TN's: Holiday CdP Dinner at Edina Country Club (Pegau, Charvin, Janasse, Clos des Papes, etc.)

WINE TALK
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HOLIDAY CDP TASTING - Edina Country Club, MN (12/30/2011)

7 of us gathered for our annual Holiday CdP tasting at the Edina Country Club. As always, MWG did an excellent coordinating the event, and Edina Country Club did an excellent job with the food and accomodations. It was great to see old friends again, as well as meet a couple new ones. On the whole, this is probably the most-solid lineup we’ve had in the four years we’ve done this tasting; seriously, not one sub-excellent wine was on the table, which made for a fun-but-difficult exercise in picking our top 3 wines. To everybody in attendance, Thank You for making this event a roaring success! Cheers! :slight_smile:

A Stunning Cdp Blanc Solo Performance

NOSE: expressive and complex; initially, lots of green banana and persimmon with a hint of pear; after a good 20 – 30 minutes in the glass, a nice apricot preserves note emerged; no fuminess.

BODY: green-yellow color of medium depth; medium to medium-full bodied.

TASTE: Lots of minerals on the palate, but, in a refreshing change from the norm with CdP blanc, there was also an abundance of fruit flavors: persimmon, fig, and coconut Lifesaver; slight hint of light brie in the background on this intensely flavored wine. The 14% alc. is well-hidden, and not noticeable. The finish is long and mineral-laden. Seems to be very well-structured and built to age. With the exception of a few Beaucastel’s, this is the best CdP blanc I’ve ever had. I would love to have some of this in my cellar. As soon as I tasted this, I knew this would likely be my WOTN, despite the impressive lineup that awaited. Alas, it was barely edged-out by a later wine, so this received an enthusiastic 2nd place vote from me this evening. Additionally, it was extremely well-received by the others in attendance. Drink now or continue to hold for 10(?) years.

B: 50, 5, 14, 17, 9 = 95 (95 pts.)

A Trio of Tantalizing 2000’s

NOSE: the Nose on this Pegau was absolutely divine! Incredibly expressive, complex, and savory: celery greens and seeds; lots of Indian spices; rose petals; lots of old wood furniture; cigar wrapper; a hint of horsiness, but certainly not a bretty wine. Hard to ask for much more from a CdP Nose — the aromas, alone, on this wine are worth the price of admission.

BODY: mahogany-blood red color of medium-deep depth with some browning at the edges and a bit throughout; medium bodied.

TASTE: the palate, for the most part, mirrored the Nose: very spicy, some aging purple fruits; some lightly funky spices; lots of spicy iodine on the long finish; 13.5% alc. is not noticeable. This is the fourth year running we’ve had this wine at this dinner, and this bottle was, by far, the most advanced of the four; it was a touch diffuse on the palate, in my opinion, and that has me believing that bottles such as this one no longer have room for further improvement. That said, the bottles we had last year and they year before were incredibly youthful and still had a good handful of years before they hit their peak. So, if you have multiples of this in your cellar, now would be an excellent time to check-in on one; continuing to hold is a gamble that could just as likely pay-off as it would bust.

B: 50, 4, 14, 16, 8 = 92 (92 pts.)

  • 2000 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    – took a small sample, then Audozed for 4 hours –
    – tasted a couple glasses non-blind over a couple hours –

NOSE: red fruits, light spices, and some tobacco; throughout the evening, this wine flip-flopped between being expressive and tight; overall, it gave the impression of a herby/lightly fruity Nose.

BODY: medium bodied.

TASTE: earthy; fruit is somewhat hidden behind a light wash of garrigue; stony minerals; better than the 9/1/2011 bottle I had of this, as this seemed to have greater focus and wasn’t as advanced age-wise; 13.5% alc. is not noticeable; certainly on the elegant end of the CdP spectrum; very nice, but not a blockbuster. Drink now through 2015.

B: 50, 5, 12, 16, 7 = 90 (90 pts.)

NOSE: expressive mélange of shaved coconut, black raspberry, and Bassett’s licorice allsorts; hint of red licorice; the first glass showed a pleasant high-toned orange oil note, but the second glass did not. Higher-toned and more complex than I’ve come to expect from this producer.

BODY: medium bodied.

TASTE: incredibly floral and perfumey, with a hint of horsiness; fig; smoky with time in the glass; stony minerality; excellent acidity; 14.5% alc. is not noticeable. This was a pleasant surprise for me, as this wine was not marred by the monolithic non-descript overripeness that I’ve heretofore experienced with every Janasse CdP I’ve had. This wine would have easily garnered my third-place vote for the evening, if not for the killer Nose on the ’00 Pegau. Although this is drinking very nicely now, this certainly has room to grow. Drink now or over the next 10 years.

