2004 CdP: Clos des Papes & Beaucastel: which one now?

WINE TALK
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I have one bottle of each, and they’re burning a hole in my cellar. Which one is better for drinking now? I assume they’re both in their prime window, but don’t know for sure.

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The 2004 Clos des Papes was a bit tired when I tried it last December. Could have been an off bottle but it prompted me to taste through my 2004 Chateauneufs as I was a little concerned they may be fading a bit. The other Chateauneufs have all been in great shape.

I have a couple bottles of the Clos de Papes that I will open sooner rather than later - probably one this weekend. The Beaucastel was in great shape when I had it about a year ago. I plan to open another in the next couple months as well.

A long way of saying I think both should be ready, but I’d probably open the Clos des Papes first from my experience with the 2

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A bottle of the 2001 Clos des Papes that I’d held since release was also tired a while back.

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Ooooh, dang. '01 vintage, as a whole, has many similarities to '04. :grimacing:

A couple bottles of 2005 Clos des Papes over the past few years have struck me as being in the prime window, too.

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2004 Beaucastel is NOT tired. I have had 5 bottles in the last 3 years or so and all were stellar. Try that and report back.

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With the Mourvèdre component I would think the Beaucastel would last a LONG time. I have not opened one in a while but starting to think about opening my '05s,
Clos des Papes I usually enjoy at about the 10yr mark, but vintages vary. '05 I had last year I thought was tired (but over ripe) but '10s are still needing time.

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So the ‘05 was tired? I always felt like that was such a structured vintage. I still have some of those too.

I was planning to open some Rhône wines this weekend with some friends so I might just check in on some of these Clos des Papes wines and do a sort of mini vertical of sorts.

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I should be more careful responding from memory. Looks like I last had the '05 in 2020! And I liked it but though they pushed the winemaking a bit. I think they started dialing it back after '12 but only recently had '13 and '19; thought '09 was overdone. Last had '04 in 2016 so take that with a grain of salt.

  • 2005 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (8/30/2018)
    Purchased on release as I was just starting to get into wine. Seems mature with fine remaining tannin and soft mouthfeel. Mostly tobacco and sandalwood flavors, with a liquor- like aspect on the palate. No heat. Moderate finish. I was hoping for less ripeness and more spice cake, but still a nice CdP. (92 points)
  • 2005 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/4/2020)
    Better bottle than two years ago. Flamboyant aromatics with typical popurri and Provençal spices. Has a rather prominent menthol note that’s a bit unusual for CdP? Fruity palate, moving toward maturity with more leather and spice notes rather than primary notes. In early maturity, more in balance than 2yrs ago. (93 points)
  • 2004 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/14/2016)
    Great expression of CdP. Clean red fruit with kirsch and spice. Large scaled but well put together this vintage. Impressive polish and balance. Purity and clean fruit is a nice contrast to recent Pegau. (93 points)

Posted from CellarTracker

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I just bought a bottle of 04 CdP, will open later this year. Looking forward to hearing your notes.