum notes. None of the menthol, hot, steamy plum of yesterday... it's actually quite pleasant today. Some stems, plum skins, and rich aroma. Soft palate entry. Soft fruit, some mild tannin and acid present and some puckering notes. A little bit of alcohol is still present on the finish with plum skins and some nice tannin/acid balance. Still a little steaminess lingering, but way softer and integrated today. Final score is for day two.
30 minute decant and drank a small pour over about an hour. Initially, nice minerality and spice on the nose. This quickly turned to a basic blackberry liqueur smell and taste, and stayed that way until I finished it.
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CDP Tasting (Minneapolis, MN): Last bottle and probably one of the best. Very easy drinking and smooth with minerals, raspberries, spice and earth. Medium finish. Drinking window is perfect now as I would not wait.
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Big Name CDP's (Tracy's, Mpls): Dark red color. 30 minute decant, 2oz pour. Dusty, herbs, black cherry, black raspberry nose. The palate offers sour cherry, black raspberry, spiced, medium body and finish. 90+pts.
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Thanksgiving 2013 + a couple other parties: My go-to entry-level CDP, although I've liked other vintages better – this was a little too “down the middle” for me – not classic or modern – just there. Notes of black tea and clove dominate, with some kirsch in the background.
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Medium red color. Aromas of red cherries, tobacco, underbrush and black pepper. Somewhat restrained ripe fruit in the mouth with excellent structure and grip. I clearly should have decanted this wine as it greatly improved with time in the glass. Ultimately, it really sang with aged Asiago cheese. Try again in 2 years.
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Nose is fairly restrained. Tangy, red berry fruit. Something slightly bitter on the finish, but perhaps not unpleasantly so. Some tobacco, garrigue, and soft minerality. Very pretty.
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Very pleasant CDP. Opened 3hrs ahead. Enticing nose, black cherry though not intoxicating. On the palate, full-bodied, soft, silky, almost sweet. Red fruit dominating - especially strawberry, paprika, rosemary, leather. Medium-long finish. Alcoholic heat becoming a bit too strong after an hour or so.
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Was ultimately very good. At first it seemed bad. After one hour decant it opened up and the funk went away. Was a learning experience as I almost poured it out.
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Really nice traditional style CDP. Vibrant red fruits integrated well with white pepper. firm tannins, silky mouth feel, and long finish. the heat from the alcohol is there, but not distracting. Drinking well now.
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This wine is still young and will benefit from additional cellar time. Although a pleasant drink for me, some might be put off a bit by the alcohol at this point in the wines evolution. The color is a beautiful garnet. The nose is floral with black cherry, graphite and smoke. On the palate we have dark fruits, tobacco, graphite and spice with a bit of heat. The wine seems to have an underlying complexity that begs for a few more years of lay down time to manifest itself. Medium-long finish. I will save my other two bottles for at least 2-3 years to let this youngster mature a bit more.
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One hour decant. Light Ruby color. Good but light CnDP. Nice mineral nose (why I like CnDP). Mild strength on the palette. Ends with some good fruit - Blackcurrent. By hour two sweet cherry is more pronounced., but still fairly linear. Not outstanding, but a nice surprise for a lesser known wine.
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Cedar, choclate and cherry on the nose. The cedar is prevalent on the palate, with the earthy and stony characteristic of a CDP. The cherry taste is also present on the palate. Long finish. Very good wine, but not as good as the 2005. Decanted for about an hour. I am sure a longer decanting time will allow the wine to open more.
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On the light side - earthy flavor, but not heavy handed. All the preferred characteristics of CdP (provencal herbs, bacon, savory fruit, etc.) - I like it. Day 2 & 3 became much more integrated and smooth - elegant.
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Believe it or not, but I actually prefer this to the 2007. In 2006, Pierre Usseglio's base CdP came out exactly like I love it. Classic kirsch liqueur, garrigue, saddle leather and licorice with ample acidity and earthiness. Unlike in 2007, the fruit is more balanced and doesn't play as dominating a role. Lovely freshness and yet some real structure and tannic bite. I really regret not having bought more of this particular wine. It is/was also an outstanding value at $25 on release.
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A Chateauneuf Sampler-2006 to 2009 (San Francisco Wine Trading Company): Light with faded edge. Some brett. Surprisingly large scaled given color, seemingly very Mourvedre with brown spices and bark. Savory, not sweet but marred by prickly alcohol which leads to a short, bitter finish. Not as enjoyable as a few years ago.
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Pretty dark ruby. Blackberry plums and olive aromas mingle with a bit smoke and moss. Medium body. In the middle there is a faint touch of blood orange, more plum and blackberry, and a bit of coffee. Lingering mouth puckering tannins finish the deal. Many good years left. Nice price.
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I might be a cheap date tonight, but this is drinking wonderfully. Cold smoke, dried herbs and meaty aromas. Kirsch liqueur, garrigue, leather and a touch of chocolate powder on the palate. Finishes well. Has many years left in the tank and should become more interesting, still. Just a really nice wine to drink on a Monday night with a mediterranean-inspired dinner.
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14.5% ABV. Translucent dark garnet in the glass. Plummy nose with a background note of garrigue. Medium full bodied with round red fruit. Decent again, and reasonably priced, but not exceptional.
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Double Blind Tasting at Kevin's (Kevin's House): I love this wine and no bad bottles to date. From a 375 and features garrique, pepper, raspberry and minerals. Good acid profile and medium finish.
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Double Blind Mini Offline (Rocknroller's (Kevin's)): Medium dark red color. Very consistent with previous bottle: nose is great, garrigue, herb de provence, black cherry, and earth. Showing its tannins and acidity, this was a pop and pour from a 375. It was more round and fully balanced on day 2.
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Double Blind Tasting at Kevin's (Kevin's House): From a 375ml. Nose: Spice and olive tapenade (subtle) with cherry and forest floor hints. Palate: Red fruits with spice, garrique and a long finish. Wonderful and ready now (in a half bottle). Tied for my second place.
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14.5% ABV. Translucent dark garnet in the glass. Somewhat plummy nose with secondary garrigue and cherry flavors. Medium full bodied. Pleasant, but a far cry from CdP greatness, but the price is reasonable.
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Monthly Tasting Group HWS #054; Rhône red. (By AH): Creamy, butter, a bit yoghurt in the bouquet as well as the taste, but these impressions are not disturbing. Much more dominating is the pleasant fruit juice with a hint of sweetness, good acidity and bitterness. Also some garrigue. A very pleasant, but not extremely exclusive wine. Will probably improve a bit over the next few years.
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Brilliant ruby, lightly perfumed nose of raisins, garrigue, stewed black cherries, strawberries and mineral notes, silky and suave on the attack with loads of dark grenache and spice, builds weight in the mouth, long tangy cherry driven finish, certainly punting past it's coverage
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Solid juice. Dark in color. Ripe and concentrated on the palate with a silky texture. The wine continued to improve in the glass. Should age very well.
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Brick Red color. Nose has garrigue, herb de provence, cherry, earth and truffle oil. The palate is tart with good acidity, cherry fruit, well balanced, nice finish. Drinking remarkably well now, very approachable.
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beautiful nose, but a bit closed on the palate. I thought I had grabbed an 05 and was surprised how much less fruit there was... oops 88pts *UPDATE* the preceding note was on the 1st half of the bottle. Quiet often I pop a bottle, and immediately pour half into a 375ml and recork with the original and put it back in the fridge.... which was what a had done here. Tonight I took out the second half, and given my experience with the first half was not really expecting much, but wow did I underestimate this wine. The wine was a bit too cold when I started, so there was not much nose, but the feel of the wine has really grown in every sense.. rounder, bigger, nice structured core, with super will integrated fine minerally notes. 92pts
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hmm, this was not as good as prior bottles and just tasted a bit tired and not as clean as I recall. dark red; smoky touch funky peppery red fruits with good flavor that needed more fullness and focus.
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Corks: Mediterranean (Rossford, OH): Delicious nose - acidic, meaty, talcy. Rich mouthfeel, smooth, medium- tannins, medium+ acid and body. Very elegant. Black plum. Representative, except it tastes older (like a time machine for an 06).
