2007 Chateauneuf du Pape @ Allegretti, NYC

WINE TALK
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A group of us met up on Tuesday at Allegretti to take a look at the much-hyped 2007 Chateauneufs. http://www.allegrettinyc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A special meal was prepared for us. We had one vegetarian. Unfortunately, Alain did not watch the Top Chef episode with Natalie Portman last week. Veg FAIL! Other than that, the evening was great. I was less than enamored with the modern styled wines. Thanks to Robert Dentice who also brought a top secret wine with him. More details on that when I am permitted to discuss it.

  • 2007 Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/5/2009)
    Inky purple black in the glass. Very extracted. Lots of black currant and black raspberry in the nose. This was in the last flight and after the Janasse wines I was a little overwhelmed. Crafted in the modern extracted style but this seemed better to me than the Janasse wines. I was just too overwhelmed at this point and my notes are not concise. If I was buying wines in this style this one would be my choice.
  • 2007 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/5/2009)
    Opaque purple/black in the glass. Huge nose of oak, dense black fruit, and licorice. Big and juicy on the palate, but very hot and the alcohol hits hard. Long finish with lots of glycerin. Great if you like this style. Not for me.
  • 2007 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chaupin - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/5/2009)
    Bright jammy raspberry fruit in the glass. A hint of spice too. Jammy red fruits on the palate followed by some black pepper and licorice. Hot and alcoholic on the finish. Not for me.
  • 2007 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/5/2009)
    Dark ruby/purple in color. Heavy extracted nose with fruit and licorice. On the palate, a whopper with loads of jammy black fruit, vanilla, spice. Way too over extracted and jammy. But this is a wine that is only about 50% Grenache. Not for me, but the fans of this wine should be very happy.
  • 2007 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/4/2009)
    Bright red ruby in color. Tight, traditionally styled wine. Shows some raspberry and black currant. Nice, but not particularly revealing. Looked really light in color vs. the 1998 we had next to it. I wonder where this will go, but I’m sure it’s going to be good with some time.
  • 2000 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Chassagne-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet (11/4/2009)
    A bit of oxidation on the nose. Beyond that, a rich layered nose of spicy baked apple, a bit of burnt orange peel, and butterscotch. The fruit is fresh and shows nice tropical and citrus notes. The first half of the finish shows some nice creamy notes but it ends with some hard green acids that turned me off a bit. The wine also tasted like it had some distinct compartments rather than the flavors flowing seamlessly, but I have not historically been a big fan of 2000 White Burgundies in general. By far the most popular white of the evening. (90 pts.)
  • 2007 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/4/2009)
    Popped and poured. This needed a good 1hr plus to open up. At first, pleasant but monolithic and the nose was totally absent. Showed nice pear/green apple/lemon fruit notes with a touch of green and spice. Second glass had bigger and more explosive aromas of lavender, white peach, honeysuckle and bees wax. Drink over the next 5-8 years. (91 pts.)
  • 2007 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas Blanc - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (11/4/2009)
    Bright floral aroma really shows off the Viognier. Unfortunately there is some oak there, not too much but enough to get in the way. On the palate, very nice white fruit notes followed by some mineral, spice and lemon curd notes. Great zip throughout and finishes soft and clean. (89 pts.)
  • 2007 Domaine Isabel Ferrando Châteauneuf-du-Pape Colombis - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/4/2009)
    This was the first red we tasted, it was a little rushed and I only jotted a few notes down. Wow! Very intense nose of red and black fruits, tar, and spices. Medium bodied, very lively, with lots of cherry, licorice, and spice notes throughout. The finish is a little clipped and has a bit of astringency to it. Very nice. Not as well knit as the St. Prefert, however.
  • 2007 Domaine Saint Préfert Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Auguste Favier - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/4/2009)
    Dark ruby color in the glass. Nose is very explosive with numerous red fruit profiles but on the darker side of things. Lots of concentration. Among the fruit there are also layers of spice and earth. On the palate very sexy and voluptuous, the fruit is layered on the palate and the finish is long. This wine just keeps coming back around. An absolute can’t-miss if you like traditionally styled wines with extra oomph. WOTN.
  • 2007 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape A la Gloire de Mon Grand Pere - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/4/2009)
    Decanted for about 6hrs. Bright red ruby color. Nose has lots of kirsch (big surprise) aromas with some spice, on the brighter side of things. On the palate, the fruit shows some glycerin and weight but it is probably in the middle of the pack density-wise. Shows a bit of chemical (Parker said resiny) towards the back and lots of spice, tannin and acid on the finish. This was a very pleasant, more traditionally styled wine that definitely has a long future ahead.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Brent

Were these blind?

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Dan,

No, we did not do them blind. That could have been interesting.

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What type of air did the wines see? Thanks for the notes.

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Faryan,

All wines were popped and poured at the restaurant and consumed over 2 hrs or so, with the exception of the Bosquet des Papes. I think I mentioned specifically in that note that I had decanted it at 1:30.

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very interesting – thanks for sharing.

what’s the cockage there these days?

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I think there are other forums for discussions of this type of activity. [tease.gif]

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Y-

Ask for Cynthia when you book and tell her you sold me my espresso machine. Poof! No cockage.

If you call unannounced and unrecognized they will tell you $35/bot.

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seriously? sweet. that espresso machine really gets around.

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What a fun night. It’s always good seeing you some old stand-bys amongst the new faces. I find as I get older, my need to take notes has diminished. I can tell you that the Robert D wine was my favorite. I also enjoyed the 2000 Marquis de Laguiche. A wow wine for me that night. As far as the CdPs, I enjoyed the 2007 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chaupin and the 2007 Domaine Saint Préfert Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Auguste Favier. Always good to sit close to Brent as well.

Thanks to Cheryl for a great evening. Top notch company, wines, and food. Although the portions were on the smallish side, they were tasty. Too european in size for me. :slight_smile:

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I love the restaurant; Alain is so talented and so friendly. Interesting views on the 07’s; I guess in retrospect I shouldn’t say I’m surprised. At my age, its time to backfill anyway with older vintages of more traditionally styled wines anyway.

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The portion size has been mentioned to Alain. What can you do, he’s French! [wink.gif]
He goes out of his way to get the best and freshest ingredients, which bumps up the costs of the dish, so the protein portion is smaller than the usual American expects.

Lynn, our vegetarian diner, simply got a dish of the farotto that was used in the veal cheek appetizer. It was a pretty lame effort, to be honest. Once again I refer to last week’s Top Chef episode. The worst part is, the kitchen had over a week’s notice to come up with something for her. Thus, FAIL.