Very light, elegant, somewhat fading; very much a 1997 with it's boyish charm and lack of muscles. Needs irony and witt top make in the schoolyard, still has it, but the gray hairs has arrived. It's and old wine. #ChezAvril
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Simply superb but this was a tale of 2 wines. The first 30mn this was showing a dirty wood, almost like a TCA like aromatics. Then, after some time in the decanter it just bursted with absolutely beautiful nose, raspberry liquor, garrigue and very sappy and flor. Very Burgundian and so elegant. Similar palate with a hint of menthol. Tannins totally resolved. Med body. Really loved this wine and impressed by the elegance. Pinot lovers would love it.
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Just bit past its prime. The terroir is there, garrigue, sweet fruit, old style neuf, but it fades in the glass. Provinance a bit shaky here, auction wine from P., still 1997 is not a strong vintage. #Peter&Rune
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Still holding up well and yet another example of old-school Chateauneuf, light in style (the vintage helps, of course), still with good structure, subtle fruit and garrigue notes. This bottle was emptied very quickly, easy and joyful to drink. Fully mature.
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Fully mature. Secondaries right out of the bottle; after decanting, improved substantially for 30 minutes, opening up to a gorgeous, rich, complex wine in both mouth and nose, with great balance and finesse, fairly light in body. After 60 minutes the tertiaries emerged and the wine began declining. I wouldn't decant this next time, and it's at peak now.
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Well, hello old friend. The color here is light red, almost Burgundian. Lovely spicy, perfumed nose underpinned by subtle red fruit. So light and elegant, resolved, tertiary flavors of underbrush, dried red fruits and tobacco. Fully mature now and not likely to improve. A great treat if one wants a throwback to old-school neuf. Love it.
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Great showing last nigth. In the zone with pretty, red fruit up front and then plent of tertiary flavors of spices and under brush. A lighter, gentler style of Clos de Papes, much to my liking. A lovely, genuine Chateauneuf du Pape.
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As opposed to the last bottle we opened, this one seems fully mature and is all about Provençal herbs, notably lavender, rosemary and thyme as well as sous-bois flavors. The style is somewhat lighter than more recent vintages but 1997 was obviously not a big year in the Southern Rhone. I don't see this wine benefitting from further cellaring but I'm sure it will be a worthy companion to various meat dishes for another 3-5 years. We enjoyed this one with grilled lamb kebab.
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Much better than the last bottle enjoyed just a few months ago. Still primary and closed, it takes close to an hour of air for the fruit to emerge. There is a nice core of bitter cherry fruit and plenty of tertiary flavors mixed in. There is good structure and balance here even if the tannins are still pronounced. A lighter styled Clos des Papes, which I like, with plenty of life left.
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I've had plenty of good bottles of the '97 Clos des Papes. This was not one of them. A nose of sour horse sweat and quite frankly not much more than that. Weirdly tucked in and not showing any of those mature neuf flavors I've experienced in other bottles. The fruit comes off as almost polished and glossy. Too bad because this wine can be really good and it is in a good spot right now (usually).
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Drank from magnum. Opened for an hour, but not decanted. This soldier really had a lot of life left. Wonderful aged CdP, with all of the earthy, leathery, savory characteryou would expect. Some fruit no tannis and really smooth on the finish.
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I'm coming down to my last few bottles of the 1997. Just a very pleasurable, mature Chateauneuf that won't improve with further cellaring. Notes consistent with past bottles.
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The 1997 Clos des Papes continue to be a pleasure to drink. The fruit has faded quite a bit now and the wine is marked by flavors of spices, garrigue, lavender, leather and damp earth. On a relative basis, other vintages of Clos des Papes have a deeper concentration of fruit, but on a stand alone basis this is a great wine for a Friday night with steak. Medium bodied and refined which is probably a mark of the vintage but also a mark of the philosophy chez Avril prior to all the hooopla.
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Wonderful nose. Great taste of garrigue, leather, cherry - slight barnyard/ bovine. So well balanced - light and smooth - agree with previous comment that it is almost reminiscent of burgundy. Seamless finish - well integrated.
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An incredibly satisfying bottle of Clos des Papes. Sweet cherry fruit combined with secondary flavors of garrigue, pepper, sous-bois. Here we have the elegance and refinement that I miss in recent vintages of Clos des Papes. The color is medium red (not pitch black), the fruit is more subtle, the alcohol is less prominent - yes, one could almost call this wine burgundian. Of course this is a 1997 and we are approaching maturity here, but as usual - the mark of a good grower is that he will also make good wine in a 'lesser vintage'. This is a good wine. Paid $22/btl as well. Not $122 or whatever a bottle of Clos des Papes goes for these days.
