A wine at its peak here. Perfect equilibrium between sweetness, acidity and tannins. Mellow and long. Fruit is clean and gives a nice feel. Fruit is more red/black and does not show the heat of the vintage. Great time to open here
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Ripe, but not overripe fruit, red cherry fruit, Provençal spices, mint. Good acidity given the vintage. Approaching maturity, in fact I wouldn’t keep it for much longer.
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Tasted over 2 hrs -med dark red minimal clearing -vinyl iodine mature elements sit atop kirsch -med acidity, med+ weight faded grenache fruit earth with some heat, med/med- tannins -big wine in the inbetween state of fully mature and residual fruit
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I found this wine dissolute, not cooked, but nevertheless, showing the challenges of the vintage. Fruit was decent and some darker notes from the mourvedre and the syrah, but was hoping for more. I'm surprised by some of the recent ratings if this bottle is any indication.
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Nose of brown sugar, very nice black cherries, cèpes de Bordeaux, leather... Ripe strawberries, super silky tannin, very nice freshness, ripe red berries and strawberries.
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Two bottles opened - first one corked. The second one very typical for the domaine, no 2003-heat here, just local garrigue, fine Grenache-fruit, good balance. Drinking a point, IMHO. Bagnols-en-Forêt
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Medium garnet colour. Mixed berries, intensely herbal, spices and liquorice. Medium-bodied, with good acidity and very good length. Very mineral. Well-balanced, and smoothly textured, with good concentration. Textbook CdP! Drink now.
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Light red color, surprisingly. Opens up with a nose of flowers, gummy fruit, funk. Provence scents. Raspberry, garrigue and earthy marks on the palate, some tertiary notes now, this is complex. Still there’s elegance and airy qualities here. Absolutely stunning, STGT wine.
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Tried a Charvin '06 and '07 on consecutive nights leading up to this one - '03 remains a step (probably a few steps) above, with a much stronger finish and a bolder taste overall.
This bottle was in better condition than my last - continues to be excellent.
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94-96 Decanted for about 30 minutes before tasting, might have waited longer but certainly not necessary. Decent amount of sediment. Wonderful complexity, kept going for quite some time after each sip. Definitely tasted pepper and blackberry. Mellow but pleasant tannins a the end. Outstanding wine, would think it still has several more years if bottles are in good condition.
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Gorgeous mature red wine. Some barnyard kind of flavors, but not really barnyard, old world flavors I guess. When you swirl it you get some juniper type scents and garrigue. Red berry fruit but more dark fruit. Long finish.
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From the cellar. Decanted and drank over 3 hours. Wine was excellent tonight, and for us, in a perfect spot for a CDP. Definitely in it's mid-maturity phase. Incredible nose. Complex. Lots of secondary characteristics, yet still young enough to also have some fresh fruit on the palate as well. Overall, well balanced, alcohol not noticeable, and a med-long finish. Should be in this phase for 1-2 more years. Drink now or continue to hold if you like an even more dried/stewed fruit wine experience.
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2nd try: Tasted cassis, black fruits, red fruits, herbs, peppers, slight funk, raisins and hawthorne. Slight bitter finish. Similar to the last bottle, there is a raisin sweetness, which is not for me. Tasted older than it should, again. But this bottle was much better than the last one.
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Raisins, manuka honey nose. Tasted raisins, manuka honey, earth, with toast tertiaries. Nice bitter finish. This tasted older than it should be and was on the sweet side. In fact, too much for me. Bottle variant?
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The wine was medium to dark garnet in colour and offered mixed berries, dark cherry skin, intense herbal notes, thyme, spices, black pepper, liquorice, vinegar, some glycerin and a mineral component on the nose and palate, with grippy tannin and superb length. It was slightly drying, but very balanced and long, and intriguingly herbal and mineral. Lovely! Fluid and equally good on day two. Would buy again. Drink now and decant for at least 30 minutes.
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Oh my. Could have mistaken this for Rayas; the sweetness and the lightness of the Grenache, carressing fruit, sublime elegance. No 2003-heat here, just warmth and balance. Wish I had more. #Kandestederne
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My last bottle. Fantastic. One of the top 2003 CdPs. Incredible aromas of garrigue and lavender. Fruit notes here are receding, but the savory, herbal, garrigue and balsam notes are terrific. Velvety mouthfeel. Long finish.
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Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over a couple of hours.
Garnet color in the glass with slight brown twinges around the edges, fairly clear otherwise. Nose of dirty diaper, pepper and plums. Flavors of plums and berries. Medium acidity, resolved tannin, medium to full bodied. Drink yesterday. Seemed over the hill slightly or perhaps poorly stored (which I doubt) so no rating. NOTE: Others thought they got TCA, VA or Brett but I got none of that myself.
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Decanted for 2 hours. Dark red in color, Reticent nose, dark fruit (berries in particular) on the palat, along with roasted meats, garrigue and some peppery complexity in the background. Unfortunately there was a little bitterness in the finish. Still, a fairly nice wine.
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Drinking well now. Decanted for 30 mins. Nose has smoked bacon, ripe berry fruit, asian herbs and cedarwood. Palate is big with ripe black fruit, licorice and gentle oak. Balanced wine especially for the ripe vintage. Good value.
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My notes are very similar to the bottle from two years ago, but it didn't wow quite as much. Again lots of old world stank on the nose. On the palate that is not quite as pronounced, but a lot of mineral flavors, hints of iodine, red berry fruit. Long finish. Decanted about 3 hours before - only very fine sediment in the bottom. Bricking throughout.
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WOW, very fresh and mineral nose, you would never guess this is 2003, but rather a 2005, delicious nose of sandalwood, ripe red berries, roasted bacon... Taste is high mineral, fresh acidity, loads of silky tannins, loads of bacon and ripe cerise du Nord, very good lenght of 30 seconds!
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Light red. Some surprising funk in addition to wintergreen. Notably denser and rounder than typical Charvin, but no trace of surmaturité or heaviness. Lavender, herbs, and dark red fruit in a nice savory mixture without seeming roasted or alcoholic. The brett does not interfere on the palate. One of best 2003's I can recall and still not fully mature.
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Light red color, kirsch and raspberry soaring from the glass. The fruit is still primary and this comes across as almost as young as the 2014 Bouissiere. Very pure expression of Grenache, very cool and collected given the vintage. Marked tannins. This is still years away from being fully resolved. Charvin made beautiful wines in 2003. His CdR is still going strong. At home in Bagnols en Foret.
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slightly (in only slightly) disjointed - more 2003 than Charvin, al though the producers elegant style saves this wine. The fruit is quite fat in the core, and while you have the elegant minerality, that is Charvin, you do feel the heat in the end. This from an excellent cellar (mine), it is neither oxidized or on it's way down, will keep, but I not see this on improving much.
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Decanted for two hours; light sediment. Dark cherry red color. Cherry and white pepper on a somewhat laid-back nose. Great red fruit on a creamy palate, well-balanced by acids and soft tannins. Medium length finish. Drinking quite well now, but unlikely to further improve. I take issue with the Wine Advocate ( to 2023) and Wine Spectator (to 2030) drinking windows and plan to drink my remaining five bottles by the end of 2019. Recent auction prices around $40 seem more reasonable than the CT community average price of $57.
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Big nose of cherry, red licorice, menthol, and hot wind over mediterranean scrub, really beautiful nose like how Chateauneuf ought to smell. Despite its very light color, this is dense, very sappy, sticky, like you can almost taste the gummy aromatics on a rubbed rosemary leaf. I actually think that a few more years might help the inner sweetness come out above the tannin and resinous finish and make this an even more intereting, beautiful and harmonious wine. Classic.
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Very nice nose of blood oranges, roasted meat, bacon fat, ripe cherries... super dry taste, completely integrated tannins, nice acidity, quite long aftetaste 30 sec
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This is amazing. Old world stank dominates the nose. My wife characterized this wine as thick and she's not wrong about that, but not throwing sediment. Bricking apparent when pouring but not so much in the glass. More barnyard on the palate but also some red berry fruit (my wife insists it's more like cherry) and wild spice. Earth and tobacco. The finish is long. A little better with food than on it's own when the barnyard is a little too much perhaps?
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Not sure if wine that different from last time or just warmer this time of year and after sitting in decanter whether alcohol just more present....big fruity wine, tad "hot" for me which I attribute to vintage and higher room temp...sweet strawberry fruit still in there...drink these cool
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Mature but in an excellent place and very well balanced. Light ruby color, still some earthiness along with sweet red slightly candied Grenache that is not hot or pruney..very pretty wine and especially considering the vintage
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Popped and poured. This was the first time I had a CNP from this producer, and I was impressed. Medium ruby color. The nose was wonderful, with some floral, bramble and menthol overtones. On the palate, dark red fruits (not overripe), peppery and still quite fresh. I think this wine can continue to improve over the next few years.
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From one of first Magnums cellared with care since near release, opened at 11 years thinkin' a treat for family holiday dinner. 1st night, no decant, was ok not the best, so the 3 of us each had 1 glass. Took home for 2nd night, was now blooming in bottle, so much drank about half of a magnum solo, a complete change from night before. 3rd night seemed full on at peak, extraordinary taste, so finished bottle and really had no choice it was calling me back every sip.
Don't remember much of this one, except that seemed to be lacking character and had lower aromatics. Medium body, a little soft. Did not make an impression. Brian and Jen's.
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I really liked this. Lighter color and very fragrant. I agree with other notes about sweetness, but not too much. Still some leather and tar. Crowd was mixed on this, but I really liked it.
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wow, ripe strawberries, minerality and salty licorice... super elegant salty licorice, ripe red cherries, nice acidity, good lenght 20 sec, very ripe for a Charvin, but still very elegant!
