| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.5 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 30 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by WinePT on 10/15/2022 & rated 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. (537 views) |
| | Tasted by SixHedgehogs on 6/19/2021 & rated 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. (1104 views) |
| | Tasted by salua on 2/11/2017 & rated 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. (2453 views) |
| | Tasted by hkm520240 on 9/11/2015 & rated 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. (3294 views) |
| | Tasted by hkm520240 on 9/10/2015 & rated 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. (3638 views) |
| | Tasted by Polywine on 8/22/2015 & rated 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. (3010 views) |
| | Tasted by TiggerK on 3/2/2015 & rated 91 points: Still drinking well, still has life and vigour, but I'd be enjoying it sooner than later. (2970 views) |
| | Tasted by CamWheeler on 1/17/2015 & rated 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. (1412 views) |
| | Tasted by ticklenow1 on 11/16/2014 & rated 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. (1882 views) |
| | Tasted by Milos on 5/11/2014 & rated 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. (1832 views) |
| | Tasted by salua on 4/14/2014 & rated 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. (1779 views) |
| | Tasted by salua on 1/13/2014 flawed bottle: corked. not much more to say. very disappointing (1908 views) |
| | Tasted by fullpour on 12/17/2013: empire80 is correct: this is absolutely perfect right now. Phenomenally beautiful wine. (1963 views) |
| | Tasted by empire80 on 12/6/2013 & rated 92 points: Very concentrated, liquorice, treacle, tannin has melted away, perfect right now. (1647 views) |
| | Tasted by JeandeTroyes on 9/7/2013 & rated 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. (1587 views) |
| | Tasted by CamWheeler on 12/14/2012 & rated 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. (2610 views) |
| | Tasted by LG1009 on 10/27/2011 & rated 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. (3120 views) |
| | Tasted by TiggerK on 4/28/2011 & rated 93 points: Lovely wine in good form, still hold for a little while, but great now. Rated highly in our grenache based tasting. (3013 views) |
| | Tasted by LG1009 on 1/30/2011 & rated 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. (3102 views) |
| | Tasted by LG1009 on 12/16/2010 & rated 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. (3310 views) |
| | Tasted by fullpour on 11/9/2010: 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. (2845 views) |
| | Tasted by 309VEB on 9/26/2010 & rated 90 points: Drinking well. Still a bit hot so probably has some time left. This is a pleasant, restrained shiraz. (2813 views) |
| | Tasted by tcfishler on 2/20/2010: 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. (2833 views) |
| | Tasted by serialmonkey on 2/14/2010 & rated 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. (3037 views) |
| | Tasted by stefan.sarin@gmail.com on 9/26/2009: Drinking very nicely now! (3175 views) |
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