“port-like” is a deal killer for me for ANY type of wine (other than Port of course)
There are people who don’t like Pegau for just this reason, and it’s a perfectly reasonable one to me. I was merely saying that if you didn’t find 00, 01, 03,06, etc. port-like, you probably won’t find the 16 port-like. If you did, you probably don’t need to bother with reviews of vintages. You won’t like the wine. And since is the CdP bashing thread, you would be in the right place.
My tastes have changed a bit since when I was buying a lot of these CdP’s, so will have to go through and revisit some of them. Though I didn’t like very many 2003 for the most part, and I don’t recall 2000 being anything like it, and 2001 was big sure, but much more structured. 2006/07 was the tail end of my CdP buying period and frankly I don’t remember tasting them much at all- just bought a couple of my usual labels and tossed them in racks.
Coincidentally, I put on a small Chateauneuf tasting for Tom Hill’s BBB group a little less than a week ago (the same tasting where Tom wrote up the 2002 Neyers Cuvee d’Honneur and the 2001 Edmunds St. John Bassetti syrahs – added to the tasting so Tom would have something to cheer for).
The only Chateauneuf that fit the standard plummy-overripe-super-alcoholic theme was, surprisingly, the Charvin '07. I think of Charvin as a model of discretion, but this wine was pretty much undrinkable. (I poured the dregs of each wine into a glass after decanting them, and even the dregs of all the wines combined smelled like the super-alcoholic liqueur-like Charvin!) Very overripe, but not even Port-like – Port shows a lighter touch!
The best of the Chateauneufs were the '01 Vieux Donjon (my favorite of the tasting, along with the Neyers Cuvee d’Honneur) and the '95 Pegau. The '07 Vieux Telegraphe wasn’t alcoholically defective, like the Charvin, but it seemed quite young and not offering up very much.
A surprise mystery wine was a Burge Shiraz-Grenache 2002 from Australia, which was quite yummy, not too oaky, and the only wine to hold up after opening for four days. I’m not known to love Australian wines all that much, but this one was quite good.
To say I was disappointed by the '07 Charvin would be a major understatement. Don’t know what happened there. And I re-read all the reviews, from Dunnuck and whoever was writing for Tanzer, and no mention of excess alcohol.
Is it now fashionable to hate on CdP? I missed that memo. And, it’s a pretty dumb memo, if it exists.
I have sorted out that i like CdP young and middle aged, not old…with exception of older Rayas.
So glad I found this thread. I bought 2 bottles of Charvin 2019, opened one last year and it was just way too sweet for me. This year I bought 3 bottles of Kirkland 2020 and seemed very broadly similar to the Charvin. There are some interesting notes to it, but just far too sweet overall which really detracts from the whole experience for me.
I am placing CdP on my do not buy list until further notice.
And Charvin is actually pretty reserved. Go buy some Clos St Jean for that perfect vomit in mouth experience.
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