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Definitely French….with the smell of barnyard and Provencial herbs on the nose. Medium bodied. Palate is peppery, earthy, with grilled meat and a mixture of dark currant, orange peel and herbs on the finish. Only negative is that it does finish a bit dry. Drink before 2018.
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From magnum. This was just simply singing. Perfumed and lively on the nose and palate, boasting incredible wild sweet red berry fruit, potpourri, forest floor, and savory herbs. Medium to full bodied, balanced, and quite lifted, with excellent framing tannin on the finish. In a wonderful spot in its evolution, though will have no trouble in the cellar. Drink or hold.
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Lavish bouquet of barnyard and herbs. Fruit forward, but still light on its feet. Finishes with sweet menthol. Very enjoyable wine, glad I have 11 more. Drinking at its peak, I suspect. Give it an hour or two of air. Love it.
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Great nose with a serious depth of flavors. So much power on the palate. Very young still. Probably will be better on day two. Just too big and ripe for me on this night. My taste has changed, I don't care for CDP at all.
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Drank with the 2003 Usseglio Mon Aieul as noted with our tasting note of that wine. In contrast to that very rich, fruit-driven wine, this was a classic ChdP and in the best of ways. Color was still solid, no brick, and the prototypical ChdP nose of garrigue, a hint of Brett, earth and...good fruit. In the mouth, a classic. All the same elements just mentioned, very well integrated and with plenty of fruit. This was a 2003, but very well done. Lots of fruit and alcohol, but simply not over the top at all. Drinking perfectly now, but will hold for awhile, not withstanding the hot year.
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Garnet center, gently fading edge. Assertive nose of baked red fruit, Provencale herb and licorice. Heavier and fuller than Charvin usually is but nowhere near ponderous. Actually quite complex and classic, has more black fruit and less of that pure Grenache character so prevalent at this estate. Got better and better in the glass. Having had the 2000 and 2001 earlier in the week, I'd say that for my taste, this wine trailed the 2000 but was more enjoyable than the 2001.
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This is drinking wonderfully. Loads of berry fruit, approaching jammy, but still fresh and plenty of funky herbs and earth to keep it interesting. Wish I had more.
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We all know 2003 was a hot year with often over-extracted wines, including ChdPs. This wine was very fruity (but red, not ripe) and actually a bit pale in color--almost like a pinot noir. In the mouth, exceptionally smooth and well balanced, and very surprisingly mid-weight. Not at all over the top, too ripe, gamey, etc. Very much unlike some of the other 2003s we are drinking as fast as we can. This was really a delight. A well made, balanced wine. Our first bottle! I recognize other notes are more consistent with the vintage, but we have been "testing" 2003s and this was an exception. Remember, he uses no wood at all, and is conservative in style.
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Definitely fully ready for prime time, with its pepper, jammy kirsch, black raspberry and garrigue filled personality. I liked the wine, but it could use a little more freshness in the spicy, red berry, dominated finish.
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Annual CdP Dinner (Edina Country Club, MN): -- popped and poured -- -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 50 min., and then another pour non-blind over approx. 15 min. about 2 hours later --
BODY: little bit of age creeping into the coloration at the wine’s edges; (forgot to note weight: seem to recall it being medium to medium-full bodied)
TASTE: savory/herby; leathery; a bit horsey; tons of garrigue; drying tannin, and good acidity; 14.5% alc. well-hidden; very nice, and not typical of the ’03 CdP vintage. Drinks well now, but will probably continue to hold for at least another 5 years: I don’t see it improving much, however. My WOTN.
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Annual Holiday CDP Tasting (Edina, MN): Very dark red coor. Bottle was open with no decant for an hour. drank 1+ glass over 3 hours. Lovely open nose with earth, funk, saddle leather, garrigue, smoke, floral, sandalwood, cherry, rapsberry. The palate shows nice depth, medium-full body, funky, herb de provence, garrigue, berry, lots of spices and pepper (but not overly), earthy, smoky. Nice long finish. Excellent. 93+pts. My and group WOTN.
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Annual CDP Tasting (Edina Country Club): My CDP of the night. Game, funk, Garrique, cranberry and leather. Plenty of flavor and intense palate. Medium to long finish. Should age well for a decade more. 93-95.
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My second go at this in the past month or so, and again, I'm left haunted by the experience. At the end of the day, this has everything I'm looking for in CdP (seamlessly pure fruit with an excellent sense of place and proper lift that gives way to an extraordinarily classy finish) and nothing I'm not (e.g over-extracted, high abv, etc, etc). Simply delicious. I must go find more. 14,5% abv, drink over the next decade
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Freaking delicious. Spicy white pepper and powerful raspberry with a surprisingly tannic backbone. Roasted notes show the vintage, but this has the spice, freshness and depth to make it balance well. Pretty much pure pleasure juice. Yum!
Been holding this since release and was hoping for a great experience, as Charvin is my favorite CdP producer. Opened for Thanksgiving with my dad. Unfortunately, this was all horse and no pleasure. Really disappointing.
Nice bottle of CNdP. Mature color. Nice grenache expression, medium bodied. Alcohol noticeable, but not too heavy. Very nice, i advise to drink remaining bottles, don t hold for much longer.
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Slow-O 1 hr, served just above cellar temp. A seamless wine, offering tremendous purity and focus. Really digging the lift, the garrigue, the soft, elegant raspberry coulis thing going on. I wish I had a case. 14,5% abv, drink thru 2020, highly recommended
Light transparent red. An elegant CdP. This is really drinking well. Smells of grenache cherry fruit with garrigue and some underlying minerals. Tastes like it smells. Light in body. Tannins are still present on the long finish. Not the most complex CdP for sure, but still quite good. I don't get any heat on this wine at all. Nicely balanced. Label says 14.5% abv and I am pretty sure Laurent picked this earlier than most in the region.
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a disappointing bottle. wonderful nose of fruit and earth. but as ljo said the funky afterburn gets to you. the finish had alot of alcohol heat. bad bottle? bad vintage?
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Great nose, good structure, dark fruit with some leathery notes. Very good balance, but just slightly too alcoholic. Excellent wine, but not for the faint-hearted.
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Compared to 2.5 years ago, the fruit has dampened down some and the more traditional scents and flavors are tang over. Very savage, leather, spice, but still nice raspberry fruit. Very nice, though I do not think this will stay in a good window more than 3-5 more years.
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Good but a bit flabby. Low acidity and high alcohol with not a lot of complexity. Enjoyable but fell off a bit toward the end of the bottle (3 hours later). Good time to drink, wouldn't age these much longer without the acidity keeping the wine fresh. Drink now.
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Decanted for 1.5 hours. Initially unbalanced with a strong alcohol smeel/taste, it really came alive after the decanting. Nice prune bouquet, and some strawberry and dark chocolate on the palate. The palate is a little hollow, but it comes alive on the finish. Very good wine.
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From magnum. Comparable to bottle I had last year. Decanted for 2 hours, the wine really opened in hour 3. Good purity and balance with an enticing peppery palate.
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- Ruby color with medium forming legs. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of licorice anise and black currant with a medium/full body. Fleshy texture with a medium finish - Terrific! A typical CdP And a great value.
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wow, this does have some prune taking over. i would recommend to pop and pour, drink right away. sweet cherry fruit seemed to give way to the prune over time. much less enjoyable on day 2.
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hmm, rather disappointed with this particular bottle; this bottle remained totally shut, not much happening on the nose, alcohol came through; ok on the palate though, but nothing to get excited about, same on day 2; hope its just going through a phase. (this time 85-86 points). on previous occasions 93-94 points!
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Order out of Chaos (Ardeo, Washington DC): Some thought this bottle to be flawed, but other tasters who have had it recently confirmed that it was a representative showing of the 03 Charvin. Another example of why I stay away from 2003 CDP and where I have a divergence with Mssr Parker. The degree hours are practically encoded in the wine - it speaks volumes to the heatwave which crushed Chateauneuf du Pape in the summer of 2003. The fruit spectrum is towards the tail-end with notes of pruned plums that border or varnished and damaged. Beneath this wall of heat, there is a lovely cherry element which seems to dance on the periphery and is more emblematic of Charvin's house style. Nevertheless, the wine is almost unpleasant on the palate (at least relative to what we've been drinking) and it finishes hot and astringent.
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DC Crew Gem Tasting; 12/22/2010-12/23/2010 (Ardeo, Washington DC): Nose of prune, dried cherry, and anise with oak or heat showing. Palate of black fruit, prune, some stewed fruit as well, with a little coffee, spice, a little hot as well. Confirmed with one attendee who works for the distributor that the bottle isn't flawed, but typical for that vintage of Charvin. 89-90
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2nd Annual Gem Dinner (Ardeo - Washington, DC): Thought this wine was falling apart. Nose was totally disjointed with intense alcohol, and spritzy notes coming through. The palate wasn't much better and I thought it was heat damaged. Lots of prunes kept coming towards the surface and I just couldn't get excited about this wine.
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Charvin Chateauneufs (Weygandt Wines - Washington, D.C.): what an amazing wine. the nose is intoxicating, with meat, anise, rhubarb, cherry. this is so rich on the palate, but it has these smooth tannins and this lively, juicy fruit. rich currants, anise and spice with a long finish. WS says the drinking window is until 2030, but i think this is a wine to drink in the next two or three years. showing perfectly right now. in its prime.
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Lovely. Generous. Open. Ripe. Lush. But still with excellent balance, good length. Fruit, jam, spices, herbs. Not a ton of complexity, but plenty of pleasure. With air, seems to be in a prime drinking phase
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Initially encouraging with focused cherry nose and cigar wrapper on palate. Strong tannins and pine tar got in the way a bit. After 2.5 hours airtime, things settled down a bit, gentle cigar, leather, peach pit, a bit of raspberry, really a very nice melange of gentle flavors all playing nice with one another. But all this was unfortunately upstaged by the alcohol heat and accompanying astringency on palate. Might benefit from a good long airing out, or a few more years in the bottle.
