Next week , I celebrate my birthday . We have a bbq with 20 people and I am opening a case of Clos des Papes 2003 or 2005 . Which one would you prefer ? If I look at Cellar tracker , there seems to be a preference for the 2003 .
Clos des Papes has always been my favorite Chateauneuf . When I was much younger , I drank a lot of CNP but at my age , the alcohol starts bothering me … but never with Clos des Papes .
Last week , during another bbq , I served 4 wines blind from the 2007 vintage that Parker raved so much about .
fourth place : this wine is softer , with a very slight metalic touch . Sweet red fruit . Relatively light colour . The sweetness is appeling but it is not so pure , not so fresh . ( RAYAS )
Third place : Funky wine , very sweet , with spicy aromas . I think it is borderline overripe , you taste the prunes . But it is massive . Lot’s of alcohol. ( PEGAU DA CAPO )
second place : very powerful wine , high concentration but in good balance . Lot’s of alcohol but it does not bother . This will go on for ages . I love this . ( BONNEAU CELESTINS )
first place : fresh and spicy red fruit , still young . Wine of the night for most tasters . Very pure , it does not have any pruny flavors like the other 3 . ( CLOS DES PAPES ) .
Did you drink with the BBQd meat, Herwig? I would think that a Rayas, even from 2007, would benefit more from less strong food. Also, was it fully blind, because the color difference should be obvious? But sounds like an interesting tasting nevertheless.
I’d open the case of 2005. 2003 is so variable you’ll likely have vastly different experiences across 12 bottles, and likely more uniform across the 2005.
I have had great experiences with a couple of bottles of 05 Clos de Papes opened in the past 6 months, which have outperformed pretty much all my other 05 CdPs. I would agree with you regarding your perception of alcohol – these just always seem so balanced. I don’t have any direct experience with their 03 however.
I would agree with 05. I had the 03 in 2013 and I liked it but the longer it sat in the glass the less I enjoyed it. Would probably drink some of those up sooner than later.
I opened a three liter of the 03 a couple of weeks ago with a wine savvy group and no one wanted a second pour. The alcohol didn’t stick out as in a hot wine, but the alcohol made it exhausting to drink and dulled any pleasure. Consistent over several hours.
Meanwhile a week later a 2003 Vatican CdP was absolutely wonderful.
Jozef , I like Rayas a lot , have been buying and drinking since the mid eighties . Always one of my favorite wines . But in this tasting , the bottle was not clean . `It happens .
