Premature oxidation in red CndP - TN: 2003 St. Benoit CndP Grande Garde

WINE TALK
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  • 2003 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Garde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/14/2009)
    This bottle was starting to oxidize just a bit, which is ridiculous, but the flavor was not bad and overall I enjoyed the wine. I think the cork was not the best because it imploded into the bottle when I tried to use an Ah So. On the palate, there was raspberry, cherry, and a spicy herbal component with a bit of sherry oxidation. You could see it in the color as I decanted because it had an ever so faint orange tint to it. I do not know what the alcohol level was, but it did seem to hit me more than other similar wines, so I would guess it was on the high side. I have more bottles of this ($19.99 at WL 4 years ago) and I will try another soon. I hope this was a fluke because I think that if there were no oxidation, this would rate about 89 points, but if it is dying after 6 years, I will be annoyed. (84 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Try an 03 Fortia Cuvee Baron if you want real disappointment.

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The irony of it is that the cuvée name means “built for long aging”…

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I opened a 2003 Ch. de la Gardine at a friends house yesterday while we watched the football games. It was absolutely delicious. I haven’t had too many '03s lately, but I haven’t seen any indication that this is a wide spread problem.