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La robe est plus mate et orangée que les deux précédents, trahissant immédiatement son âge relatif face aux deux précédents. Le nez très provençal, sur la garrigue et le kirsch, s’approche davantage des nez typiques des vins de l’appellation, sans le coté plus frais typique du domaine. La bouche est glycérinée, le vin large et savoureux, avec un certain coté sauvage et des arômes un peu plus confiturés. Ce n'est pas que le vin manque de fraicheur pour un 2003 (reconnu aisément pour tel), mais je ne lui trouve pas le coté aérien et voluptueux des meilleurs vins du domaine. N’empêche, dans un millésime inégal ayant produit son lot de vins cuits et alcooleux, le vigneron ici a magnifiquement tiré son épingle du jeu. 91 pts
De loin le plus près de la maturité de ce volet, il fut aussi le vin le plus apprécié du groupe par un large consensus, sauf pour votre humble serviteur.
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Not a huge fan of the 03 from this estate. It has a volatile quality and is surprisingly 'thin' considering the vintage. It's marked by alcohol and volatile acidity. However I decanted this for a few hours and it ended up being better than previous bottles. I'd strongly advocate extended aeration for the 03.
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Dark purple, a little funk on the nose, but very light. Mouth coating dark fruits, but balanced by acid. Tannins have smoothed out and this is drinking beautifully. Long finish.
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It might have been because of the snow and wintery conditions, but we were both thrilled with the hartwarming components of this wine. (Although immediately upon opening the nose smelled not very appealing, like nale polish remover?) I decided to give the wine a double decant, for one hour, but I should have given the wine more time, as the nose kept developing beautiful grenache and provencal herbs while in our glasses; lots of pepper and spices:on the palate the wine has gained more body (compared to our previous bottle 11 months earlier); no hard edges, smooth and very pleasurable. long finish. I didn´t notice much of a burgundy-style C9dP (often attributed to Charvin's wines), but more of a classic grenache; just delicious and a good match with the "coq au vin". seems ready for drinking but after opening needs some time in the decanter, so there is no need to hurry.
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I know the 2003's are controversial, and this Charvin is a poster-child I think of success in an extreme vintage. Huge wine, notes of licorice and white pepper, lush, forward Grenache, pure fruit yet loaded with herbs and spice and pepper. Some might call it over the top, but for me this is just in your face, ripe, gorgeous CDP. No heat, no bitter tannin, just loaded with pleasure. Reading the notes, your mileage may vary, but I loved this.
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I am still not convinced. Bitter tannins, shallow raspberry brandy. These tannins are not getting smoother, and I suspect they never will be. Too high in alcohol - label says 14.5% , but what is the truth? No rating. I would drink any Vieux Donjon over this.
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Very tasty and dynamic wine. On opening and up to about 30 minutes of decanting, the wine exhibited tart cherry and other red fruit notes, along with balancing minerality and some barnyard. However, after 1 hour, all of the fruit flavors disappeared, as well did some of the associated acidity. Both "versions" were good in their own right, so it just depends which style you're looking for. Also, throughout the whole time it was open, the wine exhibited a lot of glycerin, which gave it a great texture. It must be a feature of the vintage, as the Pegau CR also has glycerin, but the Charvin has significantly more of it. In all, a very enjoyable wine with many different layers of flavor.
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Grenache Smackdown (Wally's, Arlington Heights): nose: a good amount of funk on the nose with bold and well defined tones roast beef, black licorice, black pepper, kirsch and dark tones of black cherries. Good depth, and very CdP, but with an amped up aspect to the tones a bit and much more on the dark side of the spectrum
taste: really good and silky medium feel that is polished, but with rich tannins and well balanced tones of roast beef, black cherries, black pepper and some tones of melted black licorice, and dark red fruits. Its lacking a bit on the mid palate as the flesh is more upfront and on the finish, so some time should work it out
overall: lots of promise, but the tannins were a bit sneaky right now and weren't letting the wine really shine. Good balance with a real dark profile that does have a bit of a hard edged quality to it. Time should smooth it out a bit and add some extra depth
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Decanted a 375ml for 90 minutes. Soft red fruit bouquet. Beautiful mouthfeel - good glycerine coating CdP. Red fruit, garrigue, bacon/game and herbs. Perfect. Finish was 60+ seconds. 375 was almost too small to really appreciate this wine.
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More in your face than other Charvins, but not over-the-top. Plums, strawberries, licorice, truffle, and spice. Seems more advanced than a 6 year old. This wine has never shut down.
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What a great, if young nose. Classic, classic nose, pepper, dark fruit, bacon, licorice, etc. Explosion of raspberry in the mouth, excellent taste. Only complaint is after a glass, started to taste a bit monolithic ----don't get me wrong, if you are going to be monolithic then taste like this! But, would have liked to see it grow on me more.
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First thing I wrote about this wine was "the essence of Grenache". I could just smell and taste the sweet red cherries and raspberries here. As usual with Charvin, he lets very little come in between the soil and the wine in the glass. So I was quite happy to sip the wine for the first hour or so. As time goes by, though, the wine starts to shut down, the tannins starts to bite the gums. The aromatic profile also changes from the kirsch aromas to something less attractive like rum-raisin ice cream (in so many ways reminding me of the 2003 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras). There is a tremendous amount of concentration here and I think plenty of more cellar time is warranted. This will be long lived. At this stage, Charvin's 2003 Cotes du Rhone provides more drinking pleasure.
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The nose started out with bacon fat and dark re fruits with a touch of spice. After 3 hours the garrigue kicked in, at the end smoked bacon with kirsch. It just got more and more concentrated whilst at the same time not too showy. On the palate Black cherry and herbs, still firm tannins but not in your face, still quite alcoholic but not so as to burn away the fruits. Good mouth filling glass of wine with a long length.
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light in color, full and gorgeous grenache expression, cherries and thyme, full bodied on the palate ; alcohol is at first lightly dominating, after some time the wine settles down, very pleasant to drink now; delicious example of fine chateauneuf; seems ready for drinking; no hurry.
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Unlike any other vintage of Charvin CdP I've ever had. Rather than subtle and elegant, this one's a brute (albeit a beautiful brute). Very intense nose of ripe dark berries and intense garrigue, spice and lavender. Earthy dense palate with long finish. Never would have guessed Charvin in a blind tasting.
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Ripe fruits, spicy and round. Very typical C9duPape. Already a great pleasure and a well made wine. No need to store it for many years, but no hurry either.
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Black Sheep Bistro (Black Sheep Bistro, Tustin, CA): Complex nose of herbs, cigar and leather above mellow fruits. Initially a bit tight the palate really picks up silkiness later. A CdP that really delivers on complexity and lovely fruit. I kept this around and kept revisiting. An easy WOTN for me.
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This wine has the most wonderful nose I have ever experienced in Chateauneuf. It is full of ripe plums, tobacco and some saddle leather. The taste is almost harch at this point, very strong tannins that not even a bloody steak could calm down. The sweetness and strong alcohol kills our interest after a while, and the bottle was never finished. Strangely enough - this wine was dead the second day. I hope the taste will catch up the the nose, then this will be a 95 point wine.
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Quite nice to drink already now. Nose is dominated by raspberry, strawberry, spices, barnyard etc. Nice attack and long, but somewhat alcoholic finish.
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Pop and pour: underbrush, leather, spice, seaweed, and dark fruit supported by moderate tannins. It's definitely left the primary stage and improved for hours. Wait!
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This wine appears to have shut down since I last tasted it a year ago. Extremely tanic, even after decanting for 24 hrs. This wine needs at least 4 or 5 more years.
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WLTV Offline Get Together (Cotes Du Rhone Restaurant in Chicago): - Sight: Medium Dark Smell: Leather; Earth; Roasted Dark Fruits; Some Oak; Dark and Sensual smells??? Taste: Similar to smell; nice balance; acid+body is full; again I have to stress that the balance is great Overall: Fine +, somewhat young and will be better in the coming years
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Chateaunuf-Du-Pape Tasting (Chicago IL, Cotes du Rhone Bistro): nose: a whole lot of barnyard. Down on the farm type barnyard. Leather, tellicherry pepper, black truffle, and earth mostly with some floral and blueberry notes poking through. Extremely deep nose
taste: big tannins, but they are integrated a bit already and are more chewy but not brooding. Mouth is just huge and explosive with a lot of leather, tellicherry pepper, earth, and dark fruit.
overall: this is amazing stuff. Tons of structure and young, but truly special. The finish just doesn't want to quit and the wine fully works its way on the entire palate
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This needs more time and I believe will be terrific in 5 years. A big wine, lots of fruit, a bit tanic right now. Did a side by side with an 01 Guigal CnP and clearly the Charvin was not yet ready. I bet in 5 or 7 years this will be a 94+.
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A very fine CNDP that has shown better in other tastings...perhaps it is shutting down somewhat, but last time I had a bottle (6 months ago) it displayed more of that burgundian quality...still excellent however.
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Medium red color gave no indication of the bite to come, this is full throttle CdP. Strong fruit nose with dusty earth elements and touch of underbrush, pine. Heavy element of cherry. Thick, full bodied wine, good viscosity, tannic but not overwhelming. Maybe I was tired that night, but Châteauneuf du Pape has never hit me like this before. Awesome!
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Outstanding. Great nose. Began tight, even after a 2 hour decant, but really developed in the glass. Cherries, earth, leather and spice. By the end, it had rose and violet floral qualities as well. Pure fruit and perfect texture. Delicious now but will improve with a few more years in the bottle.
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A young excellent wine. Transparent garnet red color with a nice boquet of blackberries, roasted herbs, black pepper, and salami. Initial flavors are complex with a lot of dark fruits and spice. Tannins are definitely present towards the finish but they are not too overwhelming.