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The aroma of the 2006 Pierre Usseglio is packed with spicy dark fruit, white pepper, sea kelp, creosote, sage brush, cinnamon, glycerin, soy sauce, and espresso. The glycerin showed nicely on the mid palate along with a spicy, black pepper entry and a finish that was fair but nothing to write home about. This turned out to be a nice wine but only after a couple of hours in the glass. Remember this is still very young and needs air and time to unfurl. The Usseglio will be peaking around 2015 and 2016 as the fruit ripens rounding out the wine, hidden aromas develop, and the overall color lightens.
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Popped and poured. Prominant cedar on the nose and palate with more tannin than fruit. Surprisingly the mrs. tasted it blind and proclaimed, this is pretty good. So it was served with pork tenderloin for dinner. Cedar continued on the nose and palate with a fair amount of wood on the palate. About the 2 hour mark it started to open up and settle down. Decent bottle, but much less approachable than previous bottles. Off/shutting down? Not sure, but I'd be in no hurry to open up another.
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dark red; rich intoxicating nose with cherry, black cherry dusted with pepper, thyme, lavender, oregano; medium bodied slightly sweet tasting dark red fruits with soft pleasant finish. Very very good.
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At first I thought the bottle was very mute on the nose. But quickly it developed classic, if subtle, notes of black olive, garrigue, and dark fruits. Lovely in the mouth, full without being even slightly heavy, great length, ripe tannins. A great food wine. Will continue to develop and evolve for 5-10 years but is already very enjoyable. Had 1/3 of the bottle the next evening and it was still drinking very nicely.
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I was very pleasantly surprised by this wine. Drank a bottle 10 months ago and it was closed down. This bottle however, showed and impressive nose of raspberries and other red fruits. But the most surprising part was the finesse this bottle showed.
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A very surprising wine - much lighter than expected with a nice dash of tannins and acidity that really freshens the palate. I was expecting quite a dark, broody monster but this is much dryer and herbal - quite a pale colour, nose of dry herbs, scorched earth and white pepper coming through then some cherry notes. In the mouth quite rigid with a stern tannic backbone but. It reminds me a little bit of Beaucastel in that it is less brutal than some wines from this region. A little bit of heat on the palate - not sure if this will distract from the wine as it ages. Long finish, slightly sour on the mid palate but good stuff - needs quite some time to show its more secondary characteristics. Should be good providing the heat of the alcohol doesn't get in the way. I'd buy this again and stick it in the cellar for 5-10 years
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Once again I am amazed at the QPR here. I have already consumed a full case and am on the lookout for more. Much better the second day after 4 hours of air. Roast beef, blood, iron, spice and cherries on the palate - this is a knockout for the price I paid at Premier Cru for $25.
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Wine Education Service - Châteauneuf du Pape (LSE): Ruby with some age. Lovely nose, meaty, fruity, flowery, interesting. Excellent balance, big fruit, with plenty of acidity and soft tannins, expansive mid palte, good length.
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Decanted 3 hours. Smells very dark... intense blackberries, plums, briar, graphite, and some tart spree candy (if they made a dark flavored one). Soft and medium bodied, almost light on the palate, building pretty big tannins with swirling. Shows lots of generic dark fruits and not much else, but it is fairly tasty. Generic bigger fruits on the finish. The more time open the tastier this gets. This was definitely much better than the bottle I had a couple months ago. Perhaps this just needs more time.
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Dark fruit nose, a little plastic bag with garbage component though is throwing me off, it's very light though. Really odd, the fruit is nice though, there is nutmeg and cooking spices in there as well. Very forward palate, dark fruit hits early on, stained leather, very plummy, almost pruney. The alcohol comes in hard on the finish, not to much for me but still, might be to much for others. The tannins are strong but very gentle in their approach, drying acidity takes over right after the mid-palate. Not balanced over-all though, but a nice wine. --2 hours later: more figs coming through on the nose, caramel on the palate along with those dark fruits. Getting richer, more delicious. Massive figgy flavors. The fruit and tannins stick with you for a good time in the finish. Really nice at this point in the night. Upgraded from 88 to 90 points.
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My first Usseglio - surprisingly New World in character, almost to the point of a CA Central Coast syrah, actually. Well balanced, but big - jammy, peppery nose, dark in color, substantial mouthfeel, smoked meats and black fruits on the palate, strong but relatively short finish. A good wine, just not what I expected.
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Deep ruby color. Quite expressive and floral on the nose with elements of strawberry and raspberry syrup with a touch of gunpowder and some alcoholic heat. Fine tannins on the palate, medium to full bodied with good presence.
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Opened for three and a half hours, this glass poured an hour ago. Started out quite astringent, but has opened up quite a bit now. Currently showing pretty heavy candied red berries, chalk, clay, pepper, arugula, and some alcoholic burn on the nose. Overall appealing, though the burn is a bit tingly. Mouthfeel is average in texture, showing some chili flake, some overextracted dark fruit, and is quite drying in an unpleasent way. Fairly hot on the finish, showing a lot of stewed fruits. Not really fake fruits, just stewed real ones, with alcohol poured in. A disappointing effort. I'm finding that I'm just not liking many modern Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
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Solid CdP. Typical Rhone nose, great balance of fruit, tannin, and acidity. No unwanted heat that I could detect. Fairly one dimensional nose, but pure fruit and very enjoyable. Great Usseglio base cuvee.
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Vivid purple in the glass. Impressive nose of raspberries, plums and garrigue. Plums, lavender and licorice on the palate. The finish is still too hot. Probably a year or two away.
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Opened, no decant, waited one hour. Medium light red color. Floral notes, leather on the nose. First sip is hot, aromatic. Will give more time before next taste. Grilled meats, licorice and leather. Still alcoholic heat half hour later. An hour later, just not quite coming together. Berry flavors starting to emerge, but there's something in the finish that I don't like -- wish I could put a name to it.
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This is a delicious glass of wine. Dark raspberry, plum, and hoisin sauce with generous garrigue and dried herbes de provence. Good freshness and solid on the finish. The shortcoming of this wine is that it lacks depth and multiple layers of fruit and seems just a bit simple compared to the much better 2005, 2001, 2000, and 1998. Overall. Still a good buy, but not at the same level as the vintages mentioned prior.
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Popped and poured. Nose of fresh, dark fruits and a little smoked meat. Med-full mouthfeel. Tastes of smoked meat, tar, blackberries. Delicious. Plenty of acid and tannins for the long haul. I expect this to only improve with time. Excellent QPR at $25. Easily worth $40+
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Medium to light in color like Vieux Telegraphe. Again, a complex nose which has sweeter, riper fruit than that wine. Very nice feel with good dose of acidity but low tannins. Very pretty wine which leads with its fruit and finishes with rosemary and thyme. Looking back, I have consistently enjoyed this exceedingly welcoming wine.
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Didn't get a chance to decant for long enough. Light ruby color, nice nose with kirsch and herbs. In the mouth bright fruit, kirsch, and mediterranean herbs. Nicely balanced and pleasant. Pretty light in style, lovely fruit, not too complex. Pleasant medium finish. A little left over in day 2, toned down and very pleasant. Good wine.
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Nice, but for some reason hard to dissect for me. The closest I can say is stewed fruit with a tiny bit of vanilla and perhaps some fennel. (Ben says garrigue.) On the palate, more stewed fruit with perhaps toffee after taking a breath. Interesting wine, but it's just hard today for me to really pull something definite out of it.
