Beautiful dark & earthy wine with a mouthful of wild herbs, barnyard notes and dried / aged meats with exotic animal scents. Good pairing with bacon but less so with duck. Solid cork but throws a lot of sediment; although I wouldn't decant this wine... I poured it slowly from the bottle and worked out the nasty bits. Filtering is also a good option. Drink now!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped for xmas and it's corked and dead in the water. Per my notes, not the first time this has happened with this same bottle, and the last was in 2014. Bad news!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Immaculate cork. About 1/4 inch auburn/brick rim. Nose was slow to emerge. After an hour, the earthiness gave way to leather, black cherry, cooked strawberry jam, some hints of baking spice. Palate was extremely balanced with most acids and tannins resolved against the earlier fruit characteristic of the vintage. With the strawberry, fig and more leather and some mushroom emerged in the mouth. Long finish with some fine tannin showing alongside the fruit and leather. This bottle was at or just past its high point for lovers of tertiary flavors. If you are a fruit bomb lover, this wine is past its prime by a few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A fascinating wine at this point in its evolution Medium brick in color There is a predominant note on the nose strongly reminiscent of Sauternes with quince, apricot and honey initially - I wondered whether there was something wrong with the bottle or whether it might be past - but then it gave way to leathery, cedar and strawberries. The palate has a sweetness to the strawberry and black cherry fruit that is like compote. There is cigar tobacco and leather in abundance as well. It has a little bit of an unctuousness that borders on late harvest and that reminds me of some of the higher end California Zinfandels that aim for extraction All in all, very enjoyable though surprising
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Immaculate cork with virtually no seepage. Ruby colored with virtually no bricking at the edge. High expectations. Clean nose but reticent bouquet with just a hint of underbrush. Fairly muted flavor profile with no jamminess typical of the vintage. Good body but somewhat short and tart. Lacking the sweet Grenache fruit that I expected. Pretty disappointing given that appeared to be in perfect condition. Certainly not cooked or corked. Just past it’s prime with faded fruit. My only bottle so no comparison to others.
Here I was complaining about the ‘98 CdP and decided to pop open the remaining ones I had to finish them off. And then along comes this beauty. First off, the cork was in perfect shape. Nice garnet color with slight browning at edge. Mushrooms and leather on the nose. Fruit on palate was just luscious with strong notes of fig and black cherry. A very enjoyable wine with dinner. Drinking very well now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From my bottle, this wine is off as described by other fellows: overly pruney, cumin, smells alcohol. This vintage seems past unless this is bottle damage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was my last bottle. It turned out that it needed to be drunk, perhaps a couple of years ago. It showed mild bricking and a rather strong initial whiff of stewed prunes that, thankfully, dissipated quickly and resolved into a pleasant CdP drinking experience with black fruit jamminess along with other typical CdP notes that emerged - leather, earth, and various spices.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Unbelievable CDP at his 21 birthday �� Solid red when poured at the wine glass ! Garriga, Vanilla and licorice at the nose. Wonderful taste with a long finish of about a minute or so ! Still pretty young wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner at Home: Coravin 8/15/17: Clear light ruby; highly aromatic, elegant red fruit, cranberry, small berries, slightly gamey; palate is light bodied, medium slightly drying tannins, medium acidity, slight bitterness, red fruit is still present but fades through the midpalate; short finish. Overall quite a nice CnDP at maturity, limited by its fading fruit on the midpalate and short finish, though it has a lovely complex nose. A nice wine for the vintage, though it wasn't cheap on release ($45). My last bottle, drink up any you have soon. 90-91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP. Transparent garnet. Smells of Grenache fruit, garrigue and decaying leaves. Tastes of kirsch and Provençal herbs with an earthy component. Rich, but at the same time it is rather elegant. My last bottle. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Birthday Celebration Chateauneuf-Du-Papes (Bill's, Wilmette IL): Nose: The nose was heady, perfumed, and filling with violets, garrigue, black cherries, black raspberries, leather, licorice, and hot stones. There is also a lovely layering effect to the tones that just really draws you in.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and refined tannins. The feel is silky and polished with kirsch, licorice, violets, garrigue, potpourri, black cherries, black raspberries, and some leather notes.
Overall: This was absolutely lovely. It is a middleweight CdP that is really entering its prime with a more elegant and demure side.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A Tasty Halloween Wine Lunch (Judith's House, WI): Medium dark red color with mild bricking. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 2 hours. This was a really pristine bottle that showed beautifully well. A fantastic and complex nose with secondary and tertiary character that predominates. Funk, earth, bacon fat, animal, savory, garrigue, perfumed, rose hips, dried berries. The palate continues to evolve over 2 solid hours. Just a wonderful elegance, garrigue, earth, savory, dried cherry, dried berry, tart acids, hints of plum. This was a lovely expression of CdP all around. Integrated tannins, dried wild berries on a long finish. This has got 3-5 good years left.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty good without being exceptional, this is approaching full maturity with tertiary notes of garrigue and underbrush combined with dried red fruit. 13.5% alcohol so not heavy, neither clumsy, just a little boring perhaps.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wine Dinner Party (San Francisco, CA): Color has very slight bricking appropriate for age, still quite youthful; nose has red cherry fruit, leather, very slight heat, cranberry, good complexity; palate is light-medium bodied with some medium tannins providing some structure, pretty good acid throughout, some red fruits through the midpalate; finish has slight heat. Overall a pretty good CnDP showing some maturity, fairly good balance though a bit of characteristic heat for 1998, maybe a bit short on the palate, a bit of excess alcohol, and finish is short. 90, likely will stand up to 5 years but won't improve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Purple-brown color with a bouquet and flavor reminiscent of bad bullion, with some plum notes after more airing. This bottle was clearly over the hill. Second bottle was no better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Belle émotion sur ce vin qui m'a fait meilleure impression que sur les autres bouteilles ouvertes. Notes de cuir, d'orange et de kirsch. Tanins fondus. Belle longueur.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Last bottle of this - and the first acceptable one - serious variation here. For the first tome, no pruny, tired character, rather a lightness and some freshness to this wine, that seems fully mature, but with plenty of life and fresh fruit. It is a medium bodied neuf that was tonight showing elegant, restrained, even, with the tell-tale notes of sweet grenache supplemented by garrigue. Had all bottles been like this, I would have loved it ... but no, I have not been buying this wine since.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Last bottle of 15, this was still young with a tannic finish. Better than previous bottles, but with the caveat that there is significant bottle variation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