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this has improved dramatically from last year. still lacks acidity but the flavor profiles have deepened and the roasted character seems to have faded a bit. very delicious, mixed berry flavors with enough hot rocks thrown in to keep it interesting. sweet, high-toned fruit on the nose. one of the better '03's I've had.
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Peter Weygandt Event (Wine Exchange in Orange, CA): Light ruby-garnet. Terroir-driven and high-toned, with wet earth, garrigue, and some late-appearing sweetness. Deceptively powerful, juicy initially with a solid structure that emerges later. Long, spicy, and somewhat structured finish. Age this.
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Outstanding. Decanted for an hour. Balanced, fruity but with complex structure supporting top layer of deep red fruit. Others say strawberries but I got more cherries, almost Pinot-like. But richer and earthier...still a Rhone. As it evolved over the course of a long meal, opened up to show some faint vanilla and other tarter notes, but that could have been because of food pairings. Good value in store, through restaurant markup was excessive. Recommended.
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Tasted at the domaine. Softer, riper, rounder and better balanced than the 2003 CdR. Notes of licorice, earth and red fruit. Faintly meaty. Impressive 2003.
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Right after opening this wine is singing with delicious red berry fruit on the nose (strawberries!), a very slight hint of barnyard and a dollop of kirsch. The palate is unbelievably fruity, but with a serious backbone of almost dusty slightly sweet tannins, exotic spices, kirsch... the aftertaste is long. Difficult to express in words, but this wine is both forceful and elegant, so I guess it has great balance. The wine keeps evolving in the glass. Right up there with the Pegau as the best CDP '03 I've tasted, but both are in a very different style. I like them both, but for drinking now I would prefer the Charvin. It is no sin to drink some now if you have more then a few...
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Back for more! After a slightly underwhelming experience with the same wine last night (see TN), I found myself back at the same restaurant and ordered it again tonight. Glad I did, as this bottle was quite different and, IMO, better than last night's. The second bottle had an extra layer of complexity / depth. Darker fruit - and, seemingly darker color - though, admittedly, it can be hard to tell given restaurant lighting. The second bottle had more grip and some earthy notes, as compared to the more polished, reserved and primary initial bottle. Really, I would not have recognized this as the same wine. Now I'm confused. Which was the representative bottle?? I would buy some for the cellar if future bottles were going to be more like the second. However, I'd probably sit the vintage out if bottle #1 is what's in store in the future... I guess this situation requires a tie breaker!
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$110 restaurant price. Fairly light, very youthful color. Slightly reluctant nose of fresh red fruit fruit and light spice. More of the same on the palate. I hesitate to use the term "Burgundian", as it's probably overused when describing Charvin's wines; plus, this clearly has more southern heat and weight in the mouth. However, there is a certain Pinot quality - cherry fruit and a lightness / suave texture - to this wine that recalls Burgundy. Reminds me a bit of the 2000 Charvin, though I have not had that vintage in a couple years. This is clearly too young to drink now and get the full effect. That said, I'm not that optimistic that in the end this will really develop into a top level example of Chateauneuf. I'll be intereested to see how this ages. Overall, I am less impressed with this than I was expecting to be. Hmmm. NOTE: I ordered another bottle at the same restaurant the next night (see TN), and it turned out to be a different and better experience...
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Out of the bottle at cellar temp (58 degrees F at my house), this wine is just gorgeous. Lots of primary grenache aromas. Cherries and brighter red fruit. There is an earthiness underneath that gives it depth.
Wonderful delicate cherry fruit hits you on the palate and then on the very back end a rush of tannin that doesn't pucker you up but lets you know it is there. I find the balance exquisite. There is a delicacy to the finish after the tannin that lets me know this is going to be extremely nice. Fantastic persistence. An absolutely profound wine in the making. No heat. Perfect ripeness.
Very Rayas like to me. (and that is a good thing)
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9/5/2022 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 93 Points
A wine at its peak here. Perfect equilibrium between sweetness, acidity and tannins. Mellow and long. Fruit is clean and gives a nice feel. Fruit is more red/black and does not show the heat of the vintage. Great time to open here
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6/30/2022 - pbaek wrote:
Ripe, but not overripe fruit, red cherry fruit, Provençal spices, mint. Good acidity given the vintage. Approaching maturity, in fact I wouldn’t keep it for much longer.
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2/2/2022 - Cote d'Or wrote:
Tasted over 2 hrs
-med dark red minimal clearing
-vinyl iodine mature elements sit atop kirsch
-med acidity, med+ weight faded grenache fruit earth with some heat, med/med- tannins
-big wine in the inbetween state of fully mature and residual fruit
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1/30/2022 - baroloboy55-2.0 wrote: 86 Points
I found this wine dissolute, not cooked, but nevertheless, showing the challenges of the vintage. Fruit was decent and some darker notes from the mourvedre and the syrah, but was hoping for more. I'm surprised by some of the recent ratings if this bottle is any indication.
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11/15/2021 - Philippe_C wrote: 95 Points
Nose of brown sugar, very nice black cherries, cèpes de Bordeaux, leather... Ripe strawberries, super silky tannin, very nice freshness, ripe red berries and strawberries.
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11/10/2021 - beatles wrote: 91 Points
Two bottles opened - first one corked. The second one very typical for the domaine, no 2003-heat here, just local garrigue, fine Grenache-fruit, good balance. Drinking a point, IMHO.
Bagnols-en-Forêt
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10/29/2021 - PSPatrick wrote: 92 Points
Medium garnet colour. Mixed berries, intensely herbal, spices and liquorice. Medium-bodied, with good acidity and very good length. Very mineral. Well-balanced, and smoothly textured, with good concentration. Textbook CdP! Drink now.
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5/22/2021 - pbaek wrote:
Light red color, surprisingly. Opens up with a nose of flowers, gummy fruit, funk. Provence scents. Raspberry, garrigue and earthy marks on the palate, some tertiary notes now, this is complex. Still there’s elegance and airy qualities here. Absolutely stunning, STGT wine.
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5/8/2021 - Esmags7 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tried a Charvin '06 and '07 on consecutive nights leading up to this one - '03 remains a step (probably a few steps) above, with a much stronger finish and a bolder taste overall.
This bottle was in better condition than my last - continues to be excellent.
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7/11/2020 - Esmags7 Likes this wine: 94 Points
94-96
Decanted for about 30 minutes before tasting, might have waited longer but certainly not necessary. Decent amount of sediment.
Wonderful complexity, kept going for quite some time after each sip. Definitely tasted pepper and blackberry. Mellow but pleasant tannins a the end. Outstanding wine, would think it still has several more years if bottles are in good condition.
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6/21/2020 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
Gorgeous mature red wine. Some barnyard kind of flavors, but not really barnyard, old world flavors I guess. When you swirl it you get some juniper type scents and garrigue. Red berry fruit but more dark fruit. Long finish.
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6/10/2020 - Shapnyc Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still on the early side
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5/15/2020 - wine4ever Likes this wine:
From the cellar. Decanted and drank over 3 hours. Wine was excellent tonight, and for us, in a perfect spot for a CDP. Definitely in it's mid-maturity phase. Incredible nose. Complex. Lots of secondary characteristics, yet still young enough to also have some fresh fruit on the palate as well. Overall, well balanced, alcohol not noticeable, and a med-long finish. Should be in this phase for 1-2 more years. Drink now or continue to hold if you like an even more dried/stewed fruit wine experience.
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1/6/2020 - humagne wrote: 80 Points
Cork was perfect. However, nose is oxidative and not pleasant. Is this wine already over the hill or is it a bad bottle?
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9/6/2019 - dnnk88 wrote: 90 Points
2nd try: Tasted cassis, black fruits, red fruits, herbs, peppers, slight funk, raisins and hawthorne. Slight bitter finish. Similar to the last bottle, there is a raisin sweetness, which is not for me. Tasted older than it should, again. But this bottle was much better than the last one.
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7/27/2019 - Zangrin wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 1h15. Very good. Not a strong finish. Would not wait more to drink.
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7/26/2019 - dnnk88 wrote: 87 Points
Raisins, manuka honey nose. Tasted raisins, manuka honey, earth, with toast tertiaries. Nice bitter finish. This tasted older than it should be and was on the sweet side. In fact, too much for me. Bottle variant?
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3/22/2019 - PSPatrick wrote: 92 Points
The wine was medium to dark garnet in colour and offered mixed berries, dark cherry skin, intense herbal notes, thyme, spices, black pepper, liquorice, vinegar, some glycerin and a mineral component on the nose and palate, with grippy tannin and superb length. It was slightly drying, but very balanced and long, and intriguingly herbal and mineral. Lovely! Fluid and equally good on day two. Would buy again. Drink now and decant for at least 30 minutes.
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7/16/2018 - paulst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Loaded and rugged; raisen; sweet long finish.
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7/13/2018 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Oh my. Could have mistaken this for Rayas; the sweetness and the lightness of the Grenache, carressing fruit, sublime elegance. No 2003-heat here, just warmth and balance. Wish I had more.
#Kandestederne
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3/16/2018 - winemaker Likes this wine: 94 Points
My last bottle. Fantastic. One of the top 2003 CdPs. Incredible aromas of garrigue and lavender. Fruit notes here are receding, but the savory, herbal, garrigue and balsam notes are terrific. Velvety mouthfeel. Long finish.
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11/18/2017 - wineismylife wrote:
WIML90
Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over a couple of hours.
Garnet color in the glass with slight brown twinges around the edges, fairly clear otherwise. Nose of dirty diaper, pepper and plums. Flavors of plums and berries. Medium acidity, resolved tannin, medium to full bodied. Drink yesterday. Seemed over the hill slightly or perhaps poorly stored (which I doubt) so no rating. NOTE: Others thought they got TCA, VA or Brett but I got none of that myself.
