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Uncorked DK: Chateauneuf 2005 Report
Tasted July 1, 2007 by gorm with 1,408 views
Introduction
Saturday my tasting group hosted a comprehensive tasting of CNDP 2005. Unfortunately I was not able to attend, but thanks to some ingenuity involving airtight plastic containers I was able to taste through all 15 wines at home Sunday. These are my observations and conclusions.
Flight 1 - Set 1 (2 notes)
Red
2005 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape
89 points
Medium dark red. Nose of blackberries and sweet dairy products with wild forrest berries, sounds good, but in fact a bit artificial for a wine. Medium-bodied, nice fruit, high acid, medium aftertaste. All in all good and a bit one-dimensional. Disappoints compared with 03.
Red
2005 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz
93 points
Dark color with the usual purple nuances for very young wines. Very good dense dark fruit on the nose. Meaty and spicy, dense, intense and long. This is classic CNDP. Not as many minerals as I've experienced with this in previous vintages, but they will probably emerge with time. 93+.
Flight 2 - Set 2 (2 notes)
Red
2005 Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes
93 points
Dark and dense with purple rim. A bit closed on the nose, but hints of intensely black berries. Intense, pure, somewhat sweet and seamlessly integrated. A pleaser, but a bit anonymous. Tasting Cristia for the first time it is difficult to tell what sets it apart from the other CNDP's or many quality wines out there from Spain etc.
Red
2005 Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Renaissance
92 points
The color is just a bit lighter than the VV. An amazing nose of flowers, hung meat, actually more secondary than primary fruit nuances. Tastes nice with more fruiit, a good intensity, lots of pepper, a long aftertaste and some massive, but fine, tannins. More typical CNDP than the VV. 92+.
Flight 3 - Set 3 (2 notes)
Red
2005 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon
95 points
One of the lightest colored in this tasting. A beautiful nose of flowers and raspberries in an almost burgundian fashion. Well integrated, some smoke, leather and tobacco already peeking through the primitive fruit. By far the most feminin of these young monster CNDP's although still not for the wimpy. I really liked it. 95+.
Red
2005 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes
96 points
Dark purple. Very pure and intense nose, like sniffing CNDP essence (which really is what old vine grenache is all about). Amazing minerals, hot sand, stones... intense, long and seamless. A fantastic wine! One of the best CNDP's I've had and probably WOTN, at least equal with Caillou Reserve, Vieille Julienne Reserve and Usseglio Deux Freres. 96-97.
Flight 4 - Set 4 (2 notes)
Red
2005 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chaupin
94 points
I had this only a few weeks ago where I gave it 96. It didn't perform as well this time - maybe more closed, or the competition were just much harder! Dark purple, intense red and black berries, incense and spices. Pleasing and sexy, but a bit bitter and alcohol shows a bit too much. Still a pretty sexy CNDP! 94+.
Red
2005 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Côtes du Rhône La Bosse
92 points
Dense almost black core. Very intense nose, essence of "high pitched" forrest fruits and some minerals. Tastewise it dissappoints a bit compared to the nose, maybe it's closed? My notes red: "very nice classic CNDP", but in fact it's a CdR! Great work. 92-93.
Flight 5 - Set 5 (2 notes)
Red
2005 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes
94 points
Relative light. Nose of intense black and red berries and a dominating "funky" element of vegetables and spices. Sweet and pleasing/sexy, reminds me of the Janasse Chaupin, but comes across as more complex, but also less seamless. The combination of licquer like fruit and herbal complexities are intriguing. The most rustique of the CNDPs tasted so far. 94+.
Red
2005 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
94 points
Dark with a somewhat brown edge. Nose of dark berries and some hints of smoked bacon/meat. Seems a bit shy at this stage. Still very pure, but not as burgundian as other vintages. However still relatively more feminin and with good complexity. At the price I'd definitely prefer this over the Sabon Secret. 94-95+.
Flight 6 - Set 6 (2 notes)
Red
2005 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul
95 points
Purple, just barely seethrough. Once again a beautifully sweet and spicy nose with a good amount of minerals showing. Very intense and pure with liquid hot rocks and spices. I just adore this marriage of perfume, intensity and complexity. 95+.
Red
2005 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois
93 points
Dark purple core. Another wine with intense dark forrest berries - this time very pure. It's spicy, meaty and big. Great and enjoyable, but as with the Cristia VV I miss some CNDP typicity to set it apart.
Flight 7 - Set 7 (3 notes)
At this point my taste buds were tired and the last set were truly challenging. Great wines, but difficult to set apart.
Red
2005 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve
95 points
Very dark and dense colored. The nose is extremely intense and overwhelming with big, mature, round and delicious black fruit. Full bodied, yet the lightest compared to the Usseglio Deux Freres and Caillou Reserve. Very balanced, but not as seamless (yet?) as the 2001. The elegantier of the pack. Great CNDP, but I won't buy this where the price is headed for the moment. 95-96+.
Red
2005 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve le Clos du Caillou
96 points
Dark and dense purple/blue. Another very biiig nose - almost impossible to describe: licquer/essence of grenache from heaven... yada yada. Full bodied, pure with an amazing taste of black fruit, truffles and lots of minerals. Intense and looong. Another strong contender for WOTN. 96+.
Red
2005 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Deux Frères
96 points
Colorwise a bit lighther, but still dark and brooding. Another wildly intense nose of dark berries. Full-bodied, very seamless, more dark berries, sand and dust - the biggest and boldest of the pack. Performs amazing now, but will it stay the distance over time? 96-97.
Closing
As can be seen the general level is very high. While no wine got more than 96-97 the average was more than 94 and the potential for higher ratings are definitely there. Top three of the tasting were Caillou Reserve, Usseglio Deux Freres and Janasse VV with the last just possible having a small edge. But these are very closely followed by Vieille Julienne Reserve, Sabon Secret and Usseglio Mon Aieul. Clos des Papes, Janasse Chaupin and Caillou Quartz are also "must have" wines at their respective price points. Only the modernistic Cristia and Mordoree's disappointed me.