First bottle under-fruited, OTH, and dumped. Second bottle had a spicier nose and decent fruit, but still unremarkable. My last bottle was pulled from the cellar to be consumed soon, possibly tomorrow. Drink up, significant bottle variation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
APPEARANCE: clear; medium garnet, medium legs & tears; deposit NOSE: clean; medium intensity; flavour characteristics: prune, raisin, forest floor, red fruits (strawberry, red cherry); fully mature PALATE: dry; high acidity; medium body; medium+ tannin (fine grained); high alcohol; long finish; pronounced flavour intensity; flavour characteristics: as per nose: forest floor, raisin, prune, tobacco, leather, strawberry, red cherry, sweet spices, white pepper READINESS FOR DRINKING: can drink now, but will keep for 3-5 years FURTHER REMARKS: outstanding CdP with delicate sweet fruits well balanced with alcohol and acidity. Amazing how this turned out with great concentration of complex flavours that linger for a long time. I need to find more of this!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cellared since release. Perfect cork and fill. Pop and pour. Medium dark red core, lighter at rim. Plum, cherry, cedar, tea on the nose with a hint of naphtha that blows off quickly. Medium body, sour cherry and mouth-watering umami and acid, slightly bitter/ashy tannins but not overwhelmingly so, still nicely balanced but by mid- palate fruit is no longer front and center. Medium finish. Drink up over the next couple of years. Excellent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Friut is fading. The balance between fruit and 2ndary & tertiary flavors is on the downhill side for my bottles. Still very worthwhile but best drunk sooner rather than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Umamicatessen: Hazy bricky garnet-orange; Plummy, tea, stewed strawberry-red fruits, pot-pouri and dried herbs; med. soft, comfortable in the mouth, slight spice note in the finish. Really good and in a good place.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bought and purchased on release. Last had this in 2005. This wine is fully mature. The color shows bricking with a slight orange hue at the rim. Mature CdP has a warm glow to it and this best describes the wine for me. Its flavors were subtle yet nicely proportioned, showing wonderful complexity that only a mature can exhibit. I was happy to find a perfectly balanced wine without some of the problematic issues from the vintage (over-ripe, roasted fruit). This is not going to get any better and, I suspect, will drink well for a few more years. My WOTN.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Much better than a bottle I drank last May. No sign of prunes and overripe fruit. Good kirschy grenache fruit. But as before, drink these sooner than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Light garnet. Advanced balsamicized rubbery nose without volatility. Still has oomph on the back end and that tannic whack across the back of the tongue. A mouthful but drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Fully ready for consumption, this modern styled wine offers a rich mouthful of ripe, sweet, black raspberries, strawberry, cherry jam, spice, earth, pepper and a little bit of espresso. There is no reason to hold this wine for further aging.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bouteille ouverte la veille, dégagée aux épaules. Dégustation en ligne avec mes dernières notes : le vin est clairement dans une phase évoluée avec des arômes de liqueur, de kirsch, de fruits à noyaux. Belle bouche suave, tanins patinés. Ne va pas s'améliorer donc à consommer d'ici les 12 prochains mois.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Excellent bottle. Advanced color with a bit of browning at the rim. Surprisingly though it is fresh and alive. Great Provencal garrigue with herbs and olive. Rich and succulent and full on the palate the wine builds as it coats the palate with lovely fruit flavors. Tannin totally resolved. This is certainly one of the better 98 CdPs I've had in some time. Excellent long finish. 4-13-16-8: 91/100.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Overripe, verging on pruney. Getting a little better with air, and since I'm having baby back ribs, I'll drink it instead of dumping. But drink up, folks, this isn't going anywhere good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Not quite as good as my last bottle, but still very good. A little bit thinner than last time, slightly less good in the mouth - bottle variation maybe or perhaps I left it too long in the decanter. No hurry to drink these up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cherry, creamy earth but no stank on the nose. Really well integrated, good tannin / acidity / fruit. In the mouth, a well made wine, with a good depth. Drinking beautifully now and will last for at least another 5 years. Just missing a little complexity to stop it being great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I didn't really like this, though there were others who did like it. In my mind this showed as an over-ripe wine with a flabby structure and too much age on it. But, as I said, others liked it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
These is drinking perfectly right now, as I would imagine many other '98s are. Classic mature CDP aromatics, beautiful texture & mouthfeel, great balance and a nice long finish. Outstanding!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Consistent with previous bottles. Decanted for about 2 hours and followed for another 3 hours. Lots of sediment. Ripe strawberries, rhubarb, lavender, a little garrigue, rich, savory, sappy texture, mature. Good depth to this wine. Some blood orange on the finish, which is great but comes up a bit short. Very enjoyable!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Horizontale 1998 Robe évoluée, orangée et pâle. Nez de cannelle et de zeste d’oranges, de cuir, subtil. La bouche me semblait plutôt mince et fluide au départ, malgré une certaine structure. Mais il a énormément gagné à l’aération, devenant beaucoup plus expressif, il a pris de l’ampleur et s’est montré assez fin, savoureux, dans un style élégant évoquant des vins comme Rayas ou Charvin 2002. Très joli. 91-92 pts
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted briefly. Deep colour, slightly brown at the edge, but clear as a bell. Intriguing nose with plum, leather and ripe figs. Very silky mouthfeel, more fruit, silky, tasty, lovely Tongue coating tannin that is well developed and still has a touch of bite. Long finish. A really sexy wine and in a great place just now. Drink or keep a further 10 years or longer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bouteille ouverte la veille au soir "épaules dégagés" Le vin était parfait le lendemain au déjeuner. Couleur rouge tuilé. Au nez les notes de pruneau, de kirsch et de cerise ressortent. En bouche, les tanins sont patinés, finale d'une longueur correcte.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Seriously good Chateauneuf. Dark in color, even browning a bit, but nowhere near tired. Has developed a lovely bottle bouquet and secondary aromas of bacon fat and smoked meat. Even more lovely in the mouth, where it is sleek and elegant but then has great grip on the mid-palate and in the finish. A heady wine in every way, this is how a 13-year-old Chateauneuf should taste but too seldom does. I left some of this sitting in the glass overnight for 24 hours and it hadn't lost a thing. Big wine with a looooooooooong finish. Awesome. Years of life ahead, and will probably only get better. 5-12-17-8: 92/100