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11/12/2017 - mhudes Likes this wine: 89 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Dark red in color, Reticent nose, dark fruit (berries in particular) on the palat, along with roasted meats, garrigue and some peppery complexity in the background. Unfortunately there was a little bitterness in the finish. Still, a fairly nice wine.
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10/17/2017 - Jozefs wrote: flawed
Undrinkable due to high levels of brett. Spoiled?
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9/29/2017 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking well now. Decanted for 30 mins. Nose has smoked bacon, ripe berry fruit, asian herbs and cedarwood. Palate is big with ripe black fruit, licorice and gentle oak. Balanced wine especially for the ripe vintage. Good value.
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7/10/2017 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
My notes are very similar to the bottle from two years ago, but it didn't wow quite as much. Again lots of old world stank on the nose. On the palate that is not quite as pronounced, but a lot of mineral flavors, hints of iodine, red berry fruit. Long finish. Decanted about 3 hours before - only very fine sediment in the bottom. Bricking throughout.
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7/8/2017 - stephen locke wrote:
Drinking very well - not overcooked or baked - refreshing and energetic. The best '03 CNDP I've had to date
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3/17/2017 - Philippe_C wrote: 95 Points
WOW, very fresh and mineral nose, you would never guess this is 2003, but rather a 2005, delicious nose of sandalwood, ripe red berries, roasted bacon... Taste is high mineral, fresh acidity, loads of silky tannins, loads of bacon and ripe cerise du Nord, very good lenght of 30 seconds!
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9/27/2016 - drwine2001 wrote:
Light red. Some surprising funk in addition to wintergreen. Notably denser and rounder than typical Charvin, but no trace of surmaturité or heaviness. Lavender, herbs, and dark red fruit in a nice savory mixture without seeming roasted or alcoholic. The brett does not interfere on the palate. One of best 2003's I can recall and still not fully mature.
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9/19/2016 - pbaek wrote:
Light red color, kirsch and raspberry soaring from the glass. The fruit is still primary and this comes across as almost as young as the 2014 Bouissiere. Very pure expression of Grenache, very cool and collected given the vintage. Marked tannins. This is still years away from being fully resolved. Charvin made beautiful wines in 2003. His CdR is still going strong. At home in Bagnols en Foret.
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4/16/2016 - beatles wrote: 90 Points
slightly (in only slightly) disjointed - more 2003 than Charvin, al though the producers elegant style saves this wine. The fruit is quite fat in the core, and while you have the elegant minerality, that is Charvin, you do feel the heat in the end. This from an excellent cellar (mine), it is neither oxidized or on it's way down, will keep, but I not see this on improving much.
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4/8/2016 - wculpepper Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for two hours; light sediment. Dark cherry red color. Cherry and white pepper on a somewhat laid-back nose. Great red fruit on a creamy palate, well-balanced by acids and soft tannins. Medium length finish. Drinking quite well now, but unlikely to further improve. I take issue with the Wine Advocate ( to 2023) and Wine Spectator (to 2030) drinking windows and plan to drink my remaining five bottles by the end of 2019. Recent auction prices around $40 seem more reasonable than the CT community average price of $57.
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4/6/2016 - Plabella wrote: 94 Points
delicious wine great fruit
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3/15/2016 - andtheodor wrote: 92 Points
Big nose of cherry, red licorice, menthol, and hot wind over mediterranean scrub, really beautiful nose like how Chateauneuf ought to smell. Despite its very light color, this is dense, very sappy, sticky, like you can almost taste the gummy aromatics on a rubbed rosemary leaf. I actually think that a few more years might help the inner sweetness come out above the tannin and resinous finish and make this an even more intereting, beautiful and harmonious wine. Classic.
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10/28/2015 - jmoon Likes this wine: 92 Points
Juicy and delicious. Well balanced medium body and delicious now
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10/10/2015 - Philippe_C wrote: 95 Points
Very nice nose of blood oranges, roasted meat, bacon fat, ripe cherries... super dry taste, completely integrated tannins, nice acidity, quite long aftetaste 30 sec
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8/15/2015 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
This is amazing. Old world stank dominates the nose. My wife characterized this wine as thick and she's not wrong about that, but not throwing sediment. Bricking apparent when pouring but not so much in the glass. More barnyard on the palate but also some red berry fruit (my wife insists it's more like cherry) and wild spice. Earth and tobacco. The finish is long. A little better with food than on it's own when the barnyard is a little too much perhaps?
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6/7/2015 - Mr T wrote:
Not sure if wine that different from last time or just warmer this time of year and after sitting in decanter whether alcohol just more present....big fruity wine, tad "hot" for me which I attribute to vintage and higher room temp...sweet strawberry fruit still in there...drink these cool
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4/15/2015 - Mr T wrote:
Mature but in an excellent place and very well balanced. Light ruby color, still some earthiness along with sweet red slightly candied Grenache that is not hot or pruney..very pretty wine and especially considering the vintage
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3/1/2015 - winemaker Likes this wine: 92 Points
Same as last note. Popped and poured. I let it sit for an hour before tasting. I think it is time to drink these. I doubt that it improves from here.
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2/27/2015 - CHINACAT wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. This was the first time I had a CNP from this producer, and I was impressed. Medium ruby color. The nose was wonderful, with some floral, bramble and menthol overtones. On the palate, dark red fruits (not overripe), peppery and still quite fresh. I think this wine can continue to improve over the next few years.
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2/7/2015 - Eric wrote:
A mid-winter visit to Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 2/5/2015-2/7/2015 (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, France): An amazing success for the vintage. Garrigue, screaming garrigue, licorice, white pepper and sweet cherry. This is a big wine, but it shows great purity.
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1/9/2015 - winemaker Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP. Light ruby in color. Plenty of garrigue and Balsam. Not overripe at all. Excellent CdP from one of my favorite producers.
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12/24/2014 - Vinomazing Likes this wine: 97 Points
From one of first Magnums cellared with care since near release, opened at 11 years thinkin' a treat for family holiday dinner. 1st night, no decant, was ok not the best, so the 3 of us each had 1 glass. Took home for 2nd night, was now blooming in bottle, so much drank about half of a magnum solo, a complete change from night before. 3rd night seemed full on at peak, extraordinary taste, so finished bottle and really had no choice it was calling me back every sip.
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12/9/2014 - peternelson wrote:
Don't remember much of this one, except that seemed to be lacking character and had lower aromatics. Medium body, a little soft. Did not make an impression. Brian and Jen's.
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11/28/2014 - SteelerFan wrote: 93 Points
I really liked this. Lighter color and very fragrant. I agree with other notes about sweetness, but not too much. Still some leather and tar. Crowd was mixed on this, but I really liked it.
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11/14/2014 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
wow, ripe strawberries, minerality and salty licorice... super elegant salty licorice, ripe red cherries, nice acidity, good lenght 20 sec, very ripe for a Charvin, but still very elegant!
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8/25/2014 - Lessthanzero wrote: 93 Points
Absolute stunner. Calm, but still full of fruit and a touch of the animal.
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7/5/2014 - wine4ever Likes this wine: 93 Points
Definitely French….with the smell of barnyard and Provencial herbs on the nose. Medium bodied. Palate is peppery, earthy, with grilled meat and a mixture of dark currant, orange peel and herbs on the finish. Only negative is that it does finish a bit dry. Drink before 2018.
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6/6/2014 - humagne wrote: 91 Points
Very aromatic, some barnyard. Somewhat dried out in the finish. Drink now.
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4/28/2014 - Rob and Meg wrote: 94 Points
From magnum. This was just simply singing. Perfumed and lively on the nose and palate, boasting incredible wild sweet red berry fruit, potpourri, forest floor, and savory herbs. Medium to full bodied, balanced, and quite lifted, with excellent framing tannin on the finish. In a wonderful spot in its evolution, though will have no trouble in the cellar. Drink or hold.
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4/18/2014 - Malibu wino Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lavish bouquet of barnyard and herbs. Fruit forward, but still light on its feet. Finishes with sweet menthol. Very enjoyable wine, glad I have 11 more. Drinking at its peak, I suspect. Give it an hour or two of air. Love it.
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3/18/2014 - EMichels wrote: 92 Points
Ton of iodine; Great nose; Really meaty; Great; Exactly what I would hope for in CdP
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3/15/2014 - JOsgood wrote:
Great nose with a serious depth of flavors. So much power on the palate. Very young still. Probably will be better on day two. Just too big and ripe for me on this night. My taste has changed, I don't care for CDP at all.
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3/1/2014 - tim m wrote: 91 Points
Still needs air. I would decant for at least a couple hours.
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2/20/2014 - amred wrote: 93 Points
Drank with the 2003 Usseglio Mon Aieul as noted with our tasting note of that wine. In contrast to that very rich, fruit-driven wine, this was a classic ChdP and in the best of ways. Color was still solid, no brick, and the prototypical ChdP nose of garrigue, a hint of Brett, earth and...good fruit. In the mouth, a classic. All the same elements just mentioned, very well integrated and with plenty of fruit. This was a 2003, but very well done. Lots of fruit and alcohol, but simply not over the top at all. Drinking perfectly now, but will hold for awhile, not withstanding the hot year.
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10/10/2013 - drwine2001 wrote:
Garnet center, gently fading edge. Assertive nose of baked red fruit, Provencale herb and licorice. Heavier and fuller than Charvin usually is but nowhere near ponderous. Actually quite complex and classic, has more black fruit and less of that pure Grenache character so prevalent at this estate. Got better and better in the glass. Having had the 2000 and 2001 earlier in the week, I'd say that for my taste, this wine trailed the 2000 but was more enjoyable than the 2001.
