Second Sunday Group: 2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape

R&D's
Tasted Sunday, March 8, 2020 by AllRed with 179 views

Introduction

The 2nd Sunday group gathered for our regular double blind tasting. For this group, we are presented a couple of double blind warm ups before the main flight. The warm ups are discussed & unveiled before moving on to the themed main flight. We spent forty five minutes or so tasting and evaluation the eight wines for the main flight before ranking the wines and then making guesses as to what we were tasting. Wines are ranked 1-8, one point for each place, and then unveiled from last place to first place. After the tasting, dinner is served with the additional wines brought by the group, nonblind. For this tasting we had thirteen tasters and the cost was $50.

Flight 1 - Warm ups (3 Notes)

Flight 2 - Themed flight (8 Notes)

These had been double-decanted a little over three hours before the flight. By the time I got to wines D and E, I thought we were tasting Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it was just a matter of figuring out the vintage. They had some tannin and structure, but also showed a little age in their color, particularly at the edge. My initial thought was 2009 or 2010, and since these weren't overly ripe and raisiny as a group, I guessed 2010.

  • 2010 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 90 Points

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

    Double blind. Opens with notes of black raspberry, pepper amd spices- nutmeg. Tannic. Red fruit and nutmeg palate. Becomes more dark-fruited as it sits in the glass, adding a woody/stemmy note that I like, along with a hint of cedar and herbs. Good but not as expressive as others in the lineup, remaining a bit firm and tight. 90-91 pts.

    My #7, Domino's #5
    Group #6, 65 pts

    Clearly a hold at this point, this is simply too young.

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  • 2010 Domaine de Ferrand Châteauneuf-du-Pape 84 Points

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

    Double blind. Opens with a slight earthy note, followed by black fruit and raisin. Stewed ripe dark fruit on the palate. Develops a subtle bouillon note as it sits, along with more raisin...no thanks.

    My #8, Domino's #8
    Group #8, 80 pts

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  • 2010 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

    Double blind. Notes of raspberry, candied plum, florals and underbrush. Medium-bodied. Red fruit and spice flavors, though a little short on the finish. Opens nicely in the glass, showing more florals, red fruit and now a good bit of garrigue. It has fleshed out a bit on the palate too, filling in very nicely with good length.

    My #3, Domino's #2
    Group #4, 58 pts
    > Tie with wine H broken by virtue of this receiving first place votes whereas H received none.

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  • 2010 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 94 Points

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

    Double blind. Notes of bay leaf, tea, plum, clove, and cinnamon. There's something almost medicinal here too, but in a good way. Mixed red and dark fruit on the palate, with more of that bay leaf quality, as well as some peppery spice. Opens nicely, developing a Christmas spice note in the bouquet, and the fruit really begins to shine. Unique in this lineup, and very expressive. I rather like this.

    My #2, Domino's #4
    Group #7, 72 pts

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  • 2010 La Bastide Saint-Dominique Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

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

    Double blind. Starts a bit medicinal and high-toned; leafy; odd. On the palate, the tannins are rather firm, but there's some nice fruit underneath, and hints of spice cake as well. Raspberry and cherry, bordering on cough syrupy but doesn't quite cross that line. I think I like the brightness of the fruit here.

    My #6, Domino's #3
    Group #3, 54 pts

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  • 2010 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines 93 Points

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

    Double blind. Woody at first, with mixed fruit and pint notes as well. Red fruit, a bit plummy, and plen of spice. Tannic. Develops a nice garrigue note and turns more dark-fruited on the palate. Medium+ finish. This, as many in the lineup, improved as they opened in the glass.

    My #4, Domino's #6
    Group #1, 36 pts

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  • 2010 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 95 Points

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

    Double blind. Aromas of roasted game, dark fruit, herbs and cedar. The most complex of the bouquets during the first pass through the lineup. Full-bodied, with flavors of game, red and black fruit, spice and pepper. Doesn't change much as it sits, but just turns everything up a notch or two.

    My #1, Domino's #1
    Group #2, 45 pts

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  • 2010 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

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

    Double blind. Shows more dark fruit than red, with peppery spice undertones. Black raspberry fruit on the palate. Full-bodied with a long finish. The only one that really doesn't open up very much in the glass, in fact, this seems to shut down a bit. That said, it has good fruit and structure, I think it just needs more time.

    My #5, Domino's #7
    Group #5, 58 pts

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Flight 3 - Dinner wines (9 Notes)

With a sausage stew and spice cake.

Closing

Thanks, R&D for another fun tasting.

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