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I decanted the wine for 1.5 hours before I poured it back into the bottle and consumed it over four evenings (vacuum pumped). The wine was bright ruby in colour, not too dense, I was still able to see my fingers through the wine. Prior to decanting the nose was vegetal and earthy, with a plastic component. Also, on the palate the wine was a little disjointed at first, with heat from the alcohol. After decanting, the nose was a little restrained, showing herbs and spices, then becoming gamey, with toffee notes. On the palate, the wine was medium-bodied, spicy, with balanced fruit, liquorice and nail polish remover. Despite its young age the wine was drinking very well. (89+)
The wine opened-up over night. The second evening, the nose was gamey and showed a wide range of fruit (blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, cherry and red currant), toffee, nail polish remover, herbs and cedar box. On the palate, the wine tasted grilled, was gamey and very herbaceous, with good fruit, asian spices and a hint of liquorice on the backend and a long finish. The transition of flavours was very nice. Gosh, this was good! (90+)
On day three the wine still had a great nose, strawberries and blackberries stood out. Also, there still was the great transition of flavours on the palate starting with fruits (strawberry, blackberry, red currant), transitioning to a herbeaceous mid-palate, followed by a combination of herbs and spices kicking in on the finish. (89+/90) The wine changed on day four, the nose now showed a bacon component and the palate had a black and green tea aspect making the wine pretty dry. (89-90)
I really liked this wine. It drank extremely well considering its young age (I would recommend two hours aeration prior to consumption), had good complexity for an entry-level CdP, and showed consistently well over all four evenings. The nice transition of flavours stood out. Needless to say, but this CdP offers a good QPR. It seems to be a mid-term drinker.
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Was on sale at Vinfolio so I had to pick some up. Nice, heavy concentration, with candied fruit intermixed with lushious underbrush, fat, peppery spice and structure to boot. This will last for 5 years+ and should strut it's stuff in a couple.
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Meduim+ bodied, dark ruby but lighter in color than some of the 07 CdRs I've been having lately. Ripe dark fruit with lots of mushroom, kirsch, garrigue, olive, gamey tastes. Very well balanced but somewhat lighter in mouthfeel than I expected.
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Raspberry bubble gum, kirsch, spice, and briar, with good tannic structure and medium glycerin. Come back to it in a few years. Lots of hair on the teeth now.
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Sweet black cherries, green pepper, lavender and licorice after a 2 hour decant. A tremendous effort that went superbly with truffle Brie and Swedish hard bread.
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2006 Chateauneuf-Some Basic and Luxury Cuvees (Vin Vino, Palo Alto): More classic medium ruby with a slightly tawny edge. Seductive and complex right out of the bottle, with herbal notes and a definite whiff of brett that adds complexity and earthiness but is not overpowering. Gorgeous red fruit here with terrific acidity. Not nearly as large scaled as the Cote de l'Ange and would be a much better wine with food I would think. Third time I've thought this wine is lovely, but today's bottle raises the question of brett being a problem down the line. For the shorter and medium term.
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Color: Medium purple Nose: Strawberries, raspberries, smoke Taste: Strawberries, raspberries, smoke, spices, simply delicious Finish: Medium and full of flavors Evaluation: Best wine of the night when you factor in price 92 points
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This is a spectacular CDP for the $25 paid. Pop and pour was good, but decanted for an hour was much better! I can easily see this becoming more of a daily drinker around the house.
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New Store Opening (Cork - Lovejoy Shop): Getting some nice black licorice, cherry pie, and some asian spices. Tasty, but still not on par with my expectations of a GOOD CdP.
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Medium red, translucent. Forthcomingly ripe, spicy cherries and powder on the nose. Remarkably open, full, lush palate with black fruit and licorice. Very appealing now and seemingly destined for earlier consumption. Excellent in a clean, modern idiom. I must say that I found fewer of the herbal Chateauneuf notes than the previous time I tasted this.
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This wine was decanted and showed well from the initial pour. This is the second impressive 2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape tasted this week. This wine showed expressive aromatics of raspberry, red currants, pepper and stone. The color is a dark red to to almost purple. The medium to full bodied palate showed good balance, concentration and tannins structure. This is youthful and vibrant. The wine drinks well now for its primary characteristics.
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Trip to France; 10/13/2008-10/24/2008 (Burgundy, Rhone Valley (Chateauneuf-du-Pape), Paris): Gamey leather nose, with an almost tangy element in the background. Rich plush palate with fine tannins and medium body; lithe. Cherry, blackberry notes with prominent game, earth, tobacco and cedar. Medium length finish, thought s bit simple and primary now. Great potential, would let sleep for a few years.
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After being surprised by the disappointing showing a couple weeks ago, I wanted give this another try. This time I treated it with a little more care and patience, giving it 90 minutes in the decanter. That really did the trick. Some similar notes to the previous bottle, with the brambly garrigue and pepper, but the grenache fruit was really singing: raspberry, red currant, dried strawberry, and a little blackberry too. Some meaty notes gave weight to the flavor profile. Long finish featuring sweet fruit. Decant!
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Very nice and powerfull nose of ripe black cherries, asian spices, meat juice and some minerality... this is the kind of wine you can keep your nose forever in the glass... in the mounth, ripe cherries with a good acidity and even some saltiness... wich makes you want to drink more after every sip... this is not an aperitief wine... and matches perfectly with the roasted "angus" beef on the barbecue.
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Medium ruby. Already has a complex mix of garrigue and fruit. Elegant, well balanced, and not overly tannic, even at this early stage. Lovely basic cuvee, open and approachable early. This tastes like real Chateauneuf that has not been dressed up. I liked this much more than the 2 luxury cuvees I tasted today.
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Tasted unblinded at the Vintage Wines, Ltd. wine bar. Deep ruby robe with red rim. Clean nose, showing moderately intense aromas of black cherry, underbrush and exotic spices. Full-bodied on the palate, with low acidity, ample silky tannins and flavors with mirror the nose. Long, smooth finish. Very nice! Drink now-12/20.
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Pierre Usseglio tasting (Hellerup): Dark red color with a purple hue. Raspberry, licorise and nail polish on the nose. Intense fruit on the palate, raspberry and blueberry, and a load of pepper on the midpalate. The fruity sweetness is from start to finish. Powerful tannins at the end, but their are deliciously mouthwatering.
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Approfondimenti: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Alba, Italy): Ruby core, watery rim, clear. Not intense aromas, but the alcohol gets right up my nose. Hardly any fruit to start, only bretty animal and leather, aromatic herbs. After an hour or so in glass, some nice fruit showed through, while some of the wild animal character diminished. High alcohol, disjointed acidity, short, simple.
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Tasted from cask with Thierry Usseglio at the domain (From 65 years old vines with some of even 103 years...)
Nose of very ripe cherries, spicy and meaty... in the mounth very ripe cherries, good acidity, very very long aftertaste and refreshing... This is probably even better than the 2004 or 2005 at the same stage! great wine
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10/1/2023 - Patrick_from_champagne Likes this wine: 92 Points
Long, classy, little sweetness, mature
Excllent note of strawberry, spices
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11/4/2022 - pmik Likes this wine: 92 Points
Vinnørd
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6/30/2022 - finewinebuff57 wrote: 88 Points
Sentiment towards the 2006 vintage has become more positive as the wines have aged, but based on this bottle Usseglio is not one of the best wines. Ripe, ready but rather muddled. A tad disappointing.
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1/21/2022 - Klugi Wine wrote: 90 Points
Fully ripe now with a bouquet of plums and oriental spices.
Else wise quite close to my last tasting note.
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1/12/2022 - pmik Likes this wine: 91 Points
Vinnørd
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6/22/2021 - Dmax808 wrote: 93 Points
As evidenced by my ratings over the years it must have gotten better over time or just that I only like aged CdP. Only got better over time.
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5/31/2021 - wwolf1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Un nez agréable, la couleur indique des signes de vieillissements.
En bouche c'est bien : le vin est toujours riche et puissant même si des signes d’évolution sont présents. Il est a boire mais toujours agréable.
15/20
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5/2/2021 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points
Wow, first bottle since 2014 of this for me, and that bottle was not very good. This bottle, on the other hand, is quite nice. It is certainly bricking in color these days. Initially on a pop and poured this definitely is showing itself as ready, and more restrained than prior bottles. The aromas are of soil and pruney fruit (but no in an extracted way), some violets, some black licorice, dirty, muddy soil... overall, it's quite rich on the nose. Hey, it smells like a properly aged Châteauneuf-du-Pape at this point. Fairly mild, soft and fruity on the palate, and nicely composed. Plush even, and acidity builds nicely as its held in the mouth. The finish builds with nice acidity, showing tannins present but not dominant. Some nice blueberry and blackberry fruits, some soil notes. It's predominantly the blueberry flavors that linger. This is showing pretty composed at this point, and I think it's peaking. Last bottle I had I thought I should either burn these or let them sit and see where they develop. Well, glad I chose the developed side of things as this is precisely why I do enjoy aging these entry level CDPs. The fruit bombiness has left it but the fruit is still bright and not over ripe. I'll feel good to dig into these in earnest now, whenever it strikes my fancy. I shouldn't let myself miss this peak!
