Clos du Mont Olivet Chateauneuf Vertical (9 vintages)

WINE TALK
1

Last night we had a very interesting tasting at Bistro 7 in Philly. The food was terrific as always. Michael O’Halloran does a great job. Robert Panzer poured a nine vintage vertical of the regular cuvee of Clos du Mont Olivet. The wines were served youngest to oldest. The vintages were 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2001. My impressions were that all of these wines were remarkably harmonious and smooth regardless of vintage. That being said there were marked differences in the wines based on vintage influence.

2010- Lovely aromatics, sweet grenache red cherry fruit, kirsch, garrigue, provencal herbs and minerality. A bit of alcohol was sticking out at the back, but no worries, it will integrate with a bit more bottle age. 94

2009- Big, rich and round. More full than the '10 in the mid palate. Didn’t seem to be quite as complex as the '10. 92

2008- Really drinking well now for this lighter vintage. Really interesting aromas of garrigue and herbs. A wine for burgundy lovers. Fresh, well made and tasty. 90

2007- Very big. Along the same lines as the 2009 except maybe a bit grander in scale. 93

2006- The verve and tension in this wine from its higher acidity makes it very interesting and another burgundy lover’s type of wine. Some liked this wine best. 92

2005 Still a tannic beast with lots of grip, but I loved it. Others not so much. 92

2004- This vintage has an interesting sweetness to the grenache in a very smooth way that makes it very interesting. Has similarities to the 2004 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras Reserve that I love. 93

2003- A real success for a scorching hot vintage. This actually has lower alcohol than the 2007, 2009 or 2010. Drinking well now and quite good, but not as the same level for me as some of the other wines. 90

2001- WOTN for me. Showing secondary and some tertiary characteristics. Really long finish. 95

These wines all have the same fruit and garrigue profile with the differences between vintages being represented by varying aromatics, tannic influence and acidity. You can tell they are all cut from the same cloth, but yet there is interesting vintage differences. These wines represent really attractive QPR.

I would say that RPs ratings on these wines were too low. The 2001 only got 87 points back in the day. It is a much better wine now. As always YMMV.

Byron

2

Nice notes Byron.

Mont Olivet is the last Rhone producer that I bought on a regular basis so I have many of these wines.

Appreciate the insights.

3

My personal favorite Châteauneuf producer, since I first tasted the 1988 many moons ago. Thierry Sabon has made a good thing even better since he took over around 2001. Even the 2002 was a very good wine.

Thanks for the notes.

http://chateauneufdupape.ch/en/chateau/clos-du-mont-olivet/

4

Love their CDR as well-ageworthy

5

Great job. I had a glass of 2004 last night that is drinking oh so well. Thanks for this nice vertical.
Too bad you can no longer buy this for $20 any more.

6

Sounds like a delicious and educational tasting, Byron. Thanks for posting the notes. I haven’t purchased any Mont Olivet for a few years (first exposure was to the '98), for no particular reason, but will make a point to rectify that.

Best,
Andy

7

One of my personal favorites (along with older Donjon). They make some delicious Cotes du Rhone as well, and it’s cheap!

The 1999 Olivet CNdP was drinking like a dream a few months ago.

8

Thanks for the notes.

[quote=“David M. Bueker”]One of my personal favorites (along with older Donjon). They make some delicious Cotes du Rhone as well, and it’s cheap!

+1

9

" This wine virtually always delivers the most bang for the buck of any Chateauneuf tete de cuvee and this vintage (2009) continues that streak."
Josh Raynolds, IWC

10

Byron, thanks for the notes. I wanted to attend but couldn’t make it. I’ll have to open a few of these soon. I agree with the others on this producer’s CdR’s and Donjon.

11

Thanks, Byron! I had the '10 a few months ago. Agree with your TN, except that I didn’t notice any heat. A very nice wine!

12

While that may be true, considering the price some of the other luxury cuvées command, I see no reason to spend extra for the Cuvée du Papet. To my palate, it’s different from but not better than the regular cuvée.

13

For me, the real take home message from this tasting is that you don’t need to buy the tete du cuvees. You buy them for fun and ego, but for everyday great drinking, it is hard to beat many of the regular cuvees from CdP. They typically see no new oak, which you don’t need in CdP anyway and the price is a lot less.

14

For those interested, I also have a 10 year vertical of the Papet on deck! I didn’t want to pour them all (Cuvee S (as the “entry level” is referred to) and Papet) in one sitting, so I am biding my time to choose a time to stage a Papet vertical of:
2010
2009
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2000

If anyone is interested in attending such a tasting in the Philadelphia area, don’t hesitate to contact me. Once we have generated enough interest, we can find a date and get to “work”…

ALSO:
I can restage the Cuvee S vertical, anytime, anyplace. 10-14 tasters minimum…
Interested? Give me a jingle.
:slight_smile:

15

In my best Monty Hall voice, “Come on down!” We love Mont Olivet in Atlanta.

16

Go for what’s in the box, Monty!