Horizontal Tasting of 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape

• NV Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Cuvée No. 732 Brut Flawed

  France, Champagne

  Magnum and literally a big disappointment to start an otherwise great evening. Stunted fruit and a strange musty, mushroomy quality that we didn't think was TCA, but I find this a difficult call with Champagne.

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• NV Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

  France, Champagne

  Its usual light, elegant self bursting with orange zest. Quite a contrast to the weird dullness of the Jacquesson.

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• NV Veuve Fourny & Fils Champagne Premier Cru Grande Réserve Brut

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Bigger and slightly sweeter than the Delamotte. Full and toasty but not that mineral or distinguished.

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These were tasted and noted blind before their identities were revealed. All had been opened but not decanted 2 hours before we sat down to taste them. Since the colors of all the wines were remarkably similar (medium ruby without lightening), I omitted that from the following notes.

• 2000 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Medium weight, slight sweetness of fruit leavened by tobacco tones. Well balanced, savory and long. It picks up richness along the way. This seemed to straddle modern and traditional styles.

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• 2000 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  One of the lighter, more elegant wines tonight, but this too becomes sappier with air. It begins with lavender scents and only becomes more herbal with a high toned perfume over several hours. Discrete palate, compelling aromatics.

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• 2000 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  A touch of stink that blew off. Nice combination of sappy red fruit, graphite, and garrigue-quite complex at the moment. Beautifully lush feel tempered by excellent finishing acidity. Really excellent.

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• 2000 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Big wine, great amplitude. Full of licorice and brown spices. This lacked the verve and complexity of the best wines tonight, but no denying that it is a mouthful.

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• 2000 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Along with the Clos des Papes, a very large scale wine. Savory black fruit. Tannic and simple at first, but the rising tide of spice and herbs as it sat open suggested that this still has considerable upside with further aging.

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• 2000 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Structurally very similar to Les Cailloux-lighter weight and full of green, herbal components. Long, balanced and smooth. Seems close to peak. I thought this was pretty classic and wonderful.

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• 2000 Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Wow, there was a lot going on in the glass here. Brooding and smoky at first, but then showed more perfume, mint and a ripe, almost candied side. Spicy, dry despite its richness, notably good acidity. One of the best candidates for further aging given its continued fascinating evolution.

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• 2000 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Light weight. Bright, pure gorgeous raspberry fruit. Highest acidity of any of these wines. Increasing menthol and eventually some cocoa flavor. This stole the show for me. Great bottle.

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• 1986 Château Guiraud

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Golden. Very fragrant high tones of botrytis and secondary development. Fairly sweet, apricot fruit but restrained by great acidity which made it seem lighter and fresh. Of the 2 Sauternes, I clearly preferred this one.

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• 1983 Château Suduiraut

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  As deep as the Guiraud. More straightforward aromatics and flavors of coconut and tropical fruit. More viscous, even oily and lower acidity. Somewhat ponderous.

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• 1985 Warre Porto Vintage

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Light ruby but not yet tawny. Lighter styled port. Plummy fruit, moderate sweetness, good acidity, pretty well integrated at this point although a tad of alcohol sticks out. Balanced but short on complexity and intensity.

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We were delighted with the consistent high quality (and absence of flawed bottles) in these 12 year old reds. With the exception of the Pegau and Tardieu Laurent, most of the wines seemed at or near peak but possessed the material and balance to last for another 5 years. There was no clear consensus on the hierarchy of the wines, with some people preferring the bigger, more concentrated examples and others gravitating to the less weighty, more "Burgundian" wines. Even in this vintage which had the reputation of being warm and ripe, it was interesting that none of the wines were hot or as marked by alcohol as wines from more recent vintages such as 2007. Nor was the wood overly prominent in this set of wines. All in all, a great, educational flight that exceeded my expectations of the vintage.