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Raspberry, strawberry, garrigue nose with good herbaceousness. Great fruit, nice complexity, and admirable balance. Well-rounded and complete but not showy. Middle aged but improved with air. Outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Overripe strawberry with bouillon, balsamico, animality and malt. Messed up medium bodied and meaty palate with balsamico strawberries, liquorice, herbs and chocolate. Just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
bouteille pas suffisamment aérée qui s'est révelée progressivement au cours du repas. Prévoir de l'ouvrir 2 à 3h avant consommation. nez montre des signes d'évolution avec des notes de noyaux, de chocolat et de kirsh en bouche, les tanins sont patinés mais le vin a gardé sa structure. Après ouverture, les notes poivrées sont plus perceptibles. longueur correcte. Globalement tb état de conservation. A boire d'ici fin 2012.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Red cherry and faceful of alcohol on the nose. Earthiness, rustic, heather and unripe plums in the mouth. Good mouthfeel, medium bodied. Clearly made in the old style with grainy tannins. A bitterness at the back-end, which detracted from the overall pleasure. A nice enough wine, which shouted CdP, but nothing special.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bricked at the rim. Heavy on the red and black cherry fruits, with a touch of plumminess. A fiar amount of chocolate, and a fair amount of pepper. Not as much garrigue or meaty flavors as a recent 98 Santa Duc Gigondas, but still quite nice. 98 southern Rhones drinking very well as of late.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I really do not know what is going on with this wine. Tasted it a year ago, and it was similar - I was suspecting the quality of my shipment and/or the local importer (as the cellar has a long track record of flawlessness), but the bottle seems absolutely flawless, cork etc. top shape. Color is nice, maturing, but the nose and the taste is off putting, seems oxidized, very plumby and raisiny, slightly alcoholic - just over the hill. Maybe the wine is like that, maybe it is just my bottles - this is no 3. of six. Not undrinkable, but very far from being my style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank on Christmas day with grilled rack of lamb, brussels sprouts, & risotto. No formal notes, but wonderful bottle, needed 2 hours of air to open up, mature, lots of garrigue, ripe fruits, & velvet texture, lots of sediment.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Southern Rhone WIMPS (The Ledbury, London): Fragrant, slightly cabbagey nose, though this blows off after an hour or so. Quite viscous in the mouth. Nice fruit and a good, slightly dry feel to the middle and finish. A little pinched in the middle but this does sweeten up and round out with air. ***1/2
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Unhealthy brown color. Chock full of VA, smells like many Italian wines. Briefly revived to show some fruit and chocolate, but then overtaken by the VA again. Bordering on completely undrinkable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Similar to my note from June 09, plus a brown sugar streak and a chocolate finish. It's drinking fabulously well when popped and poured, but wore thin over the 7 hours it was opened. I'd say drink sooner rather than later. I plan to finish my last 3 in th enext 2-3 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bright, strawberry, lavender, and earthy nose. Lively and juicy on the palate, just the right amount of sweetness. Tastes of creamy strawberries, garrigue, kirsch, cloves and cinnamon. Lovely finish. Excellent wine that just may be at or near peak. Yummy!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped, decanted and enjoyed over two hours. Immediately upon opening, color was rust and showed age beyond its 11 years. Nose was faint with hints of barnyard, blood and flowers. Our thought was that the wine would deteriorate, but it did not. Rather, it gained body, balance, complexity and structure over the two hour period, developing a richness that was unthinkable upon opening. If you have any of these, decant them for an hour for maximum enjoyment. The last glasses, drank with the cheese plate, were the best of the evening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine is en pointe right now. Fading at the rim, scents of meat and pepper on the nose. A very well-balanced combination of game, pepper, cherry liquer, acidity, and tannins on the palate. Do yourself a favor and drink one of these with something from the grill this weekend.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium dark brick garnet. More monolithic aromatically than last time, with less apple skin and more emphasis on the quite dark cranberry/raspberry character of the fruit. Bright, with building sweetness and size without corresponding weight. Thunderous finish is dry, with tobacco, licorice, menthol, and a fair whack of tannin for a Chateauneuf of its age. While this is no Chateauneuf epiphany, I still think this is aging better than Tanzer's recent comments would suggest.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Great classic CdP. Good stink on the nose, with an earthiness. Deep fruit with more earthiness in the mouth. Long finish. In an eclectic tasting this was the number one wine of a third of the tasters (including me).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
(From Magnum). To me, Chateauneuf du Papes are more appealing in the nose than in the palate. As usual, this impressed me more aromatically. Offering exotic notes of raw ground beef, herbs, spices and soft red fruits, this is a very interestig nose. In the palate, this is medium to light bodied , soft, with barely perceptible tannin and medium length. It lacks the density and power to rate higher, but adequate. 93 points for the nose, 87 for the palate.
(Magnum de 1.5L). Para mí, los vinos de Chateauneuf du Pape son más atractivos en nariz que en boca. Como casi siempre, este vino me impresionó más aromáticamente que en el paladar. Ofrece notas exóticas de crne molida cruda, hierbas, especias, frutas rojas suaves y matorral seco. En boca, muestra un cuerpo de medio a ligero, suave, con taninos apenas perceptibles y terminación media. Le falta más densidad, cuerpo e intensidad de sabor para ser mejor calificado, pero es un vino correcto que sin duda dará placer a los amantes de los vinos de esta región.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted before dinner. No sediment. Ellen, the hypertaster, thought it too acidic. I enjoyed it, a somewhat delicate tart wild strawberry essence, that took me back to Chevre d'Or, Eze Village, and our Anniversary lunch in 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wonderful wine! Fresh strawberries, some eau de vie "framboise", forest floor, some brett (but in a nice way). Just starting its drinking window - there is tannin and acidity left for many years. Good concentration.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From Magnum. I almost always bring New World wines to family events because they tend to be better received than Old World examples. Given that my family is not "into wine", they more easily appreciate the up front luciousness and fruit drivern pleasures of Cali Cabs, Chilean Cabs or Aussie Shiraz. This time, I wanted to change because I need to start consuming some of my magnums to make room for the 2005 Futures deliveries. I also wanted to see if a good CNDP would break the trend of Old World dispointments with my family.