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Fully mature now, this is a joyful bottle of Clos des Papes to drink. The color is medium red, not as dark as more recent vintages of this wine. Complex nose; garrigue, pretty red cherry fruit, tons of licorice and black olives. Tannins gentle and resolved. This is an elegant, lighter styled Clos des Papes - a style that suits my palate. Seems to be at or close to peak now and will probably stay there another 5+ years.
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ruby red, a nice traditionally made CnDP. sweet grenache fruit with provencal herbs, gamey, and quite terroir driven. This wine was able to show power without tasting extracted, a difficult feat in Rhone these days. 92+
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(from magnum) Unfortunately, my last bottle. I must confess to really liking this style of Chateauneuf. Gutsy in flavor, yet relatively refined in presentation. Lavender and garrigue in spades, accompanied by juicy red fruits and a good dose of alcohol. (92)
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Bright garnet to ruby/amber at rim. Sweet, deliciously mature Grenache fruit mixed with leather, licorice and earth. Everything is seamless and harmonious – drunk at the peak of maturity. This wine shows remarkable breed for a CdP. Not trying to be contrary, but I think I prefer less concentrated southern Rhone vintages. A real surprise and a great kick-off to 2009. (93)
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Had this beautiful Magnum with Thanksgiving dinner. It was decanted for about 5 hours and was a very nice bottle of wine. Drinking beautifully. No flaws what so every.
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Light ruby, Burgundian colour. Slight barnyard on the nose, along with red currants, strawberry jam and dusty herbs. Sweet fruit on the attack, but somewhat hollow on the mid-palate. Dry tannins on the finish, medium length. A nice wine but rather lightweight and simple.
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11/10/2021 - beatles wrote: 89 Points
Very light, elegant, somewhat fading; very much a 1997 with it's boyish charm and lack of muscles. Needs irony and witt top make in the schoolyard, still has it, but the gray hairs has arrived. It's and old wine.
#ChezAvril
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5/4/2021 - french16 wrote:
Simply superb but this was a tale of 2 wines. The first 30mn this was showing a dirty wood, almost like a TCA like aromatics. Then, after some time in the decanter it just bursted with absolutely beautiful nose, raspberry liquor, garrigue and very sappy and flor. Very Burgundian and so elegant. Similar palate with a hint of menthol. Tannins totally resolved. Med body.
Really loved this wine and impressed by the elegance. Pinot lovers would love it.
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6/6/2018 - beatles wrote: 90 Points
Just bit past its prime. The terroir is there, garrigue, sweet fruit, old style neuf, but it fades in the glass. Provinance a bit shaky here, auction wine from P., still 1997 is not a strong vintage.
#Peter&Rune
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1/29/2018 - Vstalam wrote: 85 Points
Past it’s peak. Mainly slightly stewed fruit with no secandory nose or flavor. Pleasant medium weight texture, but not a lot going on
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8/17/2017 - pbaek wrote:
Still holding up well and yet another example of old-school Chateauneuf, light in style (the vintage helps, of course), still with good structure, subtle fruit and garrigue notes. This bottle was emptied very quickly, easy and joyful to drink. Fully mature.
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4/20/2016 - ccn wrote: 93 Points
Fully mature. Secondaries right out of the bottle; after decanting, improved substantially for 30 minutes, opening up to a gorgeous, rich, complex wine in both mouth and nose, with great balance and finesse, fairly light in body. After 60 minutes the tertiaries emerged and the wine began declining. I wouldn't decant this next time, and it's at peak now.
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5/22/2015 - pbaek wrote:
Well, hello old friend. The color here is light red, almost Burgundian. Lovely spicy, perfumed nose underpinned by subtle red fruit. So light and elegant, resolved, tertiary flavors of underbrush, dried red fruits and tobacco. Fully mature now and not likely to improve. A great treat if one wants a throwback to old-school neuf. Love it.
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4/17/2013 - cpirat wrote: 70 Points
Drank After Long Time in Celler. Complete deception. Bitter, bad nose and taste.
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2/23/2013 - pbaek wrote:
Great showing last nigth. In the zone with pretty, red fruit up front and then plent of tertiary flavors of spices and under brush. A lighter, gentler style of Clos de Papes, much to my liking. A lovely, genuine Chateauneuf du Pape.
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9/8/2012 - pbaek wrote:
As opposed to the last bottle we opened, this one seems fully mature and is all about Provençal herbs, notably lavender, rosemary and thyme as well as sous-bois flavors. The style is somewhat lighter than more recent vintages but 1997 was obviously not a big year in the Southern Rhone. I don't see this wine benefitting from further cellaring but I'm sure it will be a worthy companion to various meat dishes for another 3-5 years. We enjoyed this one with grilled lamb kebab.
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3/16/2012 - pbaek wrote:
Much better than the last bottle enjoyed just a few months ago. Still primary and closed, it takes close to an hour of air for the fruit to emerge. There is a nice core of bitter cherry fruit and plenty of tertiary flavors mixed in. There is good structure and balance here even if the tannins are still pronounced. A lighter styled Clos des Papes, which I like, with plenty of life left.