B: 50, 5, 13, 17, 8 = 93+ (93 pts.)

Dynamic 2001 Duo

  • 2001 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    – decanted for 1.5 hours before first taste –
    – tasted a couple glasses non-blind over a couple hours–

NOSE: oddly, a tad reductive at first, but this eventually blew-off; this started-off as quite brooding and moderately expressive, but it became increasingly complex and expressive over the course of the evening; strawberry and strawberry taffy; spicy; hint of garrigue; bay leaf; a horsey element gained in intensity throughout the evening; hint of orange oil. It seemed nearly every time I went back to this wine it had changed into something different, and never for the worse. Very complex, and lots of fun; needs to be smelled gently.

BODY: medium to medium-full bodied.

TASTE: very young still; slightly-sweet strawberry; horsiness came out with air; tannins are mostly smoothed-out, but they still are sticking around a bit; still a bit tight; very elegant; alcohol is not noticeable; fruit is ripe, but not overdone. This wine grew on me throughout the evening: I initially scored it 92, then later revised that score to 95 after it had shown more facets to me — really, I feel like I could give this a 96 and not feel like I’m being over-exuberant, but I will stand pat where I’m at on it. This is a very nice CdP. Drink now or over the next 10(+) years. My WOTN.

B: 50, 5, 14, 17, 9 = 95+ (95 pts.)

NOSE: expressive and open; dark florals; blackberry; oak; anise; caraway seeds. Really enjoyed the Nose on this, but wish the oak wasn’t quite so noticeable.

BODY: dark purple-red color; medium-full to full bodied.

TASTE: spicy; oak; dark-fruited; somewhat bitter; good acidity; seemed somewhat disjointed – I think this still needs a couple years to come together; 14% alc. not noticeable.

B: 50, 5, 12, 16, 8 = 91+ (91 pts.)

A Couple of Babies

NOSE: high-toned and moderately expressive; this had a lemony-orange lilt to it when first poured into my glass, but, after a few minutes, this citrus aspect transformed into a pomegranate and loganberry aroma; I also noticed a background hint of the celery seed/leaf note that was at the forefront of the ’00 Pegau; the Nose became increasingly “dark” as the wine sat in the glass. I greatly enjoyed the Nose on this wine, despite my belief that it’s holding back some right now.

BODY: purple-garnet color of great depth; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: very bitter; tannic; 14% alc. pokes through a bit; non-descript purple fruits; nice acidity; all structure right now; closed; will be very good a few years down the line. Hold.

B: 50, 5, 12, 15, 8 = 90+ (90 pts.)

  • 2006 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    – decanted and run through an aerator about 3 hours before first taste –
    – tasted a couple glasses non-blind over approximately one hour –

NOSE: brooding and tight; raspberry liqueur; sweet balsamic reduction; deep black licorice note; seriously holding back right now.

BODY: purple-garnet color of great depth; full bodied.

TASTE: deep, dark fruits; dark chocolate; extremely drying tannins; 14% alc. not noticeable; not closed, per se, but very very tight; difficult to evaluate today, but I think this will be extraordinary in time; I’d hold for at least 5 more years before checking back in, and – really – a 10 year wait would be more appropriate. Third consecutive year this wine has appeared at this tasting, and my Drink/Hold opinion remains firmly unchanged: Hold.

B: 50, 5, 12, 16, 9 = 92+ (92 pts.)

Dessert

NOSE: expressive; honeyed spicy kumquat; bitter orange peel; strong petrol; very nice.

BODY: full bodied; orange color of medium-deep depth — coloration is a bit advanced for its age.

TASTE: some botrytis; very nice acidity – higher than normal for a Rheingau; ripe tropical Rheingau fruits. A very pleasurable Auslese. Drink or continue to Hold.

B: 50, 4, 12, 16, 8 = 90 (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Sounds like a fun event, BrIan. Of the wines you posted on, I’ve had two in the relatively recent past. An '01 Autard ‘Ronde’ (in the spring?) had better oak integration than it sounds like yours did. In fact, I was surprised how good it was, as I expected the oak to be more prominent than I like. Also had the '01 Charvin back in September and thought it was very good, but not the revelatory experience I’ve read others having with it. That said, i didn’t get any horse from my bottle, which is A-okay with me.

Of the others, the Pegau Blanc sounds particularly interesting.

Happy New Year,
Andy

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Hi Andy,

Happy New Year to you, too! [cheers.gif]

re: 01 Cote Ronde and oak: the oak wasn’t too much, per se, but it was noticeable, and I wish it wasn’t.

re: 01 Charvin: that wine really snuck-up on me throughout the evening. At first I thought it was low-level excellent, but thought much more highly of it by the end of the event.

re: 10 Pegau Blanc: it’s worth seeking-out!

Thanks for reading. [cheers.gif]