TN: Fantastic CdP dinner with a couple additions

Got together with a great group of new and familiar faces last night for a wonderful dinner and a wide-ranging CdP tasting! To any on the board that were present, we really enjoyed hanging out with you and drinking these awesome wines! I didn’t take many detailed notes but wanted to at least convey overall impressions for those holding these bottles. I also missed some of the initial sparklers cuz I was lost in a Beaucastel.

1998 BEAUCASTEL VIELLES VIGNES ROUSSANNE
My contribution to the tasting and the one I spent the most time analyzing. What a color on this wine! bright clear copper in the glass. Initially, had a honeyed peach cobbler kind of nose that made me want to stop and just keep smelling, but it continued to evolve over time into something that more resembled butterscotch at its best. Initially, the mouthfeel was fairly oily/waxy with apricots and almonds, picking up a little bit more weight with some air. In my opinion, this particular bottle I think we missed its very best by a year or two, but it was still incredibly unique.

2016 JANESSE BLANC
Compared to the Beaucastel this was crisp, light, lively, and fresh on the nose. Loads of pears and hints of stone fruit on the palate, still a little creamy and waxy but not overly so. A good counterbalance to lighten things back up before heading into a whole bunch of reds. I see this wine getting even better in a couple years.

PAIR #1
2016 BEAUCASTEL CdP
Already a fantastic wine. The fresh fruit is in-your-face forward but bright and red with some floral notes and spice. You won’t be sorry to open it now but its got some good stuffing in it.
2014 LES CLOS DU CAILLOU CDP LES SAFRES
Again towards the fruitier side with raspberries and red fruits here but with an almost mint-like herbaceous undertone that I think really helped it. very tasty pair, these two

PAIR #2
2010 LE VIEUX DONJON CDP
Possibly my CdP of the night. just firing on all cylinders here. Great fruit and structure but both wines in this pair have started to pick up an earthy note that I really love. Some spice notes here as well. Just awesome.
2012VIEUX TELEGRAPHE LE CRAU
This one is holding onto some darker fruit notes and some of those garrigue-y type herbs. Its definitely good, but it was hurt by being right next to the Donjon IMO.

PAIR #3
2004 DOMAINE DU CAILLOUX CDP
Trying to find some information about this tasty wine… it looks like maybe after 08 this wine became Clos du Caillou cuvee le tradition? Anyone have any more information on this producer? It was very good that’s the main thing I remember.
2005 DOMAINE DE FERRAND CDP
The consensus seemed to be this wine was corked. Last night I confirmed I am not a TCA responder. seemed OK to me but not up to par with the other wines in the lineup.

PAIR #4: the surprise
2002 CLOS DES PAPES CDP
2002. Terrible vintage in CdP right? Well apparently someone did something right at Clos des Papes, because this was such a pretty wine. It maybe didn’t scream CdP and was a little lighter bodied and redder fruited, but it was very very nice.
2003 CLOS DES PAPES CDP
Funny enough, this bottle was off. The first person to taste it called it “spritzy”… I feel like thats not how you want to describe a CdP. Something off with the bottle.

PAIR #5
2001 GUIGAL CDP
2001 LA NERF CDP
By this time we were all starting to have some trouble keeping track of what was in each of our glasses and decanters. We all know for sure that both of these wines were fantastic and surprisingly youthful, but had started to pick up some dusty earthiness that helped lend complexity. Both felt like they still had long lives ahead of them.

PAIR #5
1998 DOMAINE DE LA JANESSE CUVVEE CHAUPIN
Similar to the impressions about the 01s, but possibly even more true with this wine. It felt like this wine was still hanging around the same developmental spot at the 04-10s and just on cruise control there. youthful red fruit and smooth tannin structure
2014 SQN SHAKTI GRENACHE
My first SQN. The (almost) 16% ABV and new oak of this wine stood out like a sore thumb in this lineup of mostly traditional CdP producers. big dark fruits and oak spice. I don’t have a ton of notes on this one, but I think its a wine that benefits from being a standalone.

BONUS WINES
1995 COS D’ESTOURNEL
Overall WOTN for me. Like the SQN this wine just jumped off the table among all the CdPs. The main thing that sticks with me is that there was loads of green pepper, almost to the point of jalapeño, but though that sounds like a detractor it seemed knit into the overall feel of the wine just right to make something complete and fresh and balanced. Just delicious, delicious wine.
2016 HUET 1ER TRIE CLOS DU BOURG
A great way to finish the night. a little sweetness but loads of balancing acidity and no cloying style fruits. This was my first 1er Trie and I was surprised by how fresh and agile it was.

Hopefully others that were there might chime in some of their thoughts as well, or correct me if I labelled a vintage wrong or similar. Overall a very fun, very late night with some great wines and company!

very nicely done. Interesting progression from youngest to oldest. Often we do the opposite. Any particular rationale that you’re working with?

I like the perception that SQN wines will show best on their own as well…

Would love to try some old Clos des Papes. The 12 and 15 tasted in their youth have been among the best CNdP I’ve enjoyed to date.

I guess you mean Domaine de la Janasse … right?

If it´s Domaine du Caillou (without an x) you are basically right, but the basic wine is now Les Safres, Les Quartz is a special cuvée and La Réserve is the top.