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2/17/2021 - pmik wrote: 92 Points
Vinnørd: 92+
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9/23/2020 - Cote d'Or wrote:
Tasted over 3 hrs
-med dark red minimal clearing
-juicy kirsch grenache some mature elements
-med acidity, med+ weight while not super high on its own the heat dominates the palate as much of the fruit concentration has faded and leaves a bitter note
-not as good as prior bottles
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9/1/2020 - LARich Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic and delicious. Will last another 2-4 years but not much more
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4/20/2020 - wwolf1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Un nez agreable, des aromes un peu confiturés mais pas trop, encore de la puissance, de la matière. Le vin est évolué mais reste équilibré.
15/20
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2/23/2020 - tomoem Does not like this wine:
CBCC "open that bottle night" 2020
A tough showing, Very acidic profile and unbalanced from start to finish. Among the grouping probably last. Plum and forest floor flavors with a sharp biting mid palette. Almost like the wine was reacting to air. Un pleasant. Not rating since the vintner deserves better.
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2/9/2020 - Bearbus wrote:
Dark fruit and old wood, some dried brown leaf, good balance with good acidity, smooth yet grippy tannins. Good, not great, decent value for the age though
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5/11/2019 - hsacks Does not like this wine: 85 Points
More unpleasant than the 7/6/15.
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9/16/2018 - Klugi Wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Quite an honest CD9P. Bouquet of blackberries, muscat, cinnamon and interestingly some apricot.
It’s full-bodied but not tiring. At 14,5% it is quite balenced and showing its terroir. Overall I often prefer the „basic“ cuvée over the „Parker“ ones which rarely stand the test of time. This should hold for another decade.
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7/7/2018 - drwine2001 wrote:
Light ruby with faded edge. Red fruit and licorice. Medium to full bodied with reasonably lush glycerine texture. Some harshness from alcohol, but deep black cherry, anise, and leather with low remaining tannin. Ready but not special.
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4/26/2018 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:
Deep garnet color. Expected CdP nose with some game, died cherries and a bit of pine/rosemary. Good mouthfeel with dark fruit and pepper on the palate. Tannins are getting thin, but this is drinking nicely now. Can go longer but not sure what, if anything, it would yield. Good stuff.
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12/24/2017 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
Medium dark red color. Slow-O for 90 minutes. Drank 1 glass with dinner. Very spicy, pepper, tart black cherry and garrigue on the nose. The palate is also rather spicy, pepper, sour cherry, black licorice, raspberry with a little umami on the finish. Drink now.
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9/11/2017 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
A disappointing bottle. No obvious flaw, but didn't seem to have much interesting going on tonight.
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8/19/2017 - Purple Grillz Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beaucastel Jr.
1 foot tall, weighs 2.5 lbs. graduated 23rd in his class. Smells like Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream and tastes like ripe strawberries and Dr. Pepper. A strange hybrid of Beaucastels illegitimate child and Caymus. Needs an hour out of the bottle to get some manners and needs to be served at 70 degrees to get the perfume and the bell ringing fruit candy on the palate. Any hotter and the mid palate is a shitshow of hairspray. Anything under 67 degrees is going to kill the secondary flavors and soft spice. Experiment! At $40 or under, you are stealing this wine. BDX fans pay though the nose to get this much fruit, this pure.
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6/23/2017 - btock wrote: 89 Points
Cork was stained so dark, though we may be in for a beast. But the wine was nicely balanced and drank very nicely. Certainly a more modern, flush style but with our beef course this worked nicely. Deep coloring, but lighter moutfeel. Some softer earth flavors, but more of a fruit driven composition. Nice QPR. Paired with the '06 Beaucastel
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4/22/2017 - ron m wrote:
Quite nice. Typical CDP, civilized, quite restrained and pleasant to drink.
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3/12/2017 - frontenac Likes this wine: 85 Points
The first night I warmed it from my 50 degree cellar before decanting, and it was not the best, maybe 80 pts. The next night I had salmon, and I wasn't sure if I would like this wine at all. It had a fairly strong smell of barnyard when I first poured it from the decanter. After that smell had blown off, the wine was amazingly drinkable, even with salmon! It was a 85 point wine, maybe more. The fruit and acid were beautifully blended into a seamless whole, with the tannins fully integrated. The aroma was of a fully aged red, with some leather.
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11/10/2016 - drwine2001 wrote:
Medium ruby. Dark red fruit on the nose, red and black fruit on the palate with a touch of garrigue. Roundly tannic finish. This bottle was not yet fully mature.
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9/4/2016 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 90 Points
This a very balanced and food-friendly CdP. Medium (+) ruby with some garnet on the rim. The nose is clean and still developing, with ripe red fruit and black fruit and little earthiness. The palate is dry and consistent with the nose, but with both tart and ripe fruit. The acidity and tannins are medium. The alcohol is medium (+) to high (at $14%) but not really out of balance. The body, flavor intensity and length are medium (+). It actually paired very well with a grilled peppered tuna steak with roasted potatoes and Provencal herbs. It is definitely in its optimal drinking window now and - although it could certainly age for several more years - I would be inclined to drink it in the shorter term.
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8/23/2016 - hsacks Likes this wine: 90 Points
Much fresher than the 7/6/15 bottle but still exhibited a somewhat roasted character. Nicely silky and thick on the palate.
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2/17/2016 - btock wrote: 90 Points
Right up the middle here, recognizable CdP funk, core purple fruit and rocks. Nice balance. Not a wow wine, but drinking well and food friendly. At 10 years in a nice spot where the fruit is still playful but the structure and tannins are in balance. No pronounced secondary flavors yet.
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1/25/2016 - bcg14 wrote: 91 Points
Prototypical CnP, straddling the line between traditional and modern. Resolved tannins, black raspberry and plum aromas and flavor. A hint of garrigue adds interest - very well done.
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1/22/2016 - CHINACAT wrote: 89 Points
Good balance with a bit of complexity. Should have a couple of more years of life. A very good entry level CNP.
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1/19/2016 - LARich wrote: 91 Points
Classic easy to drink CDP that's in a solid place now. Bright fruit, medium finish and just enough tannin to hold it all together. Drink now but can last a few years more
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1/9/2016 - bryceandrachel Likes this wine:
This bottle was drinking wonderfully - dark cherry, a little tobacco, and a great finish that stretched on. It will be interesting to see what my last bottle is like next year!
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12/9/2015 - BklynNeophyte wrote:
One of several Thanksgiving rhone blends that did not wow. Disappointed
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8/8/2015 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
Annual Wine Group Summer Event - BBQ Brisket at Siggy's (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color. PNO, Small taste. Just curious to see where this was at. Still in good shape, plenty of dark raspberry fruit, hints of dried herbs, spice, and a medium plus body with medium grained tannins. Still get the truffle too. 89+ to 90pts.
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7/31/2015 - davergny Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good bottle, nice juicy dark red fruit, licorice & garrigue. Silky but still has a tannic bite.
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7/6/2015 - hsacks wrote: 88 Points
Much more mature than the 8/3/13 bottle. Showed some oxidation but still had plenty of ripe fruit and acidity.
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5/18/2015 - drwine2001 wrote:
Light ruby/garnet color. Plum, cherry, and light garrigue. Medium weight (light for Chateauneuf), supple sweet red fruit that shouts Grenache, completely open, easy style with a bit of tobacco leaf and an interesting truffled component as well. One could quibble and ask for more acidity and tannin, but this is a damn good basic cuvee which is currently saying "Come hither".
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5/9/2015 - Cote d'Or wrote:
PopnPour, tasted over 3 hrs
-nearly opaque dark red
-moderately expressive, a little meaty with dark red/black fruits and earthiness initially followed by some grenache-y red fruits emerging after an hour
-med+ acidity, med/med- weight with excellent concentration and an elegant mouthfeel though lacking some complexity, dark red fruit, trace heat and med/med- tannins
-darker fruit profile similar to '99 and '04 CdPs, reaching early mature plateau
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3/12/2015 - smphelps wrote: 88 Points
On day one, this was nice, deep, and refined, with blackberry, plum and, pepper. Didn't hold up though, turning towards raisin and showing much more heat causing me to question a bit my 2011 note concerning ageing potential. Still quite nice upon opening. Dark crimson.