Accostumed to highly extracted New World wines made with thick skinned grapes, the brownish hue and transparent aspect of the color made them ask whether this was damaged. It wasn't. The nose was redolent with multitude of spices and dry shrubs, with a background of red currants. In the palate, it is medium bodied, with noticeable acidity and a spice cabinet hinted finish. As time went on, I grew fonder of it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
At Bouchon. Not the best match with salmon. This was a bit disjointed and seemed overly ripe / pruney. Not my recollection of other bottles we have had. Not my favorite.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Double-decanted 6 hours prior to consumption. Medium brown garnet. Lots of appleskin and iodine character on the nose, which features tremendous freshness that doesn't go hand in hand with the evolved coloration. Sweet, even decadent in the mouth, but still juicy, with hugely concentrated flavors that reach all corners of the mouth and almost sting with intensity on the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Having read some less than good reports tried one. Certainly on the more rustic and old school style of CdP. Palate sho firm tannins (not super fine) yet also softness that come with age. So it seems to be maturing nicely and in fact is about what I'd expect given other vintages of this wine. Dark fruited, ripe but not overly so. So if one like old school and not super fine tannins this is certainly good and no question not faulty.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium ruby with some bricking on the rim. A delicate nose of dusty stone, red currents, hints of vanilla. Medium bodied with high-toned red-current fruit, wax, gamey notes; considerable acidity and firm tannins. I bet this has a bunch of syrah in it. Anyhow, a very nice and rather balanced wine, drinking very well now. Vinsanity mentioned hints of oxidation and I think he has his finger on it -- almost below the threshold for pinning down the aroma and flavor, but I bet that this wine suffered slightly from the extremely hot summer and fall.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wine was decanted about 1 1/2 hours prior to this note. After a CDP tasting this week I thought I would try a bottle of this, my first since purchase. Dark red/black core, with slight bricking on the edge. Hmmm. Nose is a tight tarrry strawberry mass, with a bit of heat showing through. Very sothern rhone and 1998 to me. The wine is very thick and concentrated, with very present, chalky sweet tannins. The taste profile is a bit hot, very dark fruit, cherry cough syrup and I get the tar again. Sweet and long. The wine did not need decanting, only the slightest sediment. I can see drinking it now, although for me I will wait another 2 years. Enjoy with a steak.
While I think this is a very good wine, and am glad to own it, at this stage the 1998 CDP vintage just does not seem to be right for my taste. I find many offerings too alcoholic and roasted. I am enjoying the purer 1995 far more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bistro K:Grt pepper, garrigue, underbrush; berries in there, super silky for CdP; bitter cocoa mth, earth, pepper; long finish. My favorite--right on target and a lot to offer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
TN: EWG does Mostly N&S Rhones at Bistro K (South Pasadena, CA.): Very nice wine but so young and primary right now. This one needs time. Bigger and more intense than the '99 Les Cailloux. Tom said he decanted for about 1 1/2 hours when at some point, it began to tighten up some in the decanter. It began to show some raspberry kirsch notes but you know there is more burried in there. Leaving some in my glass as long as possible helped. I'd suggest further cellar time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
$39.99 retail. I had not opened one of these since a few bottles I popped right after it was released... Typical, slightly hot '98 profile. Perhaps not as fresh as it could be - a tiny bit of oxidation was evident. Syrupy fruit leaning towards the red side of the spectrum - cranberry / raspberry; a brambly, prickly spiciness. With a couple hours of air, a cocoa note entered the picture - along with a raisiny component, and the spiciness retreated. Still had very light notes of oxidation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2/15/2024 - europat55 wrote: 89 Points
Nose: 89; Palate: 89
My #6; Group's #7; Tasted Blind.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/1/2023 - Sperls Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great aged cndp. All that you want with dark fruits, herbs, tar, bit of plum, medium finish. Ready to drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/21/2022 - Sanlucar Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful dark & earthy wine with a mouthful of wild herbs, barnyard notes and dried / aged meats with exotic animal scents. Good pairing with bacon but less so with duck. Solid cork but throws a lot of sediment; although I wouldn't decant this wine... I poured it slowly from the bottle and worked out the nasty bits. Filtering is also a good option. Drink now!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/29/2022 - Georgenp Likes this wine: 93 Points
Maybe a bit late but nice garrigue.Dried flowers still lively, good depth. Still balanced. Fun to drink. Tannins resolved but still decent grip.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/25/2021 - cephomer wrote: flawed
Popped for xmas and it's corked and dead in the water. Per my notes, not the first time this has happened with this same bottle, and the last was in 2014. Bad news!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2021 - grub94 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Immaculate cork. About 1/4 inch auburn/brick rim. Nose was slow to emerge. After an hour, the earthiness gave way to leather, black cherry, cooked strawberry jam, some hints of baking spice. Palate was extremely balanced with most acids and tannins resolved against the earlier fruit characteristic of the vintage. With the strawberry, fig and more leather and some mushroom emerged in the mouth. Long finish with some fine tannin showing alongside the fruit and leather. This bottle was at or just past its high point for lovers of tertiary flavors. If you are a fruit bomb lover, this wine is past its prime by a few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/7/2020 - Ruby99 Likes this wine: 93 Points
A fascinating wine at this point in its evolution
Medium brick in color
There is a predominant note on the nose strongly reminiscent of Sauternes with quince, apricot and honey initially - I wondered whether there was something wrong with the bottle or whether it might be past - but then it gave way to leathery, cedar and strawberries.
The palate has a sweetness to the strawberry and black cherry fruit that is like compote. There is cigar tobacco and leather in abundance as well. It has a little bit of an unctuousness that borders on late harvest and that reminds me of some of the higher end California Zinfandels that aim for extraction
All in all, very enjoyable though surprising
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/28/2020 - Chateaunewf wrote: 85 Points
Immaculate cork with virtually no seepage. Ruby colored with virtually no bricking at the edge. High expectations. Clean nose but reticent bouquet with just a hint of underbrush. Fairly muted flavor profile with no jamminess typical of the vintage. Good body but somewhat short and tart. Lacking the sweet Grenache fruit that I expected. Pretty disappointing given that appeared to be in perfect condition. Certainly not cooked or corked. Just past it’s prime with faded fruit. My only bottle so no comparison to others.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
7/27/2020 - Barsacpinci Likes this wine: 93 Points
Here I was complaining about the ‘98 CdP and decided to pop open the remaining ones I had to finish them off. And then along comes this beauty. First off, the cork was in perfect shape. Nice garnet color with slight browning at edge. Mushrooms and leather on the nose. Fruit on palate was just luscious with strong notes of fig and black cherry. A very enjoyable wine with dinner. Drinking very well now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/5/2020 - Monsieur Grenache wrote: flawed
From my bottle, this wine is off as described by other fellows: overly pruney, cumin, smells alcohol.
This vintage seems past unless this is bottle damage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/5/2020 - le fouloir wrote: 90 Points
This was my last bottle. It turned out that it needed to be drunk, perhaps a couple of years ago. It showed mild bricking and a rather strong initial whiff of stewed prunes that, thankfully, dissipated quickly and resolved into a pleasant CdP drinking experience with black fruit jamminess along with other typical CdP notes that emerged - leather, earth, and various spices.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2019 - Orlando Hernandez wrote: 95 Points
Unbelievable CDP at his 21 birthday ��
Solid red when poured at the wine glass !
