I was able to buy a few bottles after visiting them in Paso in 2006 and getting on their mail list. I knew it was big, so I salted it away. Immediately upon opening there wasn’t much of anything. After about 6 hrs in the decanter it started to show and peaked around 12 hrs… I though it was a GSM, but it’s mostly mourvèdre. Lots of anise on the nose. Plum and cassis in the mouth, no edges left. Not a lot of weight or length. Pleasant, but overall a little disappointing. Maybe I waited too long.
Thanks for the TN, Mark, on an older Panopolie. I know the Esprits age incredibly well. But I’ve never been sure if the Panopolie ageibility is worth their xtra tariff.
Tom
Tablas Creek says it is mature and should be drinking very well right now (https://tablascreek.com/uploads/pos/fact-sheet/vintage_chart.pdf), so maybe you either got a bad bottle, storage wasn’t great, or it’s just not your type of wine. Personally, the Panoplie doesn’t do much for me, especially for the price (but I’m also not currently a huge mourvedre fan).
Hmmmmm, interesting. I have a mag. of this. Perhaps time to drink? I’ve some other vintages, too … man, I always thought this would be a long ager! Now I’m a little panicky.
I too have a bottle left, would hate to think that it’s seen better days.
Interesting notes indeed. And my guess is that this will age quite differently than the wines made by Tablas’ neighbors. You might want to reach out to the winery itself and ask about recent tasting notes. Jason, Neil and the staff regularly do retrospective tastings and oftentimes have others involved with these. I’m sure they would love to hear your experience and might have info to share as well . . .
Cheers
It was a direct purchase from the winery. A friend shared his allocation. And it was appropriately stored.
Jason Haas reached out to me. He said it showed well in a recent vertical tasting though not as flashy as the 05 or 07. And he offered to replace the bottle. Kudos to Tablas Creek.
I’m a big fan of Espirit de Beaucastel, but I didn’t realize Panoplie was so mourvèdre dominant (at least the 06). I do like mourvèdre, but I don’t have a lot of experience, especially
with some age on it. The blend is close to Saxum G2, but that’s too young to compare. I do have some Carlisle and Pibarnon >12 years old.
Mark,
Great to hear bout Jason - and no surprise there. 06 was a shorter, hotter vintage than 05 and 07 in the area.
This wine will not age like the other 2 mentioned - very different style. And Mourvedre based wines can age beautifully . . .
Cheers!