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2/8/2015 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
Very pretty. Red berry fruit, garrigue, gravelly minerality. Finish still seems a little rough.
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1/4/2015 - frontenac Likes this wine: 85 Points
Some Brett but still delicious
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11/17/2014 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 86 Points
Day 1: Pop and poured, in glass for 2 hours. Aromas are light in depth, but on the darker side of the spectrum, offering some mentholated herbs, and dark plum skins. There's a noticeable bit of heat here, too. Palate enters with very soft, inviting texture, but quickly things get rather spicy and alcoholic, with flavors on the darker side. The initial attack on the finish is out of balance alcohol, lots of spiced red fruit and also those plum skins. I'm not sure what to do with my remaining bottles... this is most definitely not my style of wine. I appreciate the lovely texture, but the alcohol is completely out of balance with the other elements, as it doesn't really offer very much flavor. 83 Points.
Day 2: This is a different wine on day two so I might as well write a whole new note. The aromas are spicy, with nice pure plum notes. None of the menthol, hot, steamy plum of yesterday... it's actually quite pleasant today. Some stems, plum skins, and rich aroma. Soft palate entry. Soft fruit, some mild tannin and acid present and some puckering notes. A little bit of alcohol is still present on the finish with plum skins and some nice tannin/acid balance. Still a little steaminess lingering, but way softer and integrated today. Final score is for day two.
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11/10/2014 - galewskj wrote: 89 Points
30 minute decant and drank a small pour over about an hour. Initially, nice minerality and spice on the nose. This quickly turned to a basic blackberry liqueur smell and taste, and stayed that way until I finished it.
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11/8/2014 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 91 Points
CDP Tasting (Minneapolis, MN): Last bottle and probably one of the best. Very easy drinking and smooth with minerals, raspberries, spice and earth. Medium finish. Drinking window is perfect now as I would not wait.
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11/8/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
Big Name CDP's (Tracy's, Mpls): Dark red color. 30 minute decant, 2oz pour. Dusty, herbs, black cherry, black raspberry nose. The palate offers sour cherry, black raspberry, spiced, medium body and finish. 90+pts.
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7/5/2014 - Matt T Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent quality for the price. Nice notes of raspberry, oak, and tobacco. Good complexity. This has improved significantly in the past five years.
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4/5/2014 - Marole wrote: 87 Points
I'm done with Châteauneuf-du-Papes, not my thing anymore (or have they ever been?).
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12/23/2013 - pgb67 wrote: 90 Points
Thanksgiving 2013 + a couple other parties: My go-to entry-level CDP, although I've liked other vintages better – this was a little too “down the middle” for me – not classic or modern – just there. Notes of black tea and clove dominate, with some kirsch in the background.
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11/8/2013 - BklynNeophyte wrote: 91 Points
Not impressed on night one. Just outstanding on night 2. Very nice CDP. Yum. Comparable. Josh Donaldson in 2013.
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11/2/2013 - Petberg wrote: 91 Points
Mondvol, zachte tannines, rood fruit, wat kruidigheid en hint van witte chocolade. Lange afdronk.
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10/3/2013 - Todd French wrote: flawed
Cooked
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9/29/2013 - Cosi Fan Tutte Likes this wine: 91 Points
Mostly the same as last time.
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8/3/2013 - hsacks Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium red color. Aromas of red cherries, tobacco, underbrush and black pepper. Somewhat restrained ripe fruit in the mouth with excellent structure and grip. I clearly should have decanted this wine as it greatly improved with time in the glass. Ultimately, it really sang with aged Asiago cheese. Try again in 2 years.
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6/11/2013 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
Nose is fairly restrained. Tangy, red berry fruit. Something slightly bitter on the finish, but perhaps not unpleasantly so. Some tobacco, garrigue, and soft minerality. Very pretty.
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4/14/2013 - Cosi Fan Tutte Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very pleasant CDP. Opened 3hrs ahead. Enticing nose, black cherry though not intoxicating. On the palate, full-bodied, soft, silky, almost sweet. Red fruit dominating - especially strawberry, paprika, rosemary, leather. Medium-long finish. Alcoholic heat becoming a bit too strong after an hour or so.
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3/8/2013 - Wineaux67 wrote: 90 Points
Was ultimately very good. At first it seemed bad. After one hour decant it opened up and the funk went away. Was a learning experience as I almost poured it out.
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2/19/2013 - Ary wrote: 90 Points
Nice Pape. Smoke, dried figs and some berries in the somewhat closed nose. Full bodied and attractive with rich fruit and earth tones on the palate.
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2/11/2013 - Darkhorn Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really nice traditional style CDP. Vibrant red fruits integrated well with white pepper. firm tannins, silky mouth feel, and long finish. the heat from the alcohol is there, but not distracting. Drinking well now.
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1/10/2013 - frontenac wrote: 90 Points
Opened a 375 tonight, and it was great. Bouquet of leather, fruit, and complex aged CNdeP. Very balanced. Holding up well.
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10/9/2012 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 90 Points
This wine is still young and will benefit from additional cellar time. Although a pleasant drink for me, some might be put off a bit by the alcohol at this point in the wines evolution. The color is a beautiful garnet. The nose is floral with black cherry, graphite and smoke. On the palate we have dark fruits, tobacco, graphite and spice with a bit of heat. The wine seems to have an underlying complexity that begs for a few more years of lay down time to manifest itself. Medium-long finish. I will save my other two bottles for at least 2-3 years to let this youngster mature a bit more.
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9/14/2012 - Hermosabritdad wrote: 83 Points
One hour decant. Light Ruby color. Good but light CnDP. Nice mineral nose (why I like CnDP). Mild strength on the palette. Ends with some good fruit - Blackcurrent. By hour two sweet cherry is more pronounced., but still fairly linear. Not outstanding, but a nice surprise for a lesser known wine.
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9/2/2012 - JOsgood wrote:
Very good. Powerful wine with nice balance. Drank young tonight, this should age very nicely given the chance.
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9/1/2012 - the godfather wrote:
yes, Ilike
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8/20/2012 - zovizule wrote:
Odd - off bottle. Strong acetone like nose and off-putting flavor. Can tell there was something nice underneath that, but not drinkable.
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6/29/2012 - jfpwine wrote: 90 Points
Cedar, choclate and cherry on the nose. The cedar is prevalent on the palate, with the earthy and stony characteristic of a CDP. The cherry taste is also present on the palate. Long finish. Very good wine, but not as good as the 2005. Decanted for about an hour. I am sure a longer decanting time will allow the wine to open more.
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5/22/2012 - vino vidi vici wrote:
On the light side - earthy flavor, but not heavy handed. All the preferred characteristics of CdP (provencal herbs, bacon, savory fruit, etc.) - I like it. Day 2 & 3 became much more integrated and smooth - elegant.
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4/30/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:
Believe it or not, but I actually prefer this to the 2007. In 2006, Pierre Usseglio's base CdP came out exactly like I love it. Classic kirsch liqueur, garrigue, saddle leather and licorice with ample acidity and earthiness. Unlike in 2007, the fruit is more balanced and doesn't play as dominating a role. Lovely freshness and yet some real structure and tannic bite. I really regret not having bought more of this particular wine. It is/was also an outstanding value at $25 on release.
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2/4/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
A Chateauneuf Sampler-2006 to 2009 (San Francisco Wine Trading Company): Light with faded edge. Some brett. Surprisingly large scaled given color, seemingly very Mourvedre with brown spices and bark. Savory, not sweet but marred by prickly alcohol which leads to a short, bitter finish. Not as enjoyable as a few years ago.
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12/25/2011 - Jurgens wrote: 92 Points
Good and still your. keep some years
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12/2/2011 - Baggio wrote: 90 Points
Pretty good. Faded on the second night. Seems like it's at its apex for drinking now.
