A few of us decided to get together on a cold week night for some beef and CDP. I arrived and the 99 Mon Aieul was already in the decanter getting some needed air, next went the beaucastel and the olivet was a pop and pour.
99 Mon Aieul- Probably my favorite out of the three at this stage. Lovely nose of pomegrantie, fresh strawberries and raspberries. A nice touch of crushed rocks, lavender and creamy oak. Medium body with most of the tannins being fully integrated. Nice acid which kept the wine very fresh and lively. I was surprised at how light this was in comparison to the others. It was still a real treat and is drinking great right now. Not sure if it will get better but I wouldn’t hesitate to open another.
00 Beaucastel - Popped and right into the decanter. Rather tight even after a little bit of air. Hints of black fruits, pepper steak, cedar box and tobacco. Palate was still really tight and not giving up much either, just a bit of fruit, game and creosote. After a few hours of air the wine started to open up a bit more and flesh out. Palate got better, a bit more expansive and the tannins smoothed out also. I think this was weak showing for this, still needs time IMO.
07 Mont Olivet - This was served as a pop and pour. A tad hot right out of the bottle but it cooled down a bit and got better with air. Tons of jammy red fruits on the nose, very modern when compared with the last two wines. Explosive grenache flavors with black pepper and hints of herbs. Palate was really big and stuffed with tons of fruit and spice. Really nice right now and will more than likely get better with time.
03 La Tour Blanche - I have not had this wine in a year or so and it really hasn’t changed since. Still rather primary at the point giving off scents of pineapple, mango and apricot. Nice botrytis flavours but still too young. Pretty standard for the 03 vintage, lacking the acid that I like but still a good wine. Nice and focused with out getting to flabby and sugar like.
The Mon Aieul was hands down my favorite last night. It’ll def. last for quite a few more years, but I wouldn’t hesitate to open more now.
The Beaucastel was a little disappointing to me. Extremely tight. Hold off on these babies for quite a few years if you have them.
I liked the Mont Olivet. Blind, I don’t know that I would have guessed that it was the same type of wine as the previous two. The grenache in that baby was very primal - almost tasted like some upper end Aussie grenaches (two hands aerope comes to mind). I definitely liked it, just not sure a CdP “purist” would.
The La Tour Blanche hit the spot with the hazelnut ice cream. Agreed on the lack of acid. I would have preferred more, but nice non the less.
ZB - I dont know CdP very well, but I believe Mont Olivet is a traditional producer. At least, I think that’s what Vintages mentioned when I bought a few bottles there.
I enjoyed the Aieul and Mont Olivet, agree on the notes - the latter seemed much riper than an 07 Vieux Telegraphe Crau a month ago.
Mailing list ice cream!
Tyler - thanks for the notes, especially on the Beaucastel. About 1 month ago I cracked one for some friends - popped and poured - and our experience was pretty much spot on with yours. It was pretty tight and vowed to lay off for another couple of years.
Pete, I don’t know either (maybe some one will chime in)…I just found it very fruit forward and a tad jammy (i did enjoy it though)
Great notes, as usual, Tyler! Thanks a lot.
Shockingly, I’ve had all four of the wines before. Zach, you’ll recall that I really did not like the 99 Mon Aieul at the oft-cited and notorious New England Aquarium Penguin Pool tasting–I found that bottle to have a metallic edge and a green streak in it that I just couldn’t get past. Obviously, I need to re-taste it some time, as most of my Mon Aieul experiences have been considerably more positive and on par with this set of notes and comments.
The 00 Beaucastel I’ve had in September 2006, January 2007 and March 2008 and each time really enjoyed its fragrant, somewhat lighter and Burgundian styled profile. I know Peter has had less positive experiences since then and it sounds like again it was a bit disappointing last night. It may be that it was an early-drinking wine and it has just gone into a bit of a cinched up period. Either way, great to have the data point.
I tasted the 07 Mont Olivet at a store a while ago and don’t much remember anything specific, but I did have the Cuvee du Papet just a few weeks ago (against 07 Donjon, Telegraphe and several others) and it was definitely the earthiest wine of the whole bunch. So, I think at least that cuvee still seems pretty traditional despite the rich fruit of the vintage.
Your note on the 03 La Tour Blanche pretty much mirrors mine from 2 years ago, so I tend to agree with you that it hasn’t really evolved much at this point. Probably best to hold a while longer, for sure, though I’d be happy to drink some, too!
-Michael
I’ve gone thru more than a case of the 00 Beau and it is drinking very well to me…might be going through a phase. I’m going to pop one in the near future, not having had one in several months.