Garriga, Vanilla and licorice at the nose.
Wonderful taste with a long finish of about a minute or so !
Still pretty young wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/28/2019 - afot Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bottle opened 3 hours before. Light garnet turning to orange. Very steely nose, underwood and smoke. In the mouth very tertiary and smoky. Drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2019 - Shapnyc Likes this wine: 91 Points
Window is closing this year.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/17/2019 - rocknroller wrote: flawed
Monthly Tasting Group: Older CDP's and Northern Rhones (P.S. Steak, Mpls): Same bottle as btock. Having had a beautiful example of this before, this is clearly not right. Very, very vegetal, stewed fruits pruny, very advanced.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/17/2019 - btock wrote: 82 Points
A disappointing showing for this wine. Pruney nose, stewed notes in the glass. Not enjoyable. Perhaps heat damage somewhere along the way. Too bad.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/24/2018 - Dr_Bob wrote:
Drinking fab!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/13/2018 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous CdP. Still in great shape!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/15/2017 - aagrawal wrote: 90 Points
Dinner at Home: Coravin 8/15/17: Clear light ruby; highly aromatic, elegant red fruit, cranberry, small berries, slightly gamey; palate is light bodied, medium slightly drying tannins, medium acidity, slight bitterness, red fruit is still present but fades through the midpalate; short finish. Overall quite a nice CnDP at maturity, limited by its fading fruit on the midpalate and short finish, though it has a lovely complex nose. A nice wine for the vintage, though it wasn't cheap on release ($45). My last bottle, drink up any you have soon. 90-91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2017 - europat55 wrote: 93 Points
I agree with the previous CT review: Lots of kirsch, herbs and earthy components. Lovely!
Seems to be able to easily last for another 5+ years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2017 - winemaker Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP. Transparent garnet. Smells of Grenache fruit, garrigue and decaying leaves. Tastes of kirsch and Provençal herbs with an earthy component. Rich, but at the same time it is rather elegant. My last bottle. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2016 - IvanKrazy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Alive and kicking. Beautiful nose of black fruit and flowers. Secondary aromas barely developing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/20/2016 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
Birthday Celebration Chateauneuf-Du-Papes (Bill's, Wilmette IL): Nose: The nose was heady, perfumed, and filling with violets, garrigue, black cherries, black raspberries, leather, licorice, and hot stones. There is also a lovely layering effect to the tones that just really draws you in.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and refined tannins. The feel is silky and polished with kirsch, licorice, violets, garrigue, potpourri, black cherries, black raspberries, and some leather notes.
Overall: This was absolutely lovely. It is a middleweight CdP that is really entering its prime with a more elegant and demure side.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/31/2015 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
A Tasty Halloween Wine Lunch (Judith's House, WI): Medium dark red color with mild bricking. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 2 hours. This was a really pristine bottle that showed beautifully well. A fantastic and complex nose with secondary and tertiary character that predominates. Funk, earth, bacon fat, animal, savory, garrigue, perfumed, rose hips, dried berries. The palate continues to evolve over 2 solid hours. Just a wonderful elegance, garrigue, earth, savory, dried cherry, dried berry, tart acids, hints of plum. This was a lovely expression of CdP all around. Integrated tannins, dried wild berries on a long finish. This has got 3-5 good years left.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/6/2015 - shutto1992@gmail.com Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Bottle was slightly oxidized, but the fruit and structure behind it was not interesting and next night the oxidation worsened and was dumped.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/29/2015 - pbaek wrote:
Pretty good without being exceptional, this is approaching full maturity with tertiary notes of garrigue and underbrush combined with dried red fruit. 13.5% alcohol so not heavy, neither clumsy, just a little boring perhaps.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2015 - aagrawal wrote: 90 Points
Wine Dinner Party (San Francisco, CA): Color has very slight bricking appropriate for age, still quite youthful; nose has red cherry fruit, leather, very slight heat, cranberry, good complexity; palate is light-medium bodied with some medium tannins providing some structure, pretty good acid throughout, some red fruits through the midpalate; finish has slight heat. Overall a pretty good CnDP showing some maturity, fairly good balance though a bit of characteristic heat for 1998, maybe a bit short on the palate, a bit of excess alcohol, and finish is short. 90, likely will stand up to 5 years but won't improve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/23/2014 - tcosgriff Does not like this wine: 82 Points
Purple-brown color with a bouquet and flavor reminiscent of bad bullion, with some plum notes after more airing. This bottle was clearly over the hill. Second bottle was no better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/11/2014 - Breedlove wrote: 89 Points
Belle émotion sur ce vin qui m'a fait meilleure impression que sur les autres bouteilles ouvertes. Notes de cuir, d'orange et de kirsch. Tanins fondus. Belle longueur.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/3/2014 - beatles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Last bottle of this - and the first acceptable one - serious variation here. For the first tome, no pruny, tired character, rather a lightness and some freshness to this wine, that seems fully mature, but with plenty of life and fresh fruit. It is a medium bodied neuf that was tonight showing elegant, restrained, even, with the tell-tale notes of sweet grenache supplemented by garrigue. Had all bottles been like this, I would have loved it ... but no, I have not been buying this wine since.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2014 - Chuck Miller wrote:
Last bottle of 15, this was still young with a tannic finish. Better than previous bottles, but with the caveat that there is significant bottle variation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/11/2014 - Chuck Miller wrote:
First bottle under-fruited, OTH, and dumped. Second bottle had a spicier nose and decent fruit, but still unremarkable. My last bottle was pulled from the cellar to be consumed soon, possibly tomorrow. Drink up, significant bottle variation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/12/2014 - cephomer wrote: flawed
Southern Rhone Tasting - Cepages Tasting Group (Lincoln on Lincoln Square, NYC): 1 of the CdPs brought for our Cepages Southern Rhone tasting. The bottle was corked, and undrinkable. Very unfortunate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2013 - petitblanc wrote:
Too animal for me, like old-time veterinarian's office, no freshness or vinosity left in this bottle. Not scored.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2013 - @VisserMartijn Likes this wine: 96 Points
APPEARANCE: clear; medium garnet, medium legs & tears; deposit
NOSE: clean; medium intensity; flavour characteristics: prune, raisin, forest floor, red fruits (strawberry, red cherry); fully mature
