Some random recent bottles… Vatican Sixtine & Mont Olivet La Cuvée du Papet
Finally getting caught up with some backlogged notes. Both of these bottles were consumed over dinner with some friends.
2001 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Just fantastic and I can only hope the 2005 and 2006 show this way in a couple years. Right now this is showing stunningly pure, dense fruit aromatics of cassis and blackberry that mix with vanilla, raw meat and wax notes. The purity to the fruit really sets this apart and this is a focused, clean beauty. On the palate it’s full bodied and possesses a concentrated, dense, structured personality that carries over into the finish and while this is assessable now, the fruit quality, structure, and balance should have this aging beautifully. It’s still showing the subtle vanilla and oak notes that are common for this cuvee but they’re barely noticeable and should integrate with more bottle time. (95+ pts.)
2003 Clos du Mont Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée du Papet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This boasts a big, earthy, traditional nose with garrigue, spice and new leather notes that are supported by a solid core of sweet fruit. This leads into a medium to full bodied palate that has nice richness, balance and lift. The finish is long and right after opening, finished with gobs of drying tannin. With air, this abated and the tannins were notably sweeter but this might be something to watch. (91+? pts.)