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12/31/2011 - pbaek wrote:
I've had plenty of good bottles of the '97 Clos des Papes. This was not one of them. A nose of sour horse sweat and quite frankly not much more than that. Weirdly tucked in and not showing any of those mature neuf flavors I've experienced in other bottles. The fruit comes off as almost polished and glossy. Too bad because this wine can be really good and it is in a good spot right now (usually).
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12/17/2011 - nittanyjack wrote: 94 Points
Drank from magnum. Opened for an hour, but not decanted. This soldier really had a lot of life left. Wonderful aged CdP, with all of the earthy, leathery, savory characteryou would expect. Some fruit no tannis and really smooth on the finish.
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7/2/2011 - pbaek wrote: flawed
Corked.
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1/30/2011 - alion wrote: 92 Points
Light, little fruit left; herbal, spicy, meaty and leather. Old fashioned. 92+
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10/22/2010 - pbaek wrote:
I'm coming down to my last few bottles of the 1997. Just a very pleasurable, mature Chateauneuf that won't improve with further cellaring. Notes consistent with past bottles.
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3/5/2010 - pbaek wrote:
The 1997 Clos des Papes continue to be a pleasure to drink. The fruit has faded quite a bit now and the wine is marked by flavors of spices, garrigue, lavender, leather and damp earth. On a relative basis, other vintages of Clos des Papes have a deeper concentration of fruit, but on a stand alone basis this is a great wine for a Friday night with steak. Medium bodied and refined which is probably a mark of the vintage but also a mark of the philosophy chez Avril prior to all the hooopla.
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2/5/2010 - JJKinch wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful nose. Great taste of garrigue, leather, cherry - slight barnyard/ bovine. So well balanced - light and smooth - agree with previous comment that it is almost reminiscent of burgundy. Seamless finish - well integrated.
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11/24/2009 - pbaek wrote:
An incredibly satisfying bottle of Clos des Papes. Sweet cherry fruit combined with secondary flavors of garrigue, pepper, sous-bois. Here we have the elegance and refinement that I miss in recent vintages of Clos des Papes. The color is medium red (not pitch black), the fruit is more subtle, the alcohol is less prominent - yes, one could almost call this wine burgundian. Of course this is a 1997 and we are approaching maturity here, but as usual - the mark of a good grower is that he will also make good wine in a 'lesser vintage'. This is a good wine. Paid $22/btl as well. Not $122 or whatever a bottle of Clos des Papes goes for these days.
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3/6/2009 - pbaek wrote:
Fully mature now, this is a joyful bottle of Clos des Papes to drink. The color is medium red, not as dark as more recent vintages of this wine. Complex nose; garrigue, pretty red cherry fruit, tons of licorice and black olives. Tannins gentle and resolved. This is an elegant, lighter styled Clos des Papes - a style that suits my palate. Seems to be at or close to peak now and will probably stay there another 5+ years.
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2/17/2009 - cbuhlman wrote: 92 Points
ruby red, a nice traditionally made CnDP. sweet grenache fruit with provencal herbs, gamey, and quite terroir driven. This wine was able to show power without tasting extracted, a difficult feat in Rhone these days. 92+
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2/15/2009 - dbkitc wrote: 92 Points
(from magnum) Unfortunately, my last bottle. I must confess to really liking this style of Chateauneuf. Gutsy in flavor, yet relatively refined in presentation. Lavender and garrigue in spades, accompanied by juicy red fruits and a good dose of alcohol. (92)
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1/2/2009 - dbkitc wrote: 93 Points
Bright garnet to ruby/amber at rim. Sweet, deliciously mature Grenache fruit mixed with leather, licorice and earth. Everything is seamless and harmonious – drunk at the peak of maturity. This wine shows remarkable breed for a CdP. Not trying to be contrary, but I think I prefer less concentrated southern Rhone vintages. A real surprise and a great kick-off to 2009. (93)
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4/23/2008 - bsherwin wrote: flawed
Clos des Papes Vertical (Tribeca Grill): Corked
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4/23/2008 - JOsgood wrote: flawed
Clos des Papes Vertical (Tribeca Grill, NYC): Sadly this was corked
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11/22/2007 - wiskytango wrote:
Had this beautiful Magnum with Thanksgiving dinner. It was decanted for about 5 hours and was a very nice bottle of wine. Drinking beautifully. No flaws what so every.
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3/27/2006 - Rani wrote: 86 Points
Light ruby, Burgundian colour. Slight barnyard on the nose, along with red currants, strawberry jam and dusty herbs. Sweet fruit on the attack, but somewhat hollow on the mid-palate. Dry tannins on the finish, medium length. A nice wine but rather lightweight and simple.
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