There is also Les Cailloux (WITH x), that´s a different domaine.

My rationale for it was that I showed up and the host said “we’re gonna taste them from youngest to oldest”

ha! but really, I could see the argument either way. The way we did, the wines got increasing levels of complexity as we went, and really the oldest were the crescendo of the night from that standpoint. BUT most of us also had some palate fatigue by then as well. but this way we got to the oldest wines after dinner was done and as we all sat around and talked politics, so we got to spend more time with them.

yes, the white was Domaine de la Janasse. my mistake. I’m looking back at my picture to be sure, but Im pretty sure the Domaine du Caillou was spelled WITHOUT the X.

Great notes. The 2003 Clos has generated a lot of controversy. It’s almost as if 2 batches of this wine exist. One as you describe, and which has been my experience on every bottle from a case I bought to a near perfect wine that I have experienced once from the one magnum I owned.

Very interesting to hear that! We were all expecting that pairing to be a stark contrast with one great and one bad… but no one expected the 2002 to be the mind blowing one. makes me want to seek some out… might be a diamond lurking at a low price point

Thanks for the summary Matt. Great to meet you and Amanda and a fun time from our wonderful hosts. The two sparklers were the 2008 Marc Chauvet Initiales and the 2007 Vranken Demoiselle La Parisienne. I think someone may have taken a video of Joe sabering the Vranken. I didn’t take any notes but What I remember were very similar to your notes above. Both champagnes were yummy, bright, with good acidity. Fun night!

Hi all,

Almost forgot to reply, it was a super event, I was quite happy to be invited! I’ll add some comments, though I didn’t take notes.

The 98 Beaucastel was a treat to try, I’ve never had such and old Roussanne, a little past it’s prime but great aromas and a slightly oily texture. Once the glass was empty, a huge aroma of honey developed, it was quite noticeable.

The Janesse Blanc - talk about opposites from the Beaucastel, fresh and light with a ton of minerality, I could drink that all summer!

Pair 1: Everyone was expecting the Beaucastel to be fantastic, but it was quite the opposite, totally closed up. The bottle wasn’t flawed, just too young. Joe said he has 2 more bottles and isn’t touching another for 10-15 years. The Calliou was really nice, light in color and just really easy to drink. I also liked the herb notes.

Pair 2: The Donjon crushed it, and was my #3 wine of the night - fruit, earth, spice, not too heavy - just fantastic! The Telegraphe suffered by comparison.

Pair 3: Domaine du Calliou Cuvee Unique was quite good, nice mineral and spice under tones. Very nice. Yes the Ferrand was slightly corked, not terrible ,but we walked away from it pretty quickly.

Pair 4: The 2002 Clos des Papes was my clear CdP winner and #2 bottle of the night. While opening it, Joe talked about how bad the 2002 vintage was, and everyone was shocked to try it, just beautiful. Ruby red color, fresh aromatics, bright red fruits on the palate, with nice spice in the finish. Yeh, the 03 was a bit off - I went back to the 02 quickly.

Pair 5: I strongly preferred the Guigal, one of the more complex wines of the night, savory, spicy, and really quite good. Joe preferred the La Nerf, but it was a bit heavy to me.

Pair 6: The 98 Janesse really surprised me, because it has barely aged. Ok, it did have some good secondary flavors so I shouldn’t say that, but lots of fruit and structure, could go for many more years. SQN is always a treat to try, this bottle was absolutely HUUUGE, so after 15 other wines that were mostly soft and elegant, quite a shock to the system.

Then there was the 95 Cos D’Estournel…wow. Clear wine of the night - I haven’t had a bottle of wine like that in a while, amazing complexity - just hitting on all cylinders. Loved it!

I didn’t get to the Clos du Bourg as we needed to get home. But a great night, with some super fantastic wines.


PS, the sabre video, if I can load it:




IIRC there was a multi page thread on Squires about this wine. Some linked the alleged poor quality of the wine with a fire at the winery. Others defended the wine rigorously.

That 1995 Cos d’Estournel is indeed an excellent wine. Wish they still made it this way! Had it last year.

Hey Robert, what are they doing differently these days?

A good read here:

For my palate, the wines have become far too modern, lush, oaky. I heard things have tuned down last vintage or so, but I have tuned out. Price is ugly as well.

I bought some 95s last year for way less than current release prices, and to me, it is a much better wine.

well, thats disappointing. I’m pretty sure this was the first time I’ve tried Cos… but I started with a killer bottle of wine. I would definitely seek this out before a modernistic version of the same.

Scott and Lori, great spending time with both of you! Thanks for your thoughts (and for filling in the gaps in my notes!)

While I don’t know if 1995 Clos des Papes CdP would qualify as “old”, the one I had this past mid-December was, to me, the best of the night for pairing with the main course of lievre à la royale. It had enough stuffing; and the somewhat raunchy, meaty, sanguine/ferrous notes that I was looking for which the 1995 Domaine du Pegau CdP failed to deliver.

Best,

N
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you didn’t mention it specifically, but I was a little surprised that no one ended up bringing a bottle of Pegau to the tasting this weekend. Seems like the right thing to bring to a CdP tasting