France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Lovely open nose. Oatmeal, subtle tropical fruit, pineapple possibly, and a touch of ginger. Full, ripe fruit, rich and rounded without being overdone. Really lovely. *****
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Deep, black-fruited nose with black olive and a touch of garrigue. Sweet fruit on the attack, rounded, some glycerin. A little hot though that seems to transition to volatility with air. ***1/2
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Deep, slightly tarry black fruit and the olive is a little more concentrated too, tapenade rather than whole fruit. Lighter on the attack than expected, dark red fruit, touch of raspberry. Nicely balanced and a decent length witi a nicely dry finish. Starting to open up a little more on the nose, a touch of kirsch. ****1/2
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Corked. Bother, should have tasted this before leaving the house rather than just sniffing it. Marginal on the nose witi some air but certainly corky on palate.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Slightly smokey black fruit nose. Quite rounded and ready, probably the most open and accessible so far. Very typically Chateauneuf. Lacks the complexity of the others. Takes on a sweet, more open, slightly spirity quality after a couple of hours. ***
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Black olives, quite dense, restrained fruit on the nose. Fat and leggy. Dense sweet fruit, rounded, nice dry finish. Good. Opens up a little to a dark red fruit palate. ****
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very deep, dense nose. Olives, grilled meat and oatmeal nose. Dark dense and brooding. No heat here. Very pure and long with dense, baked fruit. Showing well but this needs years. Really good. ***(**) potential.
Well, not the 2000 5 Putts ordered off the list (and, for that matter, paid for), but that's my fault for letting it go. Actually, wine-wise this was probably a better choice for the occassion - lovely fresh acidity and with enough sweetness. Long, quite refreshing and definately palate-cleansing after the Chateauneufs, though not particularly complex. Good. ***
2005 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Lovely open nose. Oatmeal, subtle tropical fruit, pineapple possibly, and a touch of ginger. Full, ripe fruit, rich and rounded without being overdone. Really lovely. *****
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