Pale golden color, almost strawlike. Nose was full of almond paste, pecans, and graham crackers. Brisk acidity and very fresh with a very nice long finish. Really nice glass of champagne.

Tight nose at first, it took some time in the glass for this wine to open up. Eventually, it exhibited a full body of mangos and pineapples. There was also a great deal of honey after it sat in the glass. This glass was definitely rougher around the edges than the 2007, I feel like it could use 3-5 more years of bottle aging.

Light yellow color. Heavy dose of white flowers, some faint petrol and nice flavors of honey. Absolutely silky smooth on the palate, showed much better than the 2006. While I have trouble guessing whether this will end up being a better bottle than the 2006, this was certainly more approachable at a younger age. Great wine.

Heavily stewed nose. Most thought this was either corked or damaged from heat.

Very spicy nose with plenty of olive tapanade and beef jerky. Secondary flavors of white/black pepper. This was a medium bodied wine that was quite young on the palate. Could see this maturing around 2018.

Spectacular bottle. Dark, dark color, with lots of chocolate. Not surprising that the 2003 vintage gives up a big boy wine, but this Lirac has really nice balance. Plenty of floral and blueberry notes on the palate. The mid palate has a good amount of black tea and light coffee flavors. Could see this really aging well.

Light nose at first....but the aromatics really built up. Soon, deep, dense kirsch and cassis flavors combined with barnyard notes to create a really nice nose. Out of all the wines tonight, this wine matured the most in my glass. Soon, more of the classic CdP notes took hold....raw meats, and horse flavors. Really enjoyable bottle.

Incredible amounts of peppermint tobacco on the nose and palate. I've never had a wine with this much minty flavors. Some in the group thought that something might be off with this bottle, but I wasn't sure. I let my glass sit for a while, and the peppermint subsided a bit, and stronger pipe tobacco built up. Somewhat disjointed glass of CdP. Not sure what to make of it.

Very nice kirsch nose. Didn't have the depth on the nose or palate that I was hoping for. While it was a popular wine with the rest of the group, I thought it was the most disappointing of the night. Perhaps, we caught this bottle in a down phase, but who knows. It has a disjointed finish that really left me wondering, "what's going on here?"

Clearly too young...but at the same time, such a wonderful bottle of chateauneuf de pape. Lots of leather, and black tea...both being somewhat suave flavors. This was a feminine Beaucastel (IMHO) that I think would do well with another 10-15 years of bottle aging. Smooth as silk on the palate, this was in one sense a young wine....but at the same time, showed incredibly well.

Just opening up for business....barely. Wonderful nose of pepper, espresso, sausage, and olives. Dark dark ruby color in the glass. Sublime wine that's so velvety with such a long finish. This wine shows so well, but is SO SO young. Excited at its prospects down the road as I think this will be a blockbuster in 6-10 years.

Dark sour cherry with some alcohol/heat coming across initially. The wine itself was dominated by milk chocolate and dense blueberry. Really nice bottle.

Wonderfully rich with bacon and damp animal hair. Came across a bit hot at first, but the alcohol seemed to blow off a bit. Again, this was clearly young, but showed incredible potential for a decade down the road. I mean, have you ever had a Pegau that wasn't awesome??? Incredible producer.

Wow. Really intense nose of sour cherry, spicy oak, meat drippings, and espresso. Gimme a break. Why can't all wine be like this? Just pure finesse on the palate, with a fair amount of oak that's well balanced and integrated. Hard to ask for more in wine.

The WOTN for me. Where to begin....Very rich nose...almost decadant, with cherry cola, chocolate, spce and some smoke. There's a nice amount of olive tapanade on the nose too that adds a saltiness to the nose that I really enjoy. Clearly young, this is probably the best CdP I've had. The mouthfeel is simply astounding; it's a very dense wine, but doesn't come across sappy or juicy at all, but exhibts a balance that's absolutely scary. The backbone of this wine is loaded with dried herbs and flowers. Can certainly last for another 20 years, but is drinking incredibly well now.

Very dense CdP. Loaded with kirsch and cassis. Wonderfully integrated tannins keep the heavy fruit in check. A bit too over-ripe for my palate, but you can tell that quality fruit and wine making was at play here.

Thank god for Pegau. In a vintage dominated by overripe wines, Pegau saves the day (or should I say, vintage). Yes, this is more fruit driven than the traditional Pegau, but for the 2007 vintage this is great! By far, the best 2007 CdP I've smelled thus far. It does lack some of the depth that you can anticipate from older vintages of Pegau...but I am imagining great things from this wine in a decade or two. Really encouraging!

Big thanks to Jace for bringing this bottle. Really dense nose of cassis, cranberries, and gravy. So dense and palate coating.....a big fan of this wine!