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8/8/2013 - Philippe_C wrote: 92 Points
Nose of animal, pata negra jamon, red cherries, mineral, ... taste is very delicate, mineral with ripe red berries, very feminine!
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7/5/2013 - schway Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is drinking wonderfully. Loads of berry fruit, approaching jammy, but still fresh and plenty of funky herbs and earth to keep it interesting. Wish I had more.
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5/16/2013 - amred Likes this wine: 93 Points
We all know 2003 was a hot year with often over-extracted wines, including ChdPs. This wine was very fruity (but red, not ripe) and actually a bit pale in color--almost like a pinot noir. In the mouth, exceptionally smooth and well balanced, and very surprisingly mid-weight. Not at all over the top, too ripe, gamey, etc. Very much unlike some of the other 2003s we are drinking as fast as we can. This was really a delight. A well made, balanced wine. Our first bottle! I recognize other notes are more consistent with the vintage, but we have been "testing" 2003s and this was an exception. Remember, he uses no wood at all, and is conservative in style.
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5/14/2013 - pablopilot Likes this wine: 95 Points
Almost more like an older Bordeaux... smokiness and lots of glycerin on the palate.
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3/13/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Definitely fully ready for prime time, with its pepper, jammy kirsch, black raspberry and garrigue filled personality. I liked the wine, but it could use a little more freshness in the spicy, red berry, dominated finish.
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1/10/2013 - citizen1 wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for one hour. Brilliant. Earth, minerals.
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12/29/2012 - Zingrrl wrote: 91 Points
Consistent with previous notes.
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12/27/2012 - galewskj wrote: 93 Points
Lots of funk initially, but it calms down to a nice amount of funk. Leather and wild herbs. This started out very tight and became quite smooth.
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12/26/2012 - grafstrb Likes this wine:
Annual CdP Dinner (Edina Country Club, MN): -- popped and poured --
-- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 50 min., and then another pour non-blind over approx. 15 min. about 2 hours later --
NOSE: zesty red/purple berries; moderate leather note; garrigue; black licorice spice; really nice.
BODY: little bit of age creeping into the coloration at the wine’s edges; (forgot to note weight: seem to recall it being medium to medium-full bodied)
TASTE: savory/herby; leathery; a bit horsey; tons of garrigue; drying tannin, and good acidity; 14.5% alc. well-hidden; very nice, and not typical of the ’03 CdP vintage. Drinks well now, but will probably continue to hold for at least another 5 years: I don’t see it improving much, however. My WOTN.
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12/26/2012 - rocknroller wrote: 93 Points
Annual Holiday CDP Tasting (Edina, MN): Very dark red coor. Bottle was open with no decant for an hour. drank 1+ glass over 3 hours. Lovely open nose with earth, funk, saddle leather, garrigue, smoke, floral, sandalwood, cherry, rapsberry. The palate shows nice depth, medium-full body, funky, herb de provence, garrigue, berry, lots of spices and pepper (but not overly), earthy, smoky. Nice long finish. Excellent. 93+pts. My and group WOTN.
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12/26/2012 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 93 Points
Annual CDP Tasting (Edina Country Club): My CDP of the night. Game, funk, Garrique, cranberry and leather. Plenty of flavor and intense palate. Medium to long finish. Should age well for a decade more. 93-95.
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12/25/2012 - Tim Heaton wrote:
My second go at this in the past month or so, and again, I'm left haunted by the experience. At the end of the day, this has everything I'm looking for in CdP (seamlessly pure fruit with an excellent sense of place and proper lift that gives way to an extraordinarily classy finish) and nothing I'm not (e.g over-extracted, high abv, etc, etc). Simply delicious. I must go find more. 14,5% abv, drink over the next decade
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12/3/2012 - Eric Likes this wine: 93 Points
Freaking delicious. Spicy white pepper and powerful raspberry with a surprisingly tannic backbone. Roasted notes show the vintage, but this has the spice, freshness and depth to make it balance well. Pretty much pure pleasure juice. Yum!
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11/23/2012 - EMTAME wrote: flawed
Been holding this since release and was hoping for a great experience, as Charvin is my favorite CdP producer. Opened for Thanksgiving with my dad. Unfortunately, this was all horse and no pleasure. Really disappointing.
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10/21/2012 - costamalfitana wrote: 91 Points
Nice bottle of CNdP. Mature color. Nice grenache expression, medium bodied. Alcohol noticeable, but not too heavy. Very nice, i advise to drink remaining bottles, don t hold for much longer.
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10/12/2012 - Tim Heaton wrote:
Slow-O 1 hr, served just above cellar temp. A seamless wine, offering tremendous purity and focus. Really digging the lift, the garrigue, the soft, elegant raspberry coulis thing going on. I wish I had a case. 14,5% abv, drink thru 2020, highly recommended
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10/11/2012 - winemaker wrote: 92 Points
Light transparent red. An elegant CdP. This is really drinking well. Smells of grenache cherry fruit with garrigue and some underlying minerals. Tastes like it smells. Light in body. Tannins are still present on the long finish. Not the most complex CdP for sure, but still quite good. I don't get any heat on this wine at all. Nicely balanced. Label says 14.5% abv and I am pretty sure Laurent picked this earlier than most in the region.
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10/4/2012 - mnoljo wrote: 87 Points
a disappointing bottle. wonderful nose of fruit and earth. but as ljo said the funky afterburn gets to you. the finish had alot of alcohol heat. bad bottle? bad vintage?
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9/30/2012 - cubswinws wrote: 92 Points
Ruby red and light in the glass. Wonderful depth of flavors drinking beautifully now. A very elegant style of Chateauneuf.
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7/21/2012 - Sovinator Likes this wine: 92 Points
The nose is almost reminiscent of a Pinot. But the taste is clearly CdP, with flavors of leather, spice, plum and barnyard (in a good way).
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5/14/2012 - Zingrrl wrote: 91 Points
Love it. Floral on the nose with earth. Raspberry, char, olives, and leather. good stuff.
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5/5/2012 - TimmyR wrote: 90 Points
Great nose, good structure, dark fruit with some leathery notes. Very good balance, but just slightly too alcoholic. Excellent wine, but not for the faint-hearted.
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3/11/2012 - cadamson wrote: 92 Points
Compared to 2.5 years ago, the fruit has dampened down some and the more traditional scents and flavors are tang over. Very savage, leather, spice, but still nice raspberry fruit. Very nice, though I do not think this will stay in a good window more than 3-5 more years.
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3/1/2012 - ldorf wrote: 89 Points
Very good... still can use some time. A little tight and a little too much "tar" for me at this point.
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1/9/2012 - ChateauTooting wrote:
Good but a bit flabby. Low acidity and high alcohol with not a lot of complexity. Enjoyable but fell off a bit toward the end of the bottle (3 hours later). Good time to drink, wouldn't age these much longer without the acidity keeping the wine fresh. Drink now.
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1/6/2012 - humagne wrote: 93 Points
Awesome bottle. Full-bodied. Good to drink but will hold.
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12/6/2011 - signotim wrote: 84 Points
a tough vintage and this wine reflects it. but this bottle improved on day 2.
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11/24/2011 - hazzyk wrote:
Bretty almost to the point of undrinkability. Storage?
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11/4/2011 - jfpwine wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 1.5 hours. Initially unbalanced with a strong alcohol smeel/taste, it really came alive after the decanting. Nice prune bouquet, and some strawberry and dark chocolate on the palate. The palate is a little hollow, but it comes alive on the finish. Very good wine.
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8/10/2011 - Ive Marx wrote: 91 Points
A point. Fresh for a 2003.
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3/16/2011 - cardsandwine wrote:
From magnum. Comparable to bottle I had last year. Decanted for 2 hours, the wine really opened in hour 3. Good purity and balance with an enticing peppery palate.
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3/10/2011 - Harddriv wrote: 89 Points
Considerable sediment. Easy to drink on its own, but didn't find it particularly intriguing or complex.
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3/9/2011 - pehm1231 wrote: 93 Points
- Ruby color with medium forming legs. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of licorice anise and black currant with a medium/full body. Fleshy texture with a medium finish - Terrific! A typical CdP And a great value.
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1/16/2011 - signotim wrote: 82 Points
wow, this does have some prune taking over. i would recommend to pop and pour, drink right away. sweet cherry fruit seemed to give way to the prune over time. much less enjoyable on day 2.
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1/16/2011 - costamalfitana wrote:
hmm, rather disappointed with this particular bottle;
this bottle remained totally shut, not much happening on the nose, alcohol came through; ok on the palate though, but nothing to get excited about, same on day 2; hope its just going through a phase. (this time 85-86 points). on previous occasions 93-94 points!
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1/10/2011 - Ive Marx wrote: 91 Points
A good effort for the vintage, but it does not have the balance, integration and ripeness of fruit of a great vintage like 2000 and 2001.
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12/22/2010 - Faryan wrote: 78 Points
Order out of Chaos (Ardeo, Washington DC): Some thought this bottle to be flawed, but other tasters who have had it recently confirmed that it was a representative showing of the 03 Charvin. Another example of why I stay away from 2003 CDP and where I have a divergence with Mssr Parker. The degree hours are practically encoded in the wine - it speaks volumes to the heatwave which crushed Chateauneuf du Pape in the summer of 2003. The fruit spectrum is towards the tail-end with notes of pruned plums that border or varnished and damaged. Beneath this wall of heat, there is a lovely cherry element which seems to dance on the periphery and is more emblematic of Charvin's house style. Nevertheless, the wine is almost unpleasant on the palate (at least relative to what we've been drinking) and it finishes hot and astringent.
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12/22/2010 - manonthemoon wrote: 90 Points
DC Crew Gem Tasting; 12/22/2010-12/23/2010 (Ardeo, Washington DC): Nose of prune, dried cherry, and anise with oak or heat showing.
