This was showing great at year 20. Rich body of chocolate, espresso, dark fruit, hint of oak. Smooth with well integrated tannins. No idea on the drinking window, but I don't see it fading for at least a few years. My only bottle.
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Rhone / Barossa Comparisons (London): Black red. Much thicker texture than the preceding Chateauneuf. Woody aroma, hint of roses and tar. Huge rich fruit flavour, treacle, raspberry, blackberry. Powerful stuff.
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Last magnum. Double decanted 2 hrs before dinner. Lovely well developed wine. Great nose, bit lighter than last magnum but the extra years gave a bit more development. Incredibly well balanced in this format. If you have any, drink it now.
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Blend of Shiraz and Grenache. Elegant nose, nice richness and suppleness on entry with plenty of sweet fruits, milk chocolate, black berry, plum and white pepper. Long lingering finish with soft chewy tannins. Holding very well and drink nicely at this tasting.
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Australia 2002 horizontal tasting on cooling-off day (Extra Space, Boon Keng): Blend of Shiraz and Grenache. Elegant nose, nice richness and suppleness on entry with plenty of sweet fruits, milk chocolate, black berry, plum and white pepper. Long lingering finish with soft chewy tannins. Holding very well and drink nicely at this tasting.
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I opened the bottle at 3:00 pm and kept tasting it until dinner time at 8:00. It needs at least 4 hours to open up. It's better to let it breath instead of drinking for the first 4 hours. Secondary aroma was noticed after 4 hours. It's leather, oak was well integrated, dark berry. It's solid and it does taste like new style Chateanuf Du Pape.
Riesling Refresher 2015: Meat, cherry, blackcurrant and spice. The palate is quite heavy, there is spice throughout that helps pick it up. Drinking well now.
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This was a bit of a step up from the Moppa Springs. Brighter in colour, it was also fresher as well. Much better than the 2003 we had at an offline earlier this year and I guess that would be down to the better vintage. Silken tannins and still plenty of red and black fruit poking through. Best Nine Popes I've had and a couple thought it WOTN.
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It’s been a while since I tasted relatively young Nine Popes and that touch of pickle juice is always there up front. Very youthful looking deep red colour. Dark red cherry and cranberry nose with soya sauce smoke and leather. Palate is balanced with fine tannins and decent finish. Another 3 to 5 years is needed, but on the right track.
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Magnum format. Double decanted 2 hrs before serving over a 3 hr period. Unlike previous 750ml bottle, cork was solid and wine was not tainted. Surprisingly tight after 2 hours breathing. Opened up over next few hours. Lovely nose, excellent balance, great finish and length. This bottle lived up to its potential.
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This has the lovely smooth chocolatey finish I enjoy so much in an aged grenache-based wine, with very little oak that I could detect. Tannins have faded into the background and the lack of acidity and short finish suggest that this is probably beginning to decline (or it could just be going to sleep for a while - I've been surprised by this phenomenon before!). My guess is that it should be drunk within the next 12 months. Nice wine, though, and a very good example of the Rhone style.
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Christmas and End of Year Tasting: From magnum. Cardamom, cherry, black currant and some light earth. The palate is savoury with plenty of interesting spice balanced out by medium bodied sweet fruit. Was served after quite a few good wines, but still stood out and made an excellent impression.
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Have revisited the wine and this bottle not displaying the same magic of the last. Still good but not the remarkably integrated and sumptuous offering of a few months ago. No doubt some bottle variation to be expected but this was disappointing given how good the previous bottle was.
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There is something quite wonderful happening with this wine. It has gone from being a bit disjointed, angular and hot several years ago to a beautifully integrated and almost perfectly balanced drink. This is my third bottle in as many months and the upfront fruit has yielded ground to the now less aggressive tannins and the package is delightfully harmonious. As good as any CNDP style wine I have ever tasted. I can't see how it could get any better with time, perhaps just softer. Marvellous.
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Beautiful sweet, meaty nose of decaying library leather, faded roses, bracketed by subliminal oak. Lovely phenolic uplift of freshly polished floors, high school gym style with a homeopathic dose of clean skin. Rich and substantial with cheeky acidity, the palate is warm, soothing, filled with discreet red fruit and milk chocolate. Graceful, lengthy finish reminiscent more of young shiraz than eight-year-old Rhône blend suggests some fiendish pact with the Devil to keep this wine in such fine, fighting shape for nearly a decade. No rush to drink at this point, but hard to imagine it ever having tasted quite so good in the past.