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8/24/2011 - cubswinws wrote: 91 Points
Very nice at this point. Fully open for business. Nice meat and herb and everything in balance.
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8/24/2011 - smphelps wrote: 91 Points
Pretty dark ruby. Blackberry plums and olive aromas mingle with a bit smoke and moss. Medium body. In the middle there is a faint touch of blood orange, more plum and blackberry, and a bit of coffee. Lingering mouth puckering tannins finish the deal. Many good years left. Nice price.
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7/16/2011 - bboy wrote: 92 Points
Lots of herbs, a favourite
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7/10/2011 - PBG wrote: 91 Points
Medium red color. Spice, pepper and garrigue on the nose. Red fruit flavors on the palate with a medium finish. Nothing over the top but enjoyable.
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5/23/2011 - steffenpelz wrote:
I might be a cheap date tonight, but this is drinking wonderfully. Cold smoke, dried herbs and meaty aromas. Kirsch liqueur, garrigue, leather and a touch of chocolate powder on the palate. Finishes well. Has many years left in the tank and should become more interesting, still. Just a really nice wine to drink on a Monday night with a mediterranean-inspired dinner.
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4/28/2011 - OneLastSyrah Likes this wine: 90 Points
14.5% ABV. Translucent dark garnet in the glass. Plummy nose with a background note of garrigue. Medium full bodied with round red fruit. Decent again, and reasonably priced, but not exceptional.
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1/27/2011 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 91 Points
Double Blind Tasting at Kevin's (Kevin's House): I love this wine and no bad bottles to date. From a 375 and features garrique, pepper, raspberry and minerals. Good acid profile and medium finish.
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1/26/2011 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Double Blind Mini Offline (Rocknroller's (Kevin's)): Medium dark red color. Very consistent with previous bottle: nose is great, garrigue, herb de provence, black cherry, and earth. Showing its tannins and acidity, this was a pop and pour from a 375. It was more round and fully balanced on day 2.
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1/26/2011 - Mattshank wrote: 92 Points
Double Blind Tasting at Kevin's (Kevin's House): From a 375ml. Nose: Spice and olive tapenade (subtle) with cherry and forest floor hints. Palate: Red fruits with spice, garrique and a long finish. Wonderful and ready now (in a half bottle). Tied for my second place.
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1/15/2011 - OneLastSyrah wrote: 90 Points
14.5% ABV. Translucent dark garnet in the glass. Somewhat plummy nose with secondary garrigue and cherry flavors. Medium full bodied. Pleasant, but a far cry from CdP greatness, but the price is reasonable.
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1/12/2011 - Zweder wrote: 89 Points
Monthly Tasting Group HWS #054; Rhône red. (By AH): Creamy, butter, a bit yoghurt in the bouquet as well as the taste, but these impressions are not disturbing. Much more dominating is the pleasant fruit juice with a hint of sweetness, good acidity and bitterness. Also some garrigue. A very pleasant, but not extremely exclusive wine. Will probably improve a bit over the next few years.
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12/30/2010 - duchamp Likes this wine: 92 Points
Brilliant ruby, lightly perfumed nose of raisins, garrigue, stewed black cherries, strawberries and mineral notes, silky and suave on the attack with loads of dark grenache and spice, builds weight in the mouth, long tangy cherry driven finish, certainly punting past it's coverage
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12/23/2010 - the godfather wrote:
bordering on over ripe, however I really liked this. Will definitely need to revisit this one.
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12/22/2010 - JOsgood wrote: 91 Points
Solid juice. Dark in color. Ripe and concentrated on the palate with a silky texture. The wine continued to improve in the glass. Should age very well.
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11/28/2010 - Mister45 wrote: 89 Points
Nose: herbal, spice, creamy dark fruit
PAlate: blueberry, dark fruit, mineral, wet stone, coffee, solid tannins, classic cndp.
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11/18/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 91 Points
My fifth time sampling this wine and it is always solid. Floral, pepper, earth, and spice. Clean wine and good acidity.
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11/14/2010 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Brick Red color. Nose has garrigue, herb de provence, cherry, earth and truffle oil. The palate is tart with good acidity, cherry fruit, well balanced, nice finish. Drinking remarkably well now, very approachable.
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11/4/2010 - gzim wrote: 92 Points
beautiful nose, but a bit closed on the palate. I thought I had grabbed an 05 and was surprised how much less fruit there was... oops 88pts
*UPDATE* the preceding note was on the 1st half of the bottle. Quiet often I pop a bottle, and immediately pour half into a 375ml and recork with the original and put it back in the fridge.... which was what a had done here. Tonight I took out the second half, and given my experience with the first half was not really expecting much, but wow did I underestimate this wine. The wine was a bit too cold when I started, so there was not much nose, but the feel of the wine has really grown in every sense.. rounder, bigger, nice structured core, with super will integrated fine minerally notes. 92pts
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10/30/2010 - slada wrote: 88 Points
hmm, this was not as good as prior bottles and just tasted a bit tired and not as clean as I recall. dark red; smoky touch funky peppery red fruits with good flavor that needed more fullness and focus.
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9/23/2010 - joshwoodward wrote: 93 Points
Corks: Mediterranean (Rossford, OH): Delicious nose - acidic, meaty, talcy. Rich mouthfeel, smooth, medium- tannins, medium+ acid and body. Very elegant. Black plum. Representative, except it tastes older (like a time machine for an 06).
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9/12/2010 - kanjimoti wrote: 89 Points
The aroma of the 2006 Pierre Usseglio is packed with spicy dark fruit, white pepper, sea kelp, creosote, sage brush, cinnamon, glycerin, soy sauce, and espresso. The glycerin showed nicely on the mid palate along with a spicy, black pepper entry and a finish that was fair but nothing to write home about. This turned out to be a nice wine but only after a couple of hours in the glass. Remember this is still very young and needs air and time to unfurl. The Usseglio will be peaking around 2015 and 2016 as the fruit ripens rounding out the wine, hidden aromas develop, and the overall color lightens.
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8/29/2010 - snipes wrote:
Popped and poured. Prominant cedar on the nose and palate with more tannin than fruit. Surprisingly the mrs. tasted it blind and proclaimed, this is pretty good. So it was served with pork tenderloin for dinner. Cedar continued on the nose and palate with a fair amount of wood on the palate. About the 2 hour mark it started to open up and settle down. Decent bottle, but much less approachable than previous bottles. Off/shutting down? Not sure, but I'd be in no hurry to open up another.
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8/22/2010 - Baggio wrote: 89 Points
Really should have decanted this. Earth and minerals overwhelmed the grenache. Better on second night. Will wait a year until I drink the second one.
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7/12/2010 - Joelene wrote: 91 Points
Had at Michael Alborini's with Veal Madeira, good, provencial herb, kirsch, sweet tobacco, clove, cigar box, cedar, solid for around $45
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4/16/2010 - slada wrote: 91 Points
dark red; rich intoxicating nose with cherry, black cherry dusted with pepper, thyme, lavender, oregano; medium bodied slightly sweet tasting dark red fruits with soft pleasant finish. Very very good.
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4/10/2010 - ccn wrote:
Had this side-by-side with the 2005 of the same wine. Really emphasized the masculine side of the 2006 -- again, black olive and garrigue.
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4/5/2010 - ccn wrote: 91 Points
At first I thought the bottle was very mute on the nose. But quickly it developed classic, if subtle, notes of black olive, garrigue, and dark fruits. Lovely in the mouth, full without being even slightly heavy, great length, ripe tannins. A great food wine. Will continue to develop and evolve for 5-10 years but is already very enjoyable. Had 1/3 of the bottle the next evening and it was still drinking very nicely.
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2/25/2010 - Jcowell wrote: 92 Points
I was very pleasantly surprised by this wine. Drank a bottle 10 months ago and it was closed down. This bottle however, showed and impressive nose of raspberries and other red fruits. But the most surprising part was the finesse this bottle showed.
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2/20/2010 - winelovr2001 wrote: 88 Points
A simple CdP. Good ripe fruit and nice acids but not the depth I look for.