PALATE: dry; high acidity; medium body; medium+ tannin (fine grained); high alcohol; long finish; pronounced flavour intensity; flavour characteristics: as per nose: forest floor, raisin, prune, tobacco, leather, strawberry, red cherry, sweet spices, white pepper
READINESS FOR DRINKING: can drink now, but will keep for 3-5 years
FURTHER REMARKS: outstanding CdP with delicate sweet fruits well balanced with alcohol and acidity. Amazing how this turned out with great concentration of complex flavours that linger for a long time. I need to find more of this!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2013 - dbg wrote:
Cellared since release. Perfect cork and fill. Pop and pour. Medium dark red core, lighter at rim. Plum, cherry, cedar, tea on the nose with a hint of naphtha that blows off quickly. Medium body, sour cherry and mouth-watering umami and acid, slightly bitter/ashy tannins but not overwhelmingly so, still nicely balanced but by mid- palate fruit is no longer front and center. Medium finish. Drink up over the next couple of years. Excellent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2013 - suttonri wrote:
Friut is fading. The balance between fruit and 2ndary & tertiary flavors is on the downhill side for my bottles. Still very worthwhile but best drunk sooner rather than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2013 - CRUSHER Likes this wine: 92 Points
blackberry, plum, roasted meat
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2013 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Umamicatessen: Hazy bricky garnet-orange; Plummy, tea, stewed strawberry-red fruits, pot-pouri and dried herbs; med. soft, comfortable in the mouth, slight spice note in the finish. Really good and in a good place.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2013 - gregg g wrote:
Bought and purchased on release. Last had this in 2005. This wine is fully mature. The color shows bricking with a slight orange hue at the rim. Mature CdP has a warm glow to it and this best describes the wine for me. Its flavors were subtle yet nicely proportioned, showing wonderful complexity that only a mature can exhibit. I was happy to find a perfectly balanced wine without some of the problematic issues from the vintage (over-ripe, roasted fruit). This is not going to get any better and, I suspect, will drink well for a few more years. My WOTN.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/5/2013 - Chuck Miller wrote:
Much better than a bottle I drank last May. No sign of prunes and overripe fruit. Good kirschy grenache fruit. But as before, drink these sooner than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/23/2012 - tcfishler wrote:
Light garnet. Advanced balsamicized rubbery nose without volatility. Still has oomph on the back end and that tannic whack across the back of the tongue. A mouthful but drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2012 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind w Janet Viader & Aldo Serrano; 10/4/2012-10/5/2012 (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): - Purple color. It's balanced with a full body. Smooth texture with a medium finish - Mark's wine(me).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/16/2012 - winemaker wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding CdP! Tasting very young. Really delicous. This is anything but a modern style. Lovely grenache cherry fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/27/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Fully ready for consumption, this modern styled wine offers a rich mouthful of ripe, sweet, black raspberries, strawberry, cherry jam, spice, earth, pepper and a little bit of espresso. There is no reason to hold this wine for further aging.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/4/2012 - Breedlove wrote: 88 Points
Bouteille ouverte la veille, dégagée aux épaules.
Dégustation en ligne avec mes dernières notes : le vin est clairement dans une phase évoluée avec des arômes de liqueur, de kirsch, de fruits à noyaux. Belle bouche suave, tanins patinés.
Ne va pas s'améliorer donc à consommer d'ici les 12 prochains mois.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/12/2012 - MicklethePickle wrote: 91 Points
Excellent bottle. Advanced color with a bit of browning at the rim. Surprisingly though it is fresh and alive. Great Provencal garrigue with herbs and olive. Rich and succulent and full on the palate the wine builds as it coats the palate with lovely fruit flavors. Tannin totally resolved. This is certainly one of the better 98 CdPs I've had in some time. Excellent long finish. 4-13-16-8: 91/100.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/21/2012 - Chuck Miller wrote:
Overripe, verging on pruney. Getting a little better with air, and since I'm having baby back ribs, I'll drink it instead of dumping. But drink up, folks, this isn't going anywhere good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2012 - Nohedes wrote: 90 Points
Not quite as good as my last bottle, but still very good. A little bit thinner than last time, slightly less good in the mouth - bottle variation maybe or perhaps I left it too long in the decanter. No hurry to drink these up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/4/2012 - Winevestor wrote: 92 Points
Cherry, creamy earth but no stank on the nose. Really well integrated, good tannin / acidity / fruit. In the mouth, a well made wine, with a good depth. Drinking beautifully now and will last for at least another 5 years. Just missing a little complexity to stop it being great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/10/2012 - Vinobruin wrote: 92 Points
wonderful wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2011 - VHJV wrote:
I didn't really like this, though there were others who did like it. In my mind this showed as an over-ripe wine with a flabby structure and too much age on it. But, as I said, others liked it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/26/2011 - 60ouvrees wrote:
These is drinking perfectly right now, as I would imagine many other '98s are. Classic mature CDP aromatics, beautiful texture & mouthfeel, great balance and a nice long finish. Outstanding!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/7/2011 - dbg wrote:
Dark red core, lighter at rim. Red berries, leather, garrigue, medium body, great balance, medijm long finish, excelletn-outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/27/2011 - davergny wrote: 94 Points
Consistent with previous bottles. Decanted for about 2 hours and followed for another 3 hours. Lots of sediment. Ripe strawberries, rhubarb, lavender, a little garrigue, rich, savory, sappy texture, mature. Good depth to this wine. Some blood orange on the finish, which is great but comes up a bit short. Very enjoyable!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/23/2011 - d'Artagnan wrote: 92 Points
Horizontale 1998
Robe évoluée, orangée et pâle. Nez de cannelle et de zeste d’oranges, de cuir, subtil.
La bouche me semblait plutôt mince et fluide au départ, malgré une certaine structure. Mais il a énormément gagné à l’aération, devenant beaucoup plus expressif, il a pris de l’ampleur et s’est montré assez fin, savoureux, dans un style élégant évoquant des vins comme Rayas ou Charvin 2002. Très joli. 91-92 pts
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2011 - Nohedes wrote: 92 Points
Decanted briefly. Deep colour, slightly brown at the edge, but clear as a bell. Intriguing nose with plum, leather and ripe figs. Very silky mouthfeel, more fruit, silky, tasty, lovely Tongue coating tannin that is well developed and still has a touch of bite. Long finish. A really sexy wine and in a great place just now. Drink or keep a further 10 years or longer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/9/2011 - Breedlove wrote: 89 Points
Bouteille ouverte la veille au soir "épaules dégagés"
Le vin était parfait le lendemain au déjeuner.