Palate of black fruit, prune, some stewed fruit as well, with a little coffee, spice, a little hot as well.
Confirmed with one attendee who works for the distributor that the bottle isn't flawed, but typical for that vintage of Charvin.
89-90
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12/22/2010 - tooch wrote: flawed
2nd Annual Gem Dinner (Ardeo - Washington, DC): Thought this wine was falling apart. Nose was totally disjointed with intense alcohol, and spritzy notes coming through. The palate wasn't much better and I thought it was heat damaged. Lots of prunes kept coming towards the surface and I just couldn't get excited about this wine.
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12/4/2010 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 94 Points
Charvin Chateauneufs (Weygandt Wines - Washington, D.C.): what an amazing wine. the nose is intoxicating, with meat, anise, rhubarb, cherry. this is so rich on the palate, but it has these smooth tannins and this lively, juicy fruit. rich currants, anise and spice with a long finish. WS says the drinking window is until 2030, but i think this is a wine to drink in the next two or three years. showing perfectly right now. in its prime.
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6/14/2010 - schway wrote: 93 Points
Lovely. Generous. Open. Ripe. Lush. But still with excellent balance, good length. Fruit, jam, spices, herbs. Not a ton of complexity, but plenty of pleasure. With air, seems to be in a prime drinking phase
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6/7/2010 - BailliSacks wrote:
Initially encouraging with focused cherry nose and cigar wrapper on palate. Strong tannins and pine tar got in the way a bit. After 2.5 hours airtime, things settled down a bit, gentle cigar, leather, peach pit, a bit of raspberry, really a very nice melange of gentle flavors all playing nice with one another. But all this was unfortunately upstaged by the alcohol heat and accompanying astringency on palate. Might benefit from a good long airing out, or a few more years in the bottle.
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5/15/2010 - cardsandwine wrote:
Drank from magnum. A very nice CDP. Balanced, peppery and soft on the palate with a long finish.
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5/13/2010 - d'Artagnan wrote: 91 Points
La robe est plus mate et orangée que les deux précédents, trahissant immédiatement son âge relatif face aux deux précédents. Le nez très provençal, sur la garrigue et le kirsch, s’approche davantage des nez typiques des vins de l’appellation, sans le coté plus frais typique du domaine. La bouche est glycérinée, le vin large et savoureux, avec un certain coté sauvage et des arômes un peu plus confiturés. Ce n'est pas que le vin manque de fraicheur pour un 2003 (reconnu aisément pour tel), mais je ne lui trouve pas le coté aérien et voluptueux des meilleurs vins du domaine. N’empêche, dans un millésime inégal ayant produit son lot de vins cuits et alcooleux, le vigneron ici a magnifiquement tiré son épingle du jeu. 91 pts
De loin le plus près de la maturité de ce volet, il fut aussi le vin le plus apprécié du groupe par un large consensus, sauf pour votre humble serviteur.
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5/1/2010 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
Very strong wine. Nice leather and game on the nose moving to ripe strawberry, raspberry and white pepper on the spicy palate.
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3/17/2010 - humagne wrote: 92 Points
Quite open and intense nose, excellent structure and length. I am not sure whether this will get better. Anyway, it is a pleasure to drink now.
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3/6/2010 - rayq wrote:
Not a huge fan of the 03 from this estate. It has a volatile quality and is surprisingly 'thin' considering the vintage. It's marked by alcohol and volatile acidity. However I decanted this for a few hours and it ended up being better than previous bottles. I'd strongly advocate extended aeration for the 03.
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1/24/2010 - ksmith wrote: 93 Points
Dark purple, a little funk on the nose, but very light. Mouth coating dark fruits, but balanced by acid. Tannins have smoothed out and this is drinking beautifully. Long finish.
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1/8/2010 - costamalfitana wrote: 94 Points
It might have been because of the snow and wintery conditions, but we were both thrilled with the hartwarming components of this wine.
(Although immediately upon opening the nose smelled not very appealing, like nale polish remover?) I decided to give the wine a double decant, for one hour, but I should have given the wine more time, as the nose kept developing beautiful grenache and provencal herbs while in our glasses; lots of pepper and spices:on the palate the wine has gained more body (compared to our previous bottle 11 months earlier); no hard edges, smooth and very pleasurable. long finish. I didn´t notice much of a burgundy-style C9dP (often attributed to Charvin's wines), but more of a classic grenache; just delicious and a good match with the "coq au vin".
seems ready for drinking but after opening needs some time in the decanter, so there is no need to hurry.
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1/6/2010 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
I know the 2003's are controversial, and this Charvin is a poster-child I think of success in an extreme vintage. Huge wine, notes of licorice and white pepper, lush, forward Grenache, pure fruit yet loaded with herbs and spice and pepper. Some might call it over the top, but for me this is just in your face, ripe, gorgeous CDP. No heat, no bitter tannin, just loaded with pleasure. Reading the notes, your mileage may vary, but I loved this.
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11/11/2009 - Miceri wrote: 92 Points
Red with some brownish hue; fresh fruity nose; sweet soft spiced lively fresh. Lacking density, power and after-taste. Quite good.
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11/5/2009 - Double D wrote: 92 Points
Not aired and it started with a bit of a funky smell but nice dark fruit flavors. 5-6 years seems to be a good aging for my taste in CdP.
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10/24/2009 - Barbalax wrote:
I am still not convinced. Bitter tannins, shallow raspberry brandy. These tannins are not getting smoother, and I suspect they never will be. Too high in alcohol - label says 14.5% , but what is the truth? No rating. I would drink any Vieux Donjon over this.
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10/3/2009 - geoffucla wrote: 93 Points
Very tasty and dynamic wine. On opening and up to about 30 minutes of decanting, the wine exhibited tart cherry and other red fruit notes, along with balancing minerality and some barnyard. However, after 1 hour, all of the fruit flavors disappeared, as well did some of the associated acidity. Both "versions" were good in their own right, so it just depends which style you're looking for. Also, throughout the whole time it was open, the wine exhibited a lot of glycerin, which gave it a great texture. It must be a feature of the vintage, as the Pegau CR also has glycerin, but the Charvin has significantly more of it. In all, a very enjoyable wine with many different layers of flavor.
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8/28/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Grenache Smackdown (Wally's, Arlington Heights): nose: a good amount of funk on the nose with bold and well defined tones roast beef, black licorice, black pepper, kirsch and dark tones of black cherries. Good depth, and very CdP, but with an amped up aspect to the tones a bit and much more on the dark side of the spectrum
taste: really good and silky medium feel that is polished, but with rich tannins and well balanced tones of roast beef, black cherries, black pepper and some tones of melted black licorice, and dark red fruits. Its lacking a bit on the mid palate as the flesh is more upfront and on the finish, so some time should work it out
overall: lots of promise, but the tannins were a bit sneaky right now and weren't letting the wine really shine. Good balance with a real dark profile that does have a bit of a hard edged quality to it. Time should smooth it out a bit and add some extra depth
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7/19/2009 - Zingrrl wrote: 93 Points
Decanted a 375ml for 90 minutes. Soft red fruit bouquet. Beautiful mouthfeel - good glycerine coating CdP. Red fruit, garrigue, bacon/game and herbs. Perfect. Finish was 60+ seconds. 375 was almost too small to really appreciate this wine.
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7/10/2009 - humagne wrote: 94 Points
Open and accessible. Not a whimpy wine. Massive with layers tasty aromas of garrigue, raspberries, truffles. Long finish.
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7/9/2009 - WST wrote: 93 Points
More in your face than other Charvins, but not over-the-top. Plums, strawberries, licorice, truffle, and spice. Seems more advanced than a 6 year old. This wine has never shut down.
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6/26/2009 - cadamson wrote: 92 Points
What a great, if young nose. Classic, classic nose, pepper, dark fruit, bacon, licorice, etc. Explosion of raspberry in the mouth, excellent taste. Only complaint is after a glass, started to taste a bit monolithic ----don't get me wrong, if you are going to be monolithic then taste like this! But, would have liked to see it grow on me more.
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3/28/2009 - pbaek wrote:
First thing I wrote about this wine was "the essence of Grenache". I could just smell and taste the sweet red cherries and raspberries here. As usual with Charvin, he lets very little come in between the soil and the wine in the glass. So I was quite happy to sip the wine for the first hour or so. As time goes by, though, the wine starts to shut down, the tannins starts to bite the gums. The aromatic profile also changes from the kirsch aromas to something less attractive like rum-raisin ice cream (in so many ways reminding me of the 2003 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras). There is a tremendous amount of concentration here and I think plenty of more cellar time is warranted. This will be long lived. At this stage, Charvin's 2003 Cotes du Rhone provides more drinking pleasure.
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2/14/2009 - Dids wrote: 92 Points
The nose started out with bacon fat and dark re fruits with a touch of spice. After 3 hours the garrigue kicked in, at the end smoked bacon with kirsch. It just got more and more concentrated whilst at the same time not too showy. On the palate Black cherry and herbs, still firm tannins but not in your face, still quite alcoholic but not so as to burn away the fruits. Good mouth filling glass of wine with a long length.
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2/9/2009 - Miceri wrote:
Surprisingly light colour; light taste, sherry-like aftertaste. Oxidized?
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1/31/2009 - costamalfitana wrote: 93 Points
light in color, full and gorgeous grenache expression, cherries and thyme, full bodied on the palate ; alcohol is at first lightly dominating, after some time the wine settles down, very pleasant to drink now; delicious example of fine chateauneuf; seems ready for drinking; no hurry.
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12/17/2008 - WST wrote: 93 Points
Unlike any other vintage of Charvin CdP I've ever had. Rather than subtle and elegant, this one's a brute (albeit a beautiful brute). Very intense nose of ripe dark berries and intense garrigue, spice and lavender. Earthy dense palate with long finish. Never would have guessed Charvin in a blind tasting.
