December 22, 2023 - Medium dark browny red; concentrated, licorice, pepper; dark, dense, concentrated taste, lots of fruit; early stage of window - believe it will improve / open up more for years to come; tasted with Pegau’s special cuvee same year, which appeared more open and inviting and at its prime - gave both bottles same score
September 1, 2023 - Decanted about 2 hours. This bottle had excessive fine sediment that needed to be filtered out, but after that it was quite nice. Not the best bottle, but both nose and palate were enjoyable for a couple hours.
February 28, 2023 - The best Châteauneuf-du-Pape I've ever tasted. Deeply colored, nose of great complexity, mouth-filling flavors that go on and on. While no longer youthful, it still shows some tannins. Absolutely exquisite! Wouldn't it be great if all wines tasted this good? Enjoyed with a fantastic meal at Foretti's in Corona del Mar, CA. Tasted again in February 2024.
January 9, 2023 - (Verkostet aus der Magnum im Rahmen der C9dP Probe von Peter Buser) Anfangs still, kühl, zurückhaltend, öffnet sich mit Luft, zeigt eine feine Mokkanote, eingekochte Kirschen, reife, jedoch nicht überreife Frucht, dezente Röstnoten, Anflüge von Champignon, Herbstlaub. Im Gaumen dicht, konzentriert, jedoch nicht überladen, top Struktur, noch jung, in sich ruhend, sehr ausgewogen, der Alkohol ist präsent, überbordet aber nicht, dieser Wein hat definitiv Klasse und zeigt im Abgang eine grosse Länge, endet auf Süssholz. Aktuell gut antrinkbar, mit soliden Reserven. 96 vvPunkte www.vvwine.ch
June 17, 2022 - Excellent, it surprised me as I was not expecting to like it as much as I did...thinking it was going to be over the top in richness and extraction. Actually very, very well balanced, an incredible mouthfeel, super taste (deep red and blue fruits), garrigue, herbs. Yes, rich, but pulls it off.
June 6, 2022 - Showing quite well. An inky dark red / black hue. Nose of brooding dark berry fruit - blackberry, blackcurrant - and plum, complimented by Asian spices, licorice and black pepper. On the palate unctuous and silky in texture but with good linear focus and minerality to balance the full bodied and powerfully concentrated fruit character. Rather high in alcohol. Very long finish. Delicious and just entering a likely long drinking window. No rush here, but no shame in opening either.
May 28, 2022 - 5/28/22- steak dinner in Hamptons memorial day weekend . Tasted overdone. Not great
May 18, 2022 - Drank in London
Much calmer than previous bottle, still have more time for maturity
March 22, 2022 - Lovely CdP here, had some good weight and concentration but didn't feel heavy to me. I do think some age has been kind in mellowing it out a little and this felt very in balance to me. Lots of brambly black fruits, dried herbs, pepper and smokey bacon. It is rich yet elegant and length to burn and enough stuffing and structure to age longer. Paired so well with a grilled rib eye. Top quality for me.
September 25, 2021 - From Magnum, decanted several hours
This was originally intended to be a birthwine to last 21 years; keeping an eye on the notes below made me suspect it wouldn't make it to the finish line. Hence I decided to open it and repurpose it as a celebration of teenager-dom
N -spicy, cocoa, and a bit of heat. from some reason the nose reminds me of Christmas (perhaps a fruit cake?)
M - deep dark fruit, coffee, licorice. per the patriarch 'chewy, big and somewhat extracted'.
Frankly I found it tiresome, and I agree with BurgundyAl below, I see no upside to holding this.
While it was nice to sample this, I arrived at the same conclusion 5 years ago after tasting this same wine out of 750cc. Probably I should have sold it.
Though I must say, some of the Napa fans at the table were less disappointed than I. Perhaps as solace the patriarch added it was 'an absolute pleasure to drink'. Having said that the magnum went unfinished.
Unlike the score-whore I dont put a ton of stock in the critics. I must say that I agree that RP100 is wildly off the mark here (IMHO).