Couleur rouge tuilé. Au nez les notes de pruneau, de kirsch et de cerise ressortent. En bouche, les tanins sont patinés, finale d'une longueur correcte.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/20/2011 - MicklethePickle wrote: 92 Points
Seriously good Chateauneuf. Dark in color, even browning a bit, but nowhere near tired. Has developed a lovely bottle bouquet and secondary aromas of bacon fat and smoked meat. Even more lovely in the mouth, where it is sleek and elegant but then has great grip on the mid-palate and in the finish. A heady wine in every way, this is how a 13-year-old Chateauneuf should taste but too seldom does. I left some of this sitting in the glass overnight for 24 hours and it hadn't lost a thing. Big wine with a looooooooooong finish. Awesome. Years of life ahead, and will probably only get better. 5-12-17-8: 92/100
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/17/2011 - andtheodor wrote: 90 Points
Raspberry, strawberry, garrigue nose with good herbaceousness. Great fruit, nice complexity, and admirable balance. Well-rounded and complete but not showy. Middle aged but improved with air. Outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2011 - avp wrote:
Overripe strawberry with bouillon, balsamico, animality and malt.
Messed up medium bodied and meaty palate with balsamico strawberries, liquorice, herbs and chocolate.
Just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/28/2011 - Breedlove wrote: 89 Points
bouteille pas suffisamment aérée qui s'est révelée progressivement au cours du repas. Prévoir de l'ouvrir 2 à 3h avant consommation.
nez montre des signes d'évolution avec des notes de noyaux, de chocolat et de kirsh
en bouche, les tanins sont patinés mais le vin a gardé sa structure. Après ouverture, les notes poivrées sont plus perceptibles.
longueur correcte.
Globalement tb état de conservation. A boire d'ici fin 2012.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2011 - Winevestor wrote: 90 Points
Red cherry and faceful of alcohol on the nose. Earthiness, rustic, heather and unripe plums in the mouth. Good mouthfeel, medium bodied. Clearly made in the old style with grainy tannins. A bitterness at the back-end, which detracted from the overall pleasure. A nice enough wine, which shouted CdP, but nothing special.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2011 - ski695 wrote: 88 Points
Consistently OK to good CdP. On the rustic style, never very fruity. Getting to be on the mature end, I think. Has not improved in the last 10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/16/2011 - suttonri wrote: 92 Points
Bricked at the rim. Heavy on the red and black cherry fruits, with a touch of plumminess. A fiar amount of chocolate, and a fair amount of pepper. Not as much garrigue or meaty flavors as a recent 98 Santa Duc Gigondas, but still quite nice. 98 southern Rhones drinking very well as of late.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/29/2010 - beatles wrote: 83 Points
I really do not know what is going on with this wine. Tasted it a year ago, and it was similar - I was suspecting the quality of my shipment and/or the local importer (as the cellar has a long track record of flawlessness), but the bottle seems absolutely flawless, cork etc. top shape. Color is nice, maturing, but the nose and the taste is off putting, seems oxidized, very plumby and raisiny, slightly alcoholic - just over the hill. Maybe the wine is like that, maybe it is just my bottles - this is no 3. of six. Not undrinkable, but very far from being my style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2010 - davergny wrote: 94 Points
Drank on Christmas day with grilled rack of lamb, brussels sprouts, & risotto. No formal notes, but wonderful bottle, needed 2 hours of air to open up, mature, lots of garrigue, ripe fruits, & velvet texture, lots of sediment.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/24/2010 - SimonG wrote:
Southern Rhone WIMPS (The Ledbury, London): Fragrant, slightly cabbagey nose, though this blows off after an hour or so. Quite viscous in the mouth. Nice fruit and a good, slightly dry feel to the middle and finish. A little pinched in the middle but this does sweeten up and round out with air. ***1/2
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/24/2010 - drwine2001 wrote: flawed
Unhealthy brown color. Chock full of VA, smells like many Italian wines. Briefly revived to show some fruit and chocolate, but then overtaken by the VA again. Bordering on completely undrinkable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/22/2010 - suttonri wrote: 92 Points
Similar to my note from June 09, plus a brown sugar streak and a chocolate finish. It's drinking fabulously well when popped and poured, but wore thin over the 7 hours it was opened. I'd say drink sooner rather than later. I plan to finish my last 3 in th enext 2-3 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/16/2009 - davergny wrote: 94 Points
Bright, strawberry, lavender, and earthy nose. Lively and juicy on the palate, just the right amount of sweetness. Tastes of creamy strawberries, garrigue, kirsch, cloves and cinnamon. Lovely finish. Excellent wine that just may be at or near peak. Yummy!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/3/2009 - blondon wrote:
Popped, decanted and enjoyed over two hours. Immediately upon opening, color was rust and showed age beyond its 11 years. Nose was faint with hints of barnyard, blood and flowers. Our thought was that the wine would deteriorate, but it did not. Rather, it gained body, balance, complexity and structure over the two hour period, developing a richness that was unthinkable upon opening. If you have any of these, decant them for an hour for maximum enjoyment. The last glasses, drank with the cheese plate, were the best of the evening.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/1/2009 - winemaker wrote: 95 Points
This was awesome! Kirsch liqueur. Rich, round, iodine, blood, stones, long finish. Should drink well for quite awhile from here.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/3/2009 - suttonri wrote: 92 Points
This wine is en pointe right now. Fading at the rim, scents of meat and pepper on the nose. A very well-balanced combination of game, pepper, cherry liquer, acidity, and tannins on the palate. Do yourself a favor and drink one of these with something from the grill this weekend.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2009 - tcfishler wrote:
Medium dark brick garnet. More monolithic aromatically than last time, with less apple skin and more emphasis on the quite dark cranberry/raspberry character of the fruit. Bright, with building sweetness and size without corresponding weight. Thunderous finish is dry, with tobacco, licorice, menthol, and a fair whack of tannin for a Chateauneuf of its age. While this is no Chateauneuf epiphany, I still think this is aging better than Tanzer's recent comments would suggest.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2009 - Winevestor wrote: 93 Points
Great classic CdP. Good stink on the nose, with an earthiness. Deep fruit with more earthiness in the mouth. Long finish. In an eclectic tasting this was the number one wine of a third of the tasters (including me).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/4/2009 - hcampana wrote: 90 Points
(From Magnum). To me, Chateauneuf du Papes are more appealing in the nose than in the palate. As usual, this impressed me more aromatically. Offering exotic notes of raw ground beef, herbs, spices and soft red fruits, this is a very interestig nose. In the palate, this is medium to light bodied , soft, with barely perceptible tannin and medium length. It lacks the density and power to rate higher, but adequate. 93 points for the nose, 87 for the palate.