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Dark red. Big nose of mixed blackish and jammy fruit, Grand Marnier, and some barky complexity. Chunky ripe yet smooth palate and lengthy finish. A good Chateauneuf imitator that has aged slowly.
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Took a little time to open up. Nice long finish with blackberries and five-spice. Medium body. Drinking great now, and would perhaps last another year or so to mellow out the tannins some more. Lots of grenache on the nose.
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I ripped a few bottles of this off the shelf just before it sold out and I'm glad I did. A very good example of a super balanced wine that is aging beautifully at 5yrs. Note sure how this wine looks with a heap of cellaring but the 2002 looks like a drink 'now' through to early 2009. Quite generic in many respects with settled red berries and plums and a nice underlay of stinky grenache, albeit in the mildest possible form. Middle weight at best, but drinking nicely.
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Pretty big wine. Needed some time to open. At first, kind of harsh and tight. The only aroma or flavor I could discern was maybe some lead pencil or tar. After a little while, some deep dark fruit started to show through. I'd consider buying more, but at $32 or so each, I'm ON THE FENCE.
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10/15/2022 - WinePT wrote: 91 Points
This was showing great at year 20. Rich body of chocolate, espresso, dark fruit, hint of oak. Smooth with well integrated tannins. No idea on the drinking window, but I don't see it fading for at least a few years. My only bottle.
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6/19/2021 - SixHedgehogs Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rhone / Barossa Comparisons (London): Black red. Much thicker texture than the preceding Chateauneuf. Woody aroma, hint of roses and tar. Huge rich fruit flavour, treacle, raspberry, blackberry. Powerful stuff.
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2/11/2017 - salua wrote: 93 Points
Last magnum. Double decanted 2 hrs before dinner. Lovely well developed wine. Great nose, bit lighter than last magnum but the extra years gave a bit more development. Incredibly well balanced in this format. If you have any, drink it now.
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9/11/2015 - hkm520240 wrote: 91 Points
Blend of Shiraz and Grenache.
Elegant nose, nice richness and suppleness on entry with plenty of sweet fruits, milk chocolate, black berry, plum and white pepper. Long lingering finish with soft chewy tannins. Holding very well and drink nicely at this tasting.
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9/10/2015 - hkm520240 wrote: 91 Points
Australia 2002 horizontal tasting on cooling-off day (Extra Space, Boon Keng): Blend of Shiraz and Grenache.
Elegant nose, nice richness and suppleness on entry with plenty of sweet fruits, milk chocolate, black berry, plum and white pepper. Long lingering finish with soft chewy tannins. Holding very well and drink nicely at this tasting.
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8/22/2015 - Polywine Likes this wine: 93 Points
I opened the bottle at 3:00 pm and kept tasting it until dinner time at 8:00. It needs at least 4 hours to open up. It's better to let it breath instead of drinking for the first 4 hours. Secondary aroma was noticed after 4 hours. It's leather, oak was well integrated, dark berry. It's solid and it does taste like new style Chateanuf Du Pape.
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3/2/2015 - TiggerK wrote: 91 Points
Still drinking well, still has life and vigour, but I'd be enjoying it sooner than later.
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1/17/2015 - CamWheeler wrote: 90 Points
Riesling Refresher 2015: Meat, cherry, blackcurrant and spice. The palate is quite heavy, there is spice throughout that helps pick it up. Drinking well now.
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11/16/2014 - ticklenow1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was a bit of a step up from the Moppa Springs. Brighter in colour, it was also fresher as well. Much better than the 2003 we had at an offline earlier this year and I guess that would be down to the better vintage. Silken tannins and still plenty of red and black fruit poking through. Best Nine Popes I've had and a couple thought it WOTN.
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5/11/2014 - Milos wrote: 90 Points
It’s been a while since I tasted relatively young Nine Popes and that touch of pickle juice is always there up front. Very youthful looking deep red colour. Dark red cherry and cranberry nose with soya sauce smoke and leather. Palate is balanced with fine tannins and decent finish. Another 3 to 5 years is needed, but on the right track.
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4/14/2014 - salua wrote: 92 Points
Magnum format. Double decanted 2 hrs before serving over a 3 hr period. Unlike previous 750ml bottle, cork was solid and wine was not tainted. Surprisingly tight after 2 hours breathing. Opened up over next few hours. Lovely nose, excellent balance, great finish and length. This bottle lived up to its potential.