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2/2/2010 - pjaines wrote:
A very surprising wine - much lighter than expected with a nice dash of tannins and acidity that really freshens the palate. I was expecting quite a dark, broody monster but this is much dryer and herbal - quite a pale colour, nose of dry herbs, scorched earth and white pepper coming through then some cherry notes. In the mouth quite rigid with a stern tannic backbone but. It reminds me a little bit of Beaucastel in that it is less brutal than some wines from this region. A little bit of heat on the palate - not sure if this will distract from the wine as it ages. Long finish, slightly sour on the mid palate but good stuff - needs quite some time to show its more secondary characteristics. Should be good providing the heat of the alcohol doesn't get in the way. I'd buy this again and stick it in the cellar for 5-10 years
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1/30/2010 - Red Mountain Man wrote: 92 Points
Once again I am amazed at the QPR here. I have already consumed a full case and am on the lookout for more. Much better the second day after 4 hours of air. Roast beef, blood, iron, spice and cherries on the palate - this is a knockout for the price I paid at Premier Cru for $25.
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1/25/2010 - robw wrote: 92 Points
this wine is in a good place right now. ripe cherry prevails and the wine is well balanced
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1/24/2010 - Blue Shorts wrote:
Still improving. Will hold rest for at lest a year before trying it again. Waaaaay too young at this point.
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12/14/2009 - tendring Likes this wine: 86 Points
Wine Education Service - Châteauneuf du Pape (LSE): Ruby with some age.
Lovely nose, meaty, fruity, flowery, interesting.
Excellent balance, big fruit, with plenty of acidity and soft tannins, expansive mid palte, good length.
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12/2/2009 - jciuccio wrote: 88 Points
graphite and gunpowder, big fruit great mouth feel medium finish. Great wine
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11/18/2009 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 3 hours. Smells very dark... intense blackberries, plums, briar, graphite, and some tart spree candy (if they made a dark flavored one). Soft and medium bodied, almost light on the palate, building pretty big tannins with swirling. Shows lots of generic dark fruits and not much else, but it is fairly tasty. Generic bigger fruits on the finish. The more time open the tastier this gets. This was definitely much better than the bottle I had a couple months ago. Perhaps this just needs more time.
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11/18/2009 - gripNsip wrote: 90 Points
Dark fruit nose, a little plastic bag with garbage component though is throwing me off, it's very light though. Really odd, the fruit is nice though, there is nutmeg and cooking spices in there as well. Very forward palate, dark fruit hits early on, stained leather, very plummy, almost pruney. The alcohol comes in hard on the finish, not to much for me but still, might be to much for others. The tannins are strong but very gentle in their approach, drying acidity takes over right after the mid-palate. Not balanced over-all though, but a nice wine. --2 hours later: more figs coming through on the nose, caramel on the palate along with those dark fruits. Getting richer, more delicious. Massive figgy flavors. The fruit and tannins stick with you for a good time in the finish. Really nice at this point in the night. Upgraded from 88 to 90 points.
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11/16/2009 - Todd French wrote: 91 Points
My first Usseglio - surprisingly New World in character, almost to the point of a CA Central Coast syrah, actually. Well balanced, but big - jammy, peppery nose, dark in color, substantial mouthfeel, smoked meats and black fruits on the palate, strong but relatively short finish. A good wine, just not what I expected.
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10/23/2009 - dougsmith wrote: 90 Points
Deep ruby color. Quite expressive and floral on the nose with elements of strawberry and raspberry syrup with a touch of gunpowder and some alcoholic heat. Fine tannins on the palate, medium to full bodied with good presence.
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9/14/2009 - zovizule wrote:
Tight and a bit hot on opening. With air bright red fruit, lovely, not terribly complex, at least at this point but a pleasure.
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9/4/2009 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 86 Points
Opened for three and a half hours, this glass poured an hour ago. Started out quite astringent, but has opened up quite a bit now. Currently showing pretty heavy candied red berries, chalk, clay, pepper, arugula, and some alcoholic burn on the nose. Overall appealing, though the burn is a bit tingly. Mouthfeel is average in texture, showing some chili flake, some overextracted dark fruit, and is quite drying in an unpleasent way. Fairly hot on the finish, showing a lot of stewed fruits. Not really fake fruits, just stewed real ones, with alcohol poured in. A disappointing effort. I'm finding that I'm just not liking many modern Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
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8/23/2009 - CTuttle wrote: 90 Points
Solid CdP. Typical Rhone nose, great balance of fruit, tannin, and acidity. No unwanted heat that I could detect. Fairly one dimensional nose, but pure fruit and very enjoyable. Great Usseglio base cuvee.
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6/27/2009 - Blue Shorts wrote: 92 Points
Yum. Great stuff and getting better. A full-fruit, big CdP.
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6/15/2009 - Fielding wrote: 90 Points
Vivid purple in the glass. Impressive nose of raspberries, plums and garrigue. Plums, lavender and licorice on the palate. The finish is still too hot. Probably a year or two away.
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5/31/2009 - Matt T wrote: 89 Points
Clean and pure. Expressive raspberry flavors. Not a great deal of depth, but excellent nonetheless.
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5/25/2009 - paulevd wrote: 88 Points
Opened, no decant, waited one hour. Medium light red color. Floral notes, leather on the nose. First sip is hot, aromatic. Will give more time before next taste. Grilled meats, licorice and leather. Still alcoholic heat half hour later. An hour later, just not quite coming together. Berry flavors starting to emerge, but there's something in the finish that I don't like -- wish I could put a name to it.
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5/23/2009 - Blue Shorts wrote: 91 Points
Same notes as before.
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5/20/2009 - steffenpelz wrote:
This is a delicious glass of wine. Dark raspberry, plum, and hoisin sauce with generous garrigue and dried herbes de provence. Good freshness and solid on the finish. The shortcoming of this wine is that it lacks depth and multiple layers of fruit and seems just a bit simple compared to the much better 2005, 2001, 2000, and 1998. Overall. Still a good buy, but not at the same level as the vintages mentioned prior.
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5/2/2009 - ews3 wrote: 88 Points
Philadelphia Wine Festival (Marriott, Philadelphia PA): may not have been fair to taste this right after the mon aieul... but c'est la vie... black fruit, tasted a touch light....
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5/2/2009 - jrobs7777 wrote:
The Eighth Annual Philadelphia Wine Festival (Philadelphia Marriott Downtown): I really enjoyed their basic CdP. Good fruit. Thick and coating with a nice finish.
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5/1/2009 - Blue Shorts wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Nose of fresh, dark fruits and a little smoked meat. Med-full mouthfeel. Tastes of smoked meat, tar, blackberries. Delicious. Plenty of acid and tannins for the long haul. I expect this to only improve with time. Excellent QPR at $25. Easily worth $40+
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4/26/2009 - Philippe_C wrote: 92 Points
Nose od red fruits, sous-bois... in the mounth, red fruits, a lot of acidity and finesse
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4/25/2009 - drwine2001 wrote:
Medium to light in color like Vieux Telegraphe. Again, a complex nose which has sweeter, riper fruit than that wine. Very nice feel with good dose of acidity but low tannins. Very pretty wine which leads with its fruit and finishes with rosemary and thyme. Looking back, I have consistently enjoyed this exceedingly welcoming wine.
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4/18/2009 - ron m wrote:
Didn't get a chance to decant for long enough. Light ruby color, nice nose with kirsch and herbs. In the mouth bright fruit, kirsch, and mediterranean herbs. Nicely balanced and pleasant. Pretty light in style, lovely fruit, not too complex. Pleasant medium finish. A little left over in day 2, toned down and very pleasant. Good wine.
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4/4/2009 - al-Zabba wrote:
Nice, but for some reason hard to dissect for me. The closest I can say is stewed fruit with a tiny bit of vanilla and perhaps some fennel. (Ben says garrigue.) On the palate, more stewed fruit with perhaps toffee after taking a breath. Interesting wine, but it's just hard today for me to really pull something definite out of it.
