A couple weeks ago our local tasting group got together for a 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Papes tasting – aka, the 2003
Clos des Papes smackdown! A very interesting tasting, it turns out that it wasn’t too hard to put the smackdown on the Clos du Papes, which I thought showed well, but not spectacularly, and suffered from VA. All wines were served single blind, and this time we did something different – voting for 1st place, 2nd place,
and last place wines in each flight. Here are the notes:
Flight #1:
2003 Domaine de Pégau “Cuvée Réservée” Châteauneuf-du-Pape (7/5/0, 19 points) - #1 of the flight!
Very nice nose, with just a touch of heat showing through, this wine shows classic CdP aromas (as it turns out, this was the most “classic” example of CdP of our tasting), with notes of herbs, dark berries, guarrigue – really deep and intense, with tremendous complexity. On the palate there is still just a touch of heat, but the wine shows marvelous texture, with ripe fleshy tannins, excellent structure, dense but well balanced fruit, and tremendous character, finishing long and fine. My #1 of the flight and of the tasting.
2003 Chateau Fortia Cuvee du Baron Châteauneuf-du-Pape (1/5/3, 12 points) - #2 of the flight!
This wine displayed a big bright nose full of brambly fruit, blackberries, sweet black cherries, and just a touch of herbs. On the palate this wine was excellent, with smooth, ripe, but firm tannins, filling out quite broadly in the mouth, but with good acidity, and a medium finish. After retasting, I noted this wine showed plenty of Grenache character, excellent, and my #2 of the flight.
2003 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau (2/0/3, 4 points)
Lots of Grenache right off the bat on the nose, with deep red fruits and spice. On the palate however I was a bit disappointed, as the wine came across a bit thin and dilute, despite its ripe tannins and promising nose. My #5 of the flight.
2003 Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape (3/3/1, 9 points)
Quite candied on the nose, with notes of strawberries and cream, the wine fills out broadly on the palate, showing nice balance and plenty of firm tannins. Quite structured, with a broad backbone of sweet fruit, this wine will require some time for the tannins to integrate but shows nice promise. My #3 of the flight.
2003 Cuvee du Vatican CdP Reserve Sixtine (0/0/6, 0 points)
This wine showed enormous notes of sweet oak on the nose – too much for now! But there was no denying (for me) that this was a fun and intriguing wine, with it’s huge wealth of dense fruit. On the palate the wine is seriously concentrated, very broad and rich, and seriously tannic. This doesn’t show much complexity at this point, but if the oak notes settle down and the wine comes together this has the potential to be great. My #4 of the flight, but with a note that this shows tremendous potential. The group’s vote for
last place.
Flight #2:
2003 clos des papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Avril) (2/0/0, 4 points)
Very nice nose, with bright fresh aromas of red raspberries herbs, and a touch of guarrigue – very classic CdP except for one thing, which was noticeable (and disturbing) VA, adding those nail polish/pruney aromas. On the paalte the wine possesses fine ripe tannins, excellent texture, and wonderful length, but the VA notes worry me. My #3 of the flight.
2003 Domaine les Pallieres Gigondas (2/10/0, 14 points) - #2 of the flight!
This wine showed a very nice nose, with good depth, and notes of sweet red cherries, herbs, and white pepper. Very nice on the palate, with ripe round tannins, moderate depth, nice balance, and a pleasing long finish. My #1 of the flight.
2003 Domaine de Monpertuis "Cuvee Traditional" Châteauneuf-du-Pape (1/1/10, 3 points)
Very port-like on the nose, this wine had VA to the point of it being utterly flawed. Overripe, alcoholic, nail-polish notes, prunes, raisins, not a pleasant wine. My #5 of the flight. The group’s vote for
last place.
2003 Domaine Grand Venuer "Les Origines" Châteauneuf-du-Pape (1/2/2, 4 points)
Quite Zinfandel-like on the nose, blind I would have believed someone slipped one in! Bright fresh notes of brambly fruit, blackberries, oak, and spice, the wine is quite tannic and young on the palate, but doesn’t show much CdP character. A good wine, just not what one expects. My #2 of the flight nonetheless.
2003 Bois de Boursan "Cuvee Felix" Châteauneuf-du-Pape (7/0/0, 14 points) - #1 of the flight!
Way too much stink for me, this wine just had too much brett for me – though obviously others like it quite a lot. This did have a marvelous palate, with fine texture, firm ripe tannins, if just a touch drying on the finish. I would have loved this wine I think if it weren’t for the Brett notes. My #4 of the flight.
Flight #3:
2003 Patrick Lesec "Pierre Dorees" Châteauneuf-du-Pape (3/2/1, 8 points)
Very nice on the nose, with blackberries and floral notes, good depth and complexity. On the palate this wine shows very ripe, but well balanced, with a firm tannic grip, good structure, and plenty of dense fruit. My #3 of the flight.
2003 Edmunds St. John Rocks & Gravel (5/1/6, 11 points) - #1 of the flight! (also most last place votes!!)
Alright, who snuck in the ringer? This was too funny, the wine people loved and hated at the same time, garnering enough votes on both 1st and last place to win both spots! I dug it, finding an unusually exotic nose that was deep with notes of blackberries and violets. On the palate this wine seemed complete, with fine ripe tannins, good fruit, and a broad rich feel. Certainly in retrospect one might say this would show best because it is an earlier drinker, but it was certainly nice! My #1 of the flight. The group’s vote for
last place.
2003 Les Bosquet de Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/1/0, 9 points) - #2 of the flight!
A really lovely nose, with deep nose of ripe cherries, earth, guarrigue, and spice, the wine fills out on the palate with ripe fleshy tannins, moderate complexity, and a fine medium finish. Very nice, my #3 of the flight.
2003 Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape (0/3/0, 3 points)
Another huge Zinfandel-like wine, with loads of bramble and spice. On the palate, this is a bit hot, but is quite tasty, with an alcoholic finish. My #5 of the flight.
2003 Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape (0/0/2, 0 points)
Another Zin-like nose, but this wine suffered from a major downfall – it was simply quite boring. Moderately tannic in the mouth, not much of anything going on, finishing short. Where is the wine? My #6 of the flight.
2003 Milliere Chateauneuf du Pape VV (0/4/1, 4 points)
I really liked this wine, so this shouldn’t be taken as (much of) a criticism, but I thought this came across like a really high-quality Cotes-du-Rhone, meaning it was very tasty, but not quite up to the level of what I expect from CdP. Nice spice, cherry, strawberry and earth notes on the nose, along with some light floral aromas, the wine has a textured smooth palate, vanilla flavors, moderate tannins, but lacks something in complexity. My #4 of the flight.