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1/13/2014 - salua wrote: flawed
corked. not much more to say. very disappointing
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12/17/2013 - fullpour wrote:
empire80 is correct: this is absolutely perfect right now. Phenomenally beautiful wine.
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12/6/2013 - empire80 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very concentrated, liquorice, treacle, tannin has melted away, perfect right now.
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9/7/2013 - JeandeTroyes Likes this wine: 91 Points
This has the lovely smooth chocolatey finish I enjoy so much in an aged grenache-based wine, with very little oak that I could detect. Tannins have faded into the background and the lack of acidity and short finish suggest that this is probably beginning to decline (or it could just be going to sleep for a while - I've been surprised by this phenomenon before!). My guess is that it should be drunk within the next 12 months. Nice wine, though, and a very good example of the Rhone style.
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12/14/2012 - CamWheeler wrote: 92 Points
Christmas and End of Year Tasting: From magnum. Cardamom, cherry, black currant and some light earth. The palate is savoury with plenty of interesting spice balanced out by medium bodied sweet fruit. Was served after quite a few good wines, but still stood out and made an excellent impression.
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10/27/2011 - LG1009 wrote: 92 Points
Wading through more of these and definitely seeing some bottle variation. The better examples are remarkable wines, the lesser are still very good.
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4/28/2011 - TiggerK wrote: 93 Points
Lovely wine in good form, still hold for a little while, but great now. Rated highly in our grenache based tasting.
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1/30/2011 - LG1009 wrote: 90 Points
Have revisited the wine and this bottle not displaying the same magic of the last. Still good but not the remarkably integrated and sumptuous offering of a few months ago. No doubt some bottle variation to be expected but this was disappointing given how good the previous bottle was.
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12/16/2010 - LG1009 wrote: 95 Points
There is something quite wonderful happening with this wine. It has gone from being a bit disjointed, angular and hot several years ago to a beautifully integrated and almost perfectly balanced drink. This is my third bottle in as many months and the upfront fruit has yielded ground to the now less aggressive tannins and the package is delightfully harmonious. As good as any CNDP style wine I have ever tasted. I can't see how it could get any better with time, perhaps just softer. Marvellous.
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11/9/2010 - fullpour wrote:
Beautiful sweet, meaty nose of decaying library leather, faded roses, bracketed by subliminal oak. Lovely phenolic uplift of freshly polished floors, high school gym style with a homeopathic dose of clean skin. Rich and substantial with cheeky acidity, the palate is warm, soothing, filled with discreet red fruit and milk chocolate. Graceful, lengthy finish reminiscent more of young shiraz than eight-year-old Rhône blend suggests some fiendish pact with the Devil to keep this wine in such fine, fighting shape for nearly a decade. No rush to drink at this point, but hard to imagine it ever having tasted quite so good in the past.
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9/26/2010 - 309VEB wrote: 90 Points
Drinking well. Still a bit hot so probably has some time left. This is a pleasant, restrained shiraz.
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2/20/2010 - tcfishler wrote:
Dark red. Big nose of mixed blackish and jammy fruit, Grand Marnier, and some barky complexity. Chunky ripe yet smooth palate and lengthy finish. A good Chateauneuf imitator that has aged slowly.
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2/14/2010 - serialmonkey wrote: 91 Points
Took a little time to open up. Nice long finish with blackberries and five-spice. Medium body. Drinking great now, and would perhaps last another year or so to mellow out the tannins some more. Lots of grenache on the nose.
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9/26/2009 - stefan.sarin@gmail.com wrote:
Drinking very nicely now!
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6/21/2008 - french16 wrote: 88 Points
Drinking well. Minty nose then evolved to more dark fruits. Med tannin, med body, med acidity, very enjoyable. Not so CdP like but a well made wine.
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7/16/2007 - StewartWent wrote: 89 Points
I ripped a few bottles of this off the shelf just before it sold out and I'm glad I did. A very good example of a super balanced wine that is aging beautifully at 5yrs. Note sure how this wine looks with a heap of cellaring but the 2002 looks like a drink 'now' through to early 2009. Quite generic in many respects with settled red berries and plums and a nice underlay of stinky grenache, albeit in the mildest possible form. Middle weight at best, but drinking nicely.
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12/23/2006 - lebo9968@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Pretty big wine. Needed some time to open. At first, kind of harsh and tight. The only aroma or flavor I could discern was maybe some lead pencil or tar. After a little while, some deep dark fruit started to show through. I'd consider buying more, but at $32 or so each, I'm ON THE FENCE.
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