November 27, 2021 - I’ve kept onto this for a good few years.
Love a good Chateauneuf Du Pape
N: plum, cherry, fig, raisin, tobacco and graphite
T: smooth, powerful wine. Plum, dark fruit, tobacco, leather, a hint of blue cheese. Fades to raisins and spice. A lovely warning winter wine.
Consumed with cheese and biscuits. A perfect match.
July 21, 2020 - I picked this up inexpensively back in the day, and always found it a bit clipped until now. What an appropriate name though. The wine has enough olives to rival any northern Rhône! This, despite being 80% Grenache, 10% Cinsault and only 10% Syrah! Olive, plum and Kirsch on the nose. Olive, game and just-ripe dark fruit on the palate. Excellent.
November 9, 2019 - Very god mature CDP, drinking well at the moment. Ripe Raspberry, black fruits earth and spice on the nose. Quite inky in the glass, ripe dark berry with some spice garrigue and kirsch. Clean slightly sweetish finish with well resolved tannins and a hint of pepper. Overall, pretty good. Lacks a bit of depth and complexity, but holding up ok and very nice with tri-tip.
June 16, 2019 - 15JUN19 at Bacchus Wijnfestival: Medium+ ruby color; found this to be a bit light, medium- body, with mild tannins; supple mouthfeel with notes of cranberry, dark plum, and just a touch of stone/graphite on the finish; perhaps the bottle at the festival had been open too long, but I found this to be a bit simple and on the thin side; for advertised 24 EUR/bottle this would be a good deal, assuming you're not looking for an in-your-face wine for pairing
December 17, 2016 - Dark red with just a touch of bricking. Aromas on night 1 of tapenade and kirsch. Night 2 is barnyard, olive and red berry. Palate has more olive, kirsch, red berry, earth and a mild acid streak. This paired well with night 1's lamb steak and Brussels sprouts, and surprisingly well with a squash, leek and potato soup on night 2. Of the 3 bottles of this I have drunk it is the first to have a suggestion of its olive namesake. It was actually surprising, given the cepage of 80% Grenache, 10% cinsault, and just 10% Syrah. Excellent.
July 8, 2015 - Very savory nose wet leather, dried meat. The palate is also savory with some mild meats but a nice underripe blackberry note in the back end that does not last very long. Decent wine.
September 3, 2014 - As I prepared to enter this note saw my previous one from last year and chuckled - it's very similar! Spicy, savoury cherry aromas and cherry, spice and pepper on the palate. Perhaps a bit short and dry on the finish but a nice overall package. Still no idea where this will be in 2020 or so, but right now Excellent.
January 2, 2014 - Lo and behold: a CDP that doesn't suck. Okay, this does flirt with being over the top but manages to stay on the right side of the line. You can feel the alcohol after a glass but don't taste it while drinking, so that is a plus. Good complexity without veering too far into medicinal. Hardly traditional, but well made nonetheless. At the price paid a very good deal and one that is sure to please many, especially for one glass, as it becomes a bit heavier handed after that.
October 30, 2013 - This everything you want in a*basic* CDP. Gorgeous savory aroma and good meaty, spicy (garriguey?) palate with interesting finish. Lovely drink at present but have no idea how it will age. Right now - Excellent.
September 24, 2013 - 91-92pts. Very nice Chateauneuf du pape. Immediately picked up a lot of white pepper followed by venison/jerky on the nose, wrapped in some crushed berries. Soil, smokey, then followed by underlining dark chocolate and raspberry, with some more of that spice mixed in on the finish. Very beautiful creamy texture and finish. A rich wine, good balance of new/old world style. Big fan of this one.