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12/5/2008 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
Ripe fruits, spicy and round. Very typical C9duPape. Already a great pleasure and a well made wine. No need to store it for many years, but no hurry either.
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12/4/2008 - WetRock wrote:
Black Sheep Bistro (Black Sheep Bistro, Tustin, CA): Complex nose of herbs, cigar and leather above mellow fruits. Initially a bit tight the palate really picks up silkiness later. A CdP that really delivers on complexity and lovely fruit. I kept this around and kept revisiting. An easy WOTN for me.
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11/22/2008 - Barbalax wrote: 89 Points
This wine has the most wonderful nose I have ever experienced in Chateauneuf. It is full of ripe plums, tobacco and some saddle leather. The taste is almost harch at this point, very strong tannins that not even a bloody steak could calm down. The sweetness and strong alcohol kills our interest after a while, and the bottle was never finished. Strangely enough - this wine was dead the second day. I hope the taste will catch up the the nose, then this will be a 95 point wine.
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11/16/2008 - Miceri wrote:
Good, slightly spiced, powerful
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11/1/2008 - humagne wrote: 94 Points
Quite nice to drink already now. Nose is dominated by raspberry, strawberry, spices, barnyard etc. Nice attack and long, but somewhat alcoholic finish.
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10/27/2008 - Yagil wrote: 89 Points
at Shlomo's
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10/12/2008 - Grinner wrote: 93 Points
Pop and pour: underbrush, leather, spice, seaweed, and dark fruit supported by moderate tannins. It's definitely left the primary stage and improved for hours. Wait!
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9/11/2008 - peterkj wrote: 84 Points
Chateauneuf-du-Pape og Languedoc i topklasse (CSC's Vinklub, Høje Taastrup): Farve: Rød med brun til hvide kanter. Aroma: Fuld fed, jordbær. Smag: Blød, rund, jordbær. Pris: 300 kr.
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5/28/2008 - Stingo wrote:
This wine appears to have shut down since I last tasted it a year ago. Extremely tanic, even after decanting for 24 hrs. This wine needs at least 4 or 5 more years.
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1/20/2008 - Claudio161 wrote: 90 Points
WLTV Offline Get Together (Cotes Du Rhone Restaurant in Chicago): -
Sight: Medium Dark
Smell: Leather; Earth; Roasted Dark Fruits; Some Oak; Dark and Sensual smells???
Taste: Similar to smell; nice balance; acid+body is full; again I have to stress that the balance is great
Overall: Fine +, somewhat young and will be better in the coming years
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1/20/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
Chateaunuf-Du-Pape Tasting (Chicago IL, Cotes du Rhone Bistro): nose: a whole lot of barnyard. Down on the farm type barnyard. Leather, tellicherry pepper, black truffle, and earth mostly with some floral and blueberry notes poking through. Extremely deep nose
taste: big tannins, but they are integrated a bit already and are more chewy but not brooding. Mouth is just huge and explosive with a lot of leather, tellicherry pepper, earth, and dark fruit.
overall: this is amazing stuff. Tons of structure and young, but truly special. The finish just doesn't want to quit and the wine fully works its way on the entire palate
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1/19/2008 - tomreep wrote: 90 Points
This needs more time and I believe will be terrific in 5 years. A big wine, lots of fruit, a bit tanic right now. Did a side by side with an 01 Guigal CnP and clearly the Charvin was not yet ready. I bet in 5 or 7 years this will be a 94+.
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12/20/2007 - bwillia wrote: 92 Points
Long life ahead for this one. Still pretty Tannic yet but Oh my what flavors. Tough to keep from drinking these.
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9/23/2007 - klmarshall wrote: 89 Points
(Wine Merchant Rhone Tasting) -- Decanted for about 1.5 hours. Smoke and molasses on nose. Slightly rust in color. Dark fruit and molasses taste.
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7/8/2007 - DavidErt wrote: 90 Points
A very fine CNDP that has shown better in other tastings...perhaps it is shutting down somewhat, but last time I had a bottle (6 months ago) it displayed more of that burgundian quality...still excellent however.
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6/4/2007 - guile wrote: 94 Points
Medium red color gave no indication of the bite to come, this is full throttle CdP. Strong fruit nose with dusty earth elements and touch of underbrush, pine. Heavy element of cherry. Thick, full bodied wine, good viscosity, tannic but not overwhelming. Maybe I was tired that night, but Châteauneuf du Pape has never hit me like this before. Awesome!
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4/8/2007 - danibus wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding. Great nose. Began tight, even after a 2 hour decant, but really developed in the glass. Cherries, earth, leather and spice. By the end, it had rose and violet floral qualities as well. Pure fruit and perfect texture. Delicious now but will improve with a few more years in the bottle.
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3/6/2007 - Rob MacKay wrote: 93 Points
A young excellent wine. Transparent garnet red color with a nice boquet of blackberries, roasted herbs, black pepper, and salami. Initial flavors are complex with a lot of dark fruits and spice. Tannins are definitely present towards the finish but they are not too overwhelming.
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2/19/2007 - br wrote:
this has improved dramatically from last year. still lacks acidity but the flavor profiles have deepened and the roasted character seems to have faded a bit. very delicious, mixed berry flavors with enough hot rocks thrown in to keep it interesting. sweet, high-toned fruit on the nose. one of the better '03's I've had.
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1/7/2007 - humagne wrote: 94 Points
Nice expressive bouquet of spices, blackberries, game, tobacco. Very dense mouthfeeling, long aftertaste. Drinks already well now.
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11/18/2006 - tcfishler wrote: 88 Points
Peter Weygandt Event (Wine Exchange in Orange, CA): Light ruby-garnet. Terroir-driven and high-toned, with wet earth, garrigue, and some late-appearing sweetness. Deceptively powerful, juicy initially with a solid structure that emerges later. Long, spicy, and somewhat structured finish. Age this.
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9/6/2006 - Jozefs wrote: 94 Points
Decidedly better on the second day. Delicious.
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8/22/2006 - Cal Bear wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding. Decanted for an hour. Balanced, fruity but with complex structure supporting top layer of deep red fruit. Others say strawberries but I got more cherries, almost Pinot-like. But richer and earthier...still a Rhone. As it evolved over the course of a long meal, opened up to show some faint vanilla and other tarter notes, but that could have been because of food pairings. Good value in store, through restaurant markup was excessive. Recommended.
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8/20/2006 - gellie wrote: 94 Points
outstanding,loads of strawberry,dried rasin and spice,good earth quality.decanted in bottle four hours
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6/17/2006 - Siggy wrote:
France Trip Part 1 - Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 6/16/2006-6/17/2006: Tasted at the domaine w/ Laurent Charvin. Dusty plum fruit. A little raisiny and diffuse. I liked the 2003 CDR better.
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6/17/2006 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Tasted at the domaine. Softer, riper, rounder and better balanced than the 2003 CdR. Notes of licorice, earth and red fruit. Faintly meaty. Impressive 2003.
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3/18/2006 - Jozefs wrote: 94 Points
Right after opening this wine is singing with delicious red berry fruit on the nose (strawberries!), a very slight hint of barnyard and a dollop of kirsch. The palate is unbelievably fruity, but with a serious backbone of almost dusty slightly sweet tannins, exotic spices, kirsch... the aftertaste is long. Difficult to express in words, but this wine is both forceful and elegant, so I guess it has great balance. The wine keeps evolving in the glass. Right up there with the Pegau as the best CDP '03 I've tasted, but both are in a very different style. I like them both, but for drinking now I would prefer the Charvin. It is no sin to drink some now if you have more then a few...
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1/4/2006 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Back for more! After a slightly underwhelming experience with the same wine last night (see TN), I found myself back at the same restaurant and ordered it again tonight. Glad I did, as this bottle was quite different and, IMO, better than last night's. The second bottle had an extra layer of complexity / depth. Darker fruit - and, seemingly darker color - though, admittedly, it can be hard to tell given restaurant lighting. The second bottle had more grip and some earthy notes, as compared to the more polished, reserved and primary initial bottle. Really, I would not have recognized this as the same wine. Now I'm confused. Which was the representative bottle?? I would buy some for the cellar if future bottles were going to be more like the second. However, I'd probably sit the vintage out if bottle #1 is what's in store in the future... I guess this situation requires a tie breaker!
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1/3/2006 - Ben Andersen wrote:
$110 restaurant price. Fairly light, very youthful color. Slightly reluctant nose of fresh red fruit fruit and light spice. More of the same on the palate. I hesitate to use the term "Burgundian", as it's probably overused when describing Charvin's wines; plus, this clearly has more southern heat and weight in the mouth. However, there is a certain Pinot quality - cherry fruit and a lightness / suave texture - to this wine that recalls Burgundy. Reminds me a bit of the 2000 Charvin, though I have not had that vintage in a couple years. This is clearly too young to drink now and get the full effect. That said, I'm not that optimistic that in the end this will really develop into a top level example of Chateauneuf. I'll be intereested to see how this ages. Overall, I am less impressed with this than I was expecting to be. Hmmm. NOTE: I ordered another bottle at the same restaurant the next night (see TN), and it turned out to be a different and better experience...
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12/30/2005 - DCornutt wrote: 95 Points
Out of the bottle at cellar temp (58 degrees F at my house), this wine is just gorgeous. Lots of primary grenache aromas. Cherries and brighter red fruit. There is an earthiness underneath that gives it depth.
Wonderful delicate cherry fruit hits you on the palate and then on the very back end a rush of tannin that doesn't pucker you up but lets you know it is there. I find the balance exquisite. There is a delicacy to the finish after the tannin that lets me know this is going to be extremely nice.
Fantastic persistence.
An absolutely profound wine in the making. No heat.
Perfect ripeness.
Very Rayas like to me. (and that is a good thing)
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