Or Friday, Saturday & Sunday’s wines…
Domaine Charvin 2000
I last had this at the Jannase/Charvin off-line where it got a little lost in the line up and this bottle drunk on its own is a nice indulgence. Two hours in a magnum decanter. A very traditionally made Chateauneuf showing soft red berries, ground pepper & touches of leather with liquorice, olive & violet. The palate throws in sweet textured fruits with good purity, low acidity & tannin to the mix. Very tasty & drinking well now! 14.5%vol. 91pts
Pierre Usseglio Cuvee Mon Aieul 1999
My first try of this vintage and I have to say that it is the most backward & tightly wound 1999 CdP I’ve had in the past 24 months. Bags of dark cherry/plum fruit, beef, melted liquorice and leather followed by mineral, tar and spice. The palate is young, savoury, still tight-knit and highly structured with its dense and brooding fruit, tannic backbone & cleansing acidity - a surprise for the vintage. In fact I had to do a double take at the label thinking I ‘d open a bottle of the ’01 by mistake, but no. I’d be up for more but reading it seems a very variable bottling so perhaps I hit lucky with this bottle??!! 14%vol. 92+pts
Clos des Papes 1995
My first bottle of the stunning 1995 for seven months. Decanted for 90 minutes and what a nose teetering right on the edge of primary & secondary and so beautifully mixed at the moment. Ripe red berries & purple stone fruit with roasted beef, dried herbs, spice, tar, earth and brier – very complex indeed. How anyone can’t like this would be beyond me. The palate is spicy and multi layered with the requisite texture, balance, depth & structure. Gorgeous, just gorgeous! This still has another 15 years to change and evolve. Very, very impressive! 14%vol. 94pts