Chateauneuf du pape Blind tasting

Sheila, Kyle, David, Gabor, Dario, my wife and myself gathered home around some rosemary lamb and home made ratatouille for a blind CdP tasting.
We knew which wines were brought but no clue of what was poured. We then had to guess which wine was in each flights.

Started with the only white of the lineup.

• 2006 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Télégramme 92 Points

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

  Tasted Blind.
  
  Great wine. It kept changing and evolving every time I was smelling my glass. Fat but enough acidity to balance it, some wood but nothing intrusive and adds complexity and texture to the wine. Honey, spices, cigar box (yes, yes...after 2hours..), citrus and orchard fruit. Not so much on the tropical fruits as many white CdP and with a long finish.
  Well done!

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Contrast was amazing between those 2 wines. Color wise and flavor wise.
2 traditional wines here.

• 2006 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

  Tasted Blind.
  
  Right off the bat, color is unusual for a CdP: med cherry core with light reddish rim.
  What a beautiful nose. Hard to tell CdP here: mineral, floral, cherry and pepper. A touch herbal.
  Beautifully balanced, focused and 'droit', red fruits profile with a touch of licorice (even though he doesn't wood at all).
  
  After 2h, alcohol was more present and the wine shut down.
  Put this wine in the cellar and let it sleep a few years.

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• 2006 Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape 88 Points

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

  Tasted along the Charvin and it didn't help. Complete different style, round and easy, rather big but balanced, it kept improving with air.
  Fruit forward but you can sense there's enough here to age and develop nicely. A touch of plum and cherry, rather low acidity, it is well done ven if this is monolithic right now.

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One super traditional Cdp against one modern.

• 1994 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  This bottle showed a tired wine. Austere, spices and herbs, violet with some strawberry and cherry.
  Finish is slightly metallic.
  Bottle might be a little off as hint of TCA was also present.

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• 2006 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines 88 Points

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

  Big nose with plenty of plums, dark cherry, licorice and a touch of tar. I was not really crazy about it as it obviously could have been anything from anywhere. Settled down a bit with time.
  Palate is much more enjoyable with some interesting meaty notes along the same profile as the nose.
  Definitely on the modern side of the appelation, it managed to stay balanced and didn't show any heat.
  Not bad but just not my style.

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Too bad the Bois de Boursan was corked.
I'd place Janasse between the traditional and modernist with an emphasis on the bright pure fruit but with a beautiful balance and complexity developping with age.

• 1999 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

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

  Decanted about an hour and kept getting better along the evening.
  Tight, pure dark fruits along leather, garrigue, charcoal/tar and a touch of licorice. Big but extremely balance, med acidity with a very nice soft texture.
  Some red fruits appeared on the palate and the finish is very pleasant. No heat or over ripeness sensation.
  This needs serious time.

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• 2006 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Flawed

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

  Corked. Too bad cause you could sense nice fruit and balance behing the corkiness.

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Great night, great friends and great food.
Cdp rocks !