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3/14/2009 - PSPatrick wrote: 90 Points
I decanted the wine for 1.5 hours before I poured it back into the bottle and consumed it over four evenings (vacuum pumped). The wine was bright ruby in colour, not too dense, I was still able to see my fingers through the wine. Prior to decanting the nose was vegetal and earthy, with a plastic component. Also, on the palate the wine was a little disjointed at first, with heat from the alcohol. After decanting, the nose was a little restrained, showing herbs and spices, then becoming gamey, with toffee notes. On the palate, the wine was medium-bodied, spicy, with balanced fruit, liquorice and nail polish remover. Despite its young age the wine was drinking very well. (89+)
The wine opened-up over night. The second evening, the nose was gamey and showed a wide range of fruit (blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, cherry and red currant), toffee, nail polish remover, herbs and cedar box. On the palate, the wine tasted grilled, was gamey and very herbaceous, with good fruit, asian spices and a hint of liquorice on the backend and a long finish. The transition of flavours was very nice. Gosh, this was good! (90+)
On day three the wine still had a great nose, strawberries and blackberries stood out. Also, there still was the great transition of flavours on the palate starting with fruits (strawberry, blackberry, red currant), transitioning to a herbeaceous mid-palate, followed by a combination of herbs and spices kicking in on the finish. (89+/90) The wine changed on day four, the nose now showed a bacon component and the palate had a black and green tea aspect making the wine pretty dry. (89-90)
I really liked this wine. It drank extremely well considering its young age (I would recommend two hours aeration prior to consumption), had good complexity for an entry-level CdP, and showed consistently well over all four evenings. The nice transition of flavours stood out. Needless to say, but this CdP offers a good QPR. It seems to be a mid-term drinker.
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3/12/2009 - Faryan wrote: 91 Points
Was on sale at Vinfolio so I had to pick some up. Nice, heavy concentration, with candied fruit intermixed with lushious underbrush, fat, peppery spice and structure to boot. This will last for 5 years+ and should strut it's stuff in a couple.
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3/1/2009 - Hazeo wrote: 90 Points
Meduim+ bodied, dark ruby but lighter in color than some of the 07 CdRs I've been having lately. Ripe dark fruit with lots of mushroom, kirsch, garrigue, olive, gamey tastes. Very well balanced but somewhat lighter in mouthfeel than I expected.
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2/22/2009 - TylerMcNinch wrote: 90 Points
Raspberry bubble gum, kirsch, spice, and briar, with good tannic structure and medium glycerin. Come back to it in a few years. Lots of hair on the teeth now.
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2/21/2009 - robw wrote: 92 Points
Sweet black cherries, green pepper, lavender and licorice after a 2 hour decant. A tremendous effort that went superbly with truffle Brie and Swedish hard bread.
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2/14/2009 - drwine2001 wrote:
2006 Chateauneuf-Some Basic and Luxury Cuvees (Vin Vino, Palo Alto): More classic medium ruby with a slightly tawny edge. Seductive and complex right out of the bottle, with herbal notes and a definite whiff of brett that adds complexity and earthiness but is not overpowering. Gorgeous red fruit here with terrific acidity. Not nearly as large scaled as the Cote de l'Ange and would be a much better wine with food I would think. Third time I've thought this wine is lovely, but today's bottle raises the question of brett being a problem down the line. For the shorter and medium term.
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1/23/2009 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Strawberries, raspberries, smoke
Taste: Strawberries, raspberries, smoke, spices, simply delicious
Finish: Medium and full of flavors
Evaluation: Best wine of the night when you factor in price 92 points
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1/19/2009 - Red Mountain Man wrote: 91 Points
This is a spectacular CDP for the $25 paid. Pop and pour was good, but decanted for an hour was much better! I can easily see this becoming more of a daily drinker around the house.
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12/20/2008 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Nose of black fruit and licorice.... very concentrated ripe black fruit... probably even better than the 2004 & 2005, great sucess!!
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12/13/2008 - Zweder wrote: 89 Points
Good concentration. Juicy C9 with pleasant tannin. Excellent wine.
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11/13/2008 - RPerro wrote: 89 Points
New Store Opening (Cork - Lovejoy Shop): Getting some nice black licorice, cherry pie, and some asian spices. Tasty, but still not on par with my expectations of a GOOD CdP.
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11/8/2008 - drwine2001 wrote:
Medium red, translucent. Forthcomingly ripe, spicy cherries and powder on the nose. Remarkably open, full, lush palate with black fruit and licorice. Very appealing now and seemingly destined for earlier consumption. Excellent in a clean, modern idiom. I must say that I found fewer of the herbal Chateauneuf notes than the previous time I tasted this.
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10/27/2008 - sehill wrote: 92 Points
This wine was decanted and showed well from the initial pour. This is the second impressive 2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape tasted this week. This wine showed expressive aromatics of raspberry, red currants, pepper and stone. The color is a dark red to to almost purple. The medium to full bodied palate showed good balance, concentration and tannins structure. This is youthful and vibrant. The wine drinks well now for its primary characteristics.
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10/21/2008 - Nutty08 wrote: 89 Points
Trip to France; 10/13/2008-10/24/2008 (Burgundy, Rhone Valley (Chateauneuf-du-Pape), Paris): Gamey leather nose, with an almost tangy element in the background. Rich plush palate with fine tannins and medium body; lithe. Cherry, blackberry notes with prominent game, earth, tobacco and cedar. Medium length finish, thought s bit simple and primary now. Great potential, would let sleep for a few years.
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9/13/2008 - pgm wrote: 92 Points
After being surprised by the disappointing showing a couple weeks ago, I wanted give this another try. This time I treated it with a little more care and patience, giving it 90 minutes in the decanter. That really did the trick.
Some similar notes to the previous bottle, with the brambly garrigue and pepper, but the grenache fruit was really singing: raspberry, red currant, dried strawberry, and a little blackberry too. Some meaty notes gave weight to the flavor profile. Long finish featuring sweet fruit.
Decant!
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9/10/2008 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Very nice and powerfull nose of ripe black cherries, asian spices, meat juice and some minerality... this is the kind of wine you can keep your nose forever in the glass... in the mounth, ripe cherries with a good acidity and even some saltiness... wich makes you want to drink more after every sip... this is not an aperitief wine... and matches perfectly with the roasted "angus" beef on the barbecue.
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9/6/2008 - drwine2001 wrote:
Medium ruby. Already has a complex mix of garrigue and fruit. Elegant, well balanced, and not overly tannic, even at this early stage. Lovely basic cuvee, open and approachable early. This tastes like real Chateauneuf that has not been dressed up. I liked this much more than the 2 luxury cuvees I tasted today.
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9/2/2008 - pgm wrote: 88 Points
Expecting more than this wine delivered.
Brambly mixed berry and red fruit, with some somewhat peppery spice, but not all that distinctive.
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6/20/2008 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 93 Points
Tasted unblinded at the Vintage Wines, Ltd. wine bar. Deep ruby robe with red rim. Clean nose, showing moderately intense aromas of black cherry, underbrush and exotic spices. Full-bodied on the palate, with low acidity, ample silky tannins and flavors with mirror the nose. Long, smooth finish. Very nice! Drink now-12/20.
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5/22/2008 - Terkel wrote: 89 Points
Pierre Usseglio tasting (Hellerup): Dark red color with a purple hue. Raspberry, licorise and nail polish on the nose. Intense fruit on the palate, raspberry and blueberry, and a load of pepper on the midpalate. The fruity sweetness is from start to finish. Powerful tannins at the end, but their are deliciously mouthwatering.
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5/2/2008 - Barbara B wrote: 84 Points
Approfondimenti: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Alba, Italy): Ruby core, watery rim, clear. Not intense aromas, but the alcohol gets right up my nose. Hardly any fruit to start, only bretty animal and leather, aromatic herbs. After an hour or so in glass, some nice fruit showed through, while some of the wild animal character diminished. High alcohol, disjointed acidity, short, simple.
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2/11/2008 - Philippe_C wrote: 91 Points
Tasted from cask with Thierry Usseglio at the domain (From 65 years old vines with some of even 103 years...)
Nose of very ripe cherries, spicy and meaty... in the mounth very ripe cherries, good acidity, very very long aftertaste and refreshing... This is probably even better than the 2004 or 2005 at the same stage! great wine
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4/29/2007 - Philippe_C wrote: 92 Points
Cask sample tasted with Thierry Usseglio at the domain:
Powerfull nose of cherries, strawberries and cocoa. Very fruity and very long aftertaste! (92-93/100)
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