(Magnum de 1.5L). Para mí, los vinos de Chateauneuf du Pape son más atractivos en nariz que en boca. Como casi siempre, este vino me impresionó más aromáticamente que en el paladar. Ofrece notas exóticas de crne molida cruda, hierbas, especias, frutas rojas suaves y matorral seco. En boca, muestra un cuerpo de medio a ligero, suave, con taninos apenas perceptibles y terminación media. Le falta más densidad, cuerpo e intensidad de sabor para ser mejor calificado, pero es un vino correcto que sin duda dará placer a los amantes de los vinos de esta región.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/14/2009 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 89 Points
Decanted before dinner. No sediment. Ellen, the hypertaster, thought it too acidic. I enjoyed it, a somewhat delicate tart wild strawberry essence, that took me back to Chevre d'Or, Eze Village, and our Anniversary lunch in 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/10/2009 - Barbalax wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful wine! Fresh strawberries, some eau de vie "framboise", forest floor, some brett (but in a nice way). Just starting its drinking window - there is tannin and acidity left for many years. Good concentration.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2008 - lewrose@gmail.com wrote:
Good but not memorable bottle of CdP. I don't think this will improve with more time and in fact it could be on the decline.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/25/2008 - hcampana wrote: 91 Points
From Magnum. I almost always bring New World wines to family events because they tend to be better received than Old World examples. Given that my family is not "into wine", they more easily appreciate the up front luciousness and fruit drivern pleasures of Cali Cabs, Chilean Cabs or Aussie Shiraz. This time, I wanted to change because I need to start consuming some of my magnums to make room for the 2005 Futures deliveries. I also wanted to see if a good CNDP would break the trend of Old World dispointments with my family.
Accostumed to highly extracted New World wines made with thick skinned grapes, the brownish hue and transparent aspect of the color made them ask whether this was damaged. It wasn't. The nose was redolent with multitude of spices and dry shrubs, with a background of red currants. In the palate, it is medium bodied, with noticeable acidity and a spice cabinet hinted finish. As time went on, I grew fonder of it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/9/2008 - Grinner wrote: 93 Points
Much better than the WS higher rated Cuvee Grenache. This has more depth with some nice black fruit made complex with seaweed and kirsch notes
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2008 - decaturwinedude wrote:
Hello heat damage, nice to meet you. DOA.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2008 - AtoZ wrote: 88 Points
At Bouchon. Not the best match with salmon. This was a bit disjointed and seemed overly ripe / pruney. Not my recollection of other bottles we have had. Not my favorite.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2007 - tcfishler wrote: 93 Points
Double-decanted 6 hours prior to consumption. Medium brown garnet. Lots of appleskin and iodine character on the nose, which features tremendous freshness that doesn't go hand in hand with the evolved coloration. Sweet, even decadent in the mouth, but still juicy, with hugely concentrated flavors that reach all corners of the mouth and almost sting with intensity on the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2007 - mlhla wrote:
cigar smoke , kirsh, cranberry, cough syrup, rasin - a little stewy. You can taste how hot the year was. That's it. I like it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/9/2007 - ski695 wrote: 92 Points
Having read some less than good reports tried one. Certainly on the more rustic and old school style of CdP. Palate sho firm tannins (not super fine) yet also softness that come with age. So it seems to be maturing nicely and in fact is about what I'd expect given other vintages of this wine. Dark fruited, ripe but not overly so. So if one like old school and not super fine tannins this is certainly good and no question not faulty.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2007 - KPB wrote: 90 Points
Medium ruby with some bricking on the rim. A delicate nose of dusty stone, red currents, hints of vanilla. Medium bodied with high-toned red-current fruit, wax, gamey notes; considerable acidity and firm tannins. I bet this has a bunch of syrah in it. Anyhow, a very nice and rather balanced wine, drinking very well now. Vinsanity mentioned hints of oxidation and I think he has his finger on it -- almost below the threshold for pinning down the aroma and flavor, but I bet that this wine suffered slightly from the extremely hot summer and fall.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/30/2006 - danstrings wrote: 91 Points
Oola David Karin et al--Wonderful CdP drinking great. Very interesting nose of tarry peppery fruit. Great
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/16/2006 - beachbum wrote: 93 Points
Wine was decanted about 1 1/2 hours prior to this note. After a CDP tasting this week I thought I would try a bottle of this, my first since purchase. Dark red/black core, with slight bricking on the edge. Hmmm. Nose is a tight tarrry strawberry mass, with a bit of heat showing through. Very sothern rhone and 1998 to me. The wine is very thick and concentrated, with very present, chalky sweet tannins. The taste profile is a bit hot, very dark fruit, cherry cough syrup and I get the tar again. Sweet and long. The wine did not need decanting, only the slightest sediment. I can see drinking it now, although for me I will wait another 2 years. Enjoy with a steak.
While I think this is a very good wine, and am glad to own it, at this stage the 1998 CDP vintage just does not seem to be right for my taste. I find many offerings too alcoholic and roasted. I am enjoying the purer 1995 far more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/25/2006 - DAF wrote: 85 Points
Not sure if corked or otherwise fouled. Very thin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/28/2005 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Bistro K:Grt pepper, garrigue, underbrush; berries in there, super silky for CdP; bitter cocoa mth, earth, pepper; long finish. My favorite--right on target and a lot to offer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/28/2005 - gregg g wrote:
TN: EWG does Mostly N&S Rhones at Bistro K (South Pasadena, CA.): Very nice wine but so young and primary right now. This one needs time. Bigger and more intense than the '99 Les Cailloux. Tom said he decanted for about 1 1/2 hours when at some point, it began to tighten up some in the decanter. It began to show some raspberry kirsch notes but you know there is more burried in there. Leaving some in my glass as long as possible helped. I'd suggest further cellar time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2005 - espia wrote:
Nice rich chocolatey.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/23/2005 - Ben Andersen wrote:
$39.99 retail. I had not opened one of these since a few bottles I popped right after it was released... Typical, slightly hot '98 profile. Perhaps not as fresh as it could be - a tiny bit of oxidation was evident. Syrupy fruit leaning towards the red side of the spectrum - cranberry / raspberry; a brambly, prickly spiciness. With a couple hours of air, a cocoa note entered the picture - along with a raisiny component, and the spiciness retreated. Still had very light notes of oxidation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment