Flight of 2006 Chateauneufs for the Common Man

No Rayas, Beaucastel Hommage, Deus Ex Machina or other special cuvee superstars in this line up, just regular old drinking wines.

• 2006 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Unique

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

  Medium ruby. Fragrant, higher toned nose of lavender and thyme with fruit hiding in the background. Medium body, but this packs a serious punch with dark, brooding fruit, nice acidity, and a very tannic finish. Gains approachability, red fruit, and a hint of caramel as it sits out. The most backward wine of the bunch and excellent potential. Not for early gratification.

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• 2006 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Slighter lighter ruby than the Mont Olivet. Some garrigue here too, but more fruit in the form of pungent black cherry. Medium weight, but this pretty much collapses after the initial sense of briary fruit. Not enough flesh on these bones.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Mourre des Perdrix

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

  Medium purple. Low pitched scents of tar and licorice with an increasingly apparent violet top note-very appealing. Particularly after the thin Cote de l'Ange, this had a weight and persistence that were really satisfying. Sappy, savory fruit that sweetens over time with excellent spicy complexity and barkiness (?Mourvedre) on the moderately tannic finish. Enjoyable now but will improve. Along with the Mont Olivet, my favorite of the flight.

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• 2006 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Purple and unusually thick looking. Figs, VA, and cherry liqueur. Promising entry but hollow mid-palate with hot, pruny finish. Poor and the only wine to show these overripe characteristics.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Côte de l'Ange Châteauneuf-du-Pape Flawed

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

  Medium color. A deep stench that reminds me of the Paris sewers (and I don't mean this in any remotely romantic or positive sense). Beyond all this is good material with rich dark fruit, a round feel, and low acidity. Finish is really tainted though. Too bad-a little bit of brett goes a long way, but this amount is intolerable. A bottle tasted in February did not show this way at all.

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• 2006 Clos des Brusquières Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Medium to lighter red. Very perfumed with rose and pure red fruit aromatics. Relatively light, friendly, elegant wine with lively fruit, some finishing spiciness, and low tannins. Quite tasty short term wine perhaps lacking the depth of the best few examples here. Best to avoid this if a highly floral, aromatic nose bothers you.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale Les Hautes Brusquières

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

  Medium depth of color. Laid back nose but nice balance of fruit and herbs. Lighter weight, olive fruit, good acidity, lower tannins. I liked this but it is on the ungenerous side, and its fruit could be more convincingly ripe. Like many '99 Chateauneufs if you are familiar with that vintage. I liked this more the last time around.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Flawed

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

  Medium but slightly deeper than the Hautes Brusquieres from the same domain. Herbal aromas are disrupted by an off rubbery note (low level sulfides?). Medium weight with green olive components and the distracting off element making the palate and finish unpleasant.

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This was the most wildly inconsistent group of wines I've tasted recently. There was something for everyone here-forward/backward, high/low acidity, over/underripe, brett, sulfur, etc. It would have been difficult to taste these blind and conclude that they came from the same vintage. The Mont Olivet and Charbonniere Mourre des Perdrix stood out for me as the class of the pack.