Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Friday, March 24, 2023 - A blend of organically farmed Grenache (60%), Mourvèdre (20%) and Syrah (15%); the remaining 5% rounded out by a combination of Cinsault, Counoise, Muscardin and Vaccarèse. The fruit gets fully destemmed before the spontaneous fermentation. Aged in old, neutral oak foudres up to 18 months, depending on the vintage. Bottled unfiltered. 15% alcohol (according to the label; 15,4% according to the analyses), 1 g/l residual sugar and 4,7 g/l acidity.

Deep, dark and moderately opaque garnet color. The nose feels brooding, somewhat evolved and a bit reticent with aromas of wizened dark berries, some tertiary meaty and gamey tones, a little bit of garrigue, light strawberry nuances, a fragrant hint of dried flowers, a touch of earthy spices and a sweet whiff of blackberry jam. The alcohol lends a rather hot element to the nose. The wine feels dense, chewy and quite juicy on the palate with a full body and concentrated flavors of blackberries and dark plummy fruit, some licorice tones, light evolved notes of dried figs, a little bit of tobacco and earth, a sweet hint of ripe blueberries and a candied touch of black Bassett's wine gums. The overall feel is somewhat hot and a bit fat, thanks to the medium acidity and soft medium-minus tannins that don't seem to bring enough structure and balance to the wine. The finish is long, savory and quite hot with a tiny bit of tannic grip and a bold aftertaste of ripe blackberries and juicy dark plums, some strawberry notes, a little bit of old leather, light earthy notes, a hint of savory spice and a touch of dried flowers.

A rather big and substantial vintage of Clos des Papes that is enjoyably savory and dark-toned in flavor profile, but perhaps a bit too soft and high in alcohol as a whole. Based on how relatively youthful the wine is still is for its age and how it seems to slowly open up and improve in the glass, I feel there is still some aging potential here and most likely the wine will continue to age and improve with further cellaring - at least for a handful of years more. However, with its somewhat soft and cumbersome disposition, I feel this wine isn't going to turn out particularly elegant with any amount of aging. This is a pretty good and thoroughly enjoyable effort for such a big and ripe wine, but I'd rather have it with less alcohol and more acidity. At 139,90€ the price doesn't really make sense.

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