Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the '80s and '90s
Tabla, Portland, OR
Tasted Saturday, January 17, 2009 by David Paris with 1,252 views
Introduction
My first offline with the folks from the eRobertParker board. We had the event in the private room at Tabla Medeteranian Bistro. The restaurant didn't quite seem to be prepared for this many bottles, and they only had one decanter, and two red glasses for each of us. As usual, the food was excellent and pared quite well with these wines (oh, except the bitter things in the salad went horribly).
All wines were popped at the beginning of the evening, and generally drunk from oldest to youngest, with the youngest red resting a few hours in the decanter. For the most part we poured one or two wines at a time, and conversation ensued around the wines, or anything else that popped up. My notes are quite reduced from my usual verbose self, as conversation was prevalent. I very much enjoyed the first red and was a bit bummed that it was never equaled (for my palate) throughout the night. We began at 7:30 and I think everyone left by 11. A very relaxed, casual atmosphere and a very pleasurable experience all around. The wines:
Flight 1 (13 Notes)
Closing
I think overall I was a bit disappointed that I didn't love more of the wines, but I more than enjoyed myself with the company present. I was expecting to be drinking more mature wines, but many of these were simply too tight still and need more time in the cellar. Probably only three of the Châteauneufs were really ready to drink, in my opinion.
I certainly look forward to more of these events!
2006 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 86 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
First wine of the night, pretty much popped and poured. Was served quite cold and hard to get a read on the nose. There was just a hint of oak funk present, but it was quite mild. Again, mild on the mid-palate, showing some oak and light white fruit. Finish is fairly spicy and despite the cold temperature, a bit of heat coming through. Would like to try this one a bit warmer with more air. As it was, it was decent, but just too tight.
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1993 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 92 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This wine did a lot more for me than the other reviewers here. Poured just 15 minutes after opening. Nose is very rich and thick, showing flowers and ground beef. Mature dark fruits on the mid-palate, along with the same flowers from the nose. Raw kobe beef on the finish, still tannic on the backend, but very integrated and drinking in a great place today. Nice blend of fruit and secondary earth flavors. Very interesting and enjoyable.
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1989 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape 87 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Poured ~30 minutes after opening. Very cloudy, but through that the color is light. There's some stinky barnyard on the nose and not much fruit showing. There's some bright cherry and raspberry on the mid palate, along with strong acidity. Of course there is a bit of the funk from the nose in there as well, but less than expected. There's again lots of funk on the finish, some acidity, and no real tannins remain. Interesting, but certainly not delicious.
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1998 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cèdres 90 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Drank ~45 minutes after opening. Light color for a Chateauneuf. Fairly light and fresh on the nose, showing some pretty red fruits (primarily raspberry). Again light and fresh on the body with the same raspberry. Some good drying tannins on the finish, some fruit, but not overly complex. Still, a nice pleasant wine throughout. Quite nice with the rabbit ragu.
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1998 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape Selection Reflets Flawed
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very funky on the nose. Wet cardboard on the finish. Horrible moldy aftertaste that lasts for ever. Had to eat a bunch of bread to rid myself of it. Corked. Too bad!
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1999 Domaine du Banneret Châteauneuf-du-Pape 89 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Probably open about an hour. Heavy aromas of smoke and graphite. Very nice. Thick fruit on the mid-palate that carries into the finish, which coats the mouth in tannins. This one's enjoyable, but will be better in a few years, I believe.
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1999 Domaine de la Côte de l'Ange Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Open about an hour and a half. Nose shows some oak influence with some funk. Drying as I aerate in my mouth, and tasting like a strawberry fruit roll up. Very tasty. Lots of spice on the finish along with the fruit.
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1999 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Félix 91 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Open roughly an hour and a half. Smells like a piece of firewood soaking in the pond outside of a barn full of goats... but the goats must eat lots of big red fruit, because that's prevalent here as well. Nice big red fruits on the mid palate and carrying into the finish. Big tannins present as well, so no hurry on this one. A very pure and seemless wine. Give it a few years for peak enjoyment, but it was still a pleasure. 91+
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1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Open ~2 hours. Massive nose, very modern, lots of black fruit present. Medium bodied on the palate, a bit drying, and fairly tight. This is a huge wine and needs more time, but should open up to be quite good. Enjoyed today, but definitely bigger than most of the wines we had, and more modern in style.
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2000 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 90 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Open ~2+ hours. Graphite and fairly tight on the nose. Big and bold on the palate, lots of big dark fruits present. Same throughout, tight on the finish but plenty of singular fruit showing along with the tannins. Again, I think this one really needed more air to open up. A fine showing, but under expectations.
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2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 91 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
From a split. Open 2-3 hours. Big, but not too complex on the nose, expressing cake bread. Very reductive. Seems closed to me on the mid-palate and finish, but is very smooth. Not at all over the top as I expected from the vintage. Very smooth and pure throughout, but again this one needs much more time to aerate, or better yet, a decade plus in the cellar. Pleasant now though, just not overwhelming.
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2006 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz 87 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Decanted two and a half hours. Medium garnet color. Tons of heat coming through on the nose for me, along with a bit of oak. I can tell already this is a very extracted and modern approach. Again, lots of oak on the palate with the same extracted fruit. Spice and dark fruits on the finish, but again heat comes through and this is feeling a bit goopy. Simply too modern of a look at Chateauneuf for me. I'm sure others could love this, it's just not my style at all.
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1979 Bodegas Toro Albalá Don PX Gran Reserva 92 Points
Spain, Andalucía, Montilla-Moriles
Hey, may be two weeks early, but we finished the evening off with a birth year desert wine. Enjoyed this much more than I expected as I usually am not a fan of things this sweet. Ordered off the menu and popped and poured the bottle. Nose shows tons of cassis, thick coffee, syrup, and Elmer's Glue. Wow, this tastes EXACTLY like egg nog. The more I splash it around, the more I can imagine spiked eggnog. Even the texture is there. I could also say there's nutmeg, but perhaps that's redundant. Finish shows big time candied dried plums. Tasty.
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