TN: 1999 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape

WINE TALK
1

1999 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Immediately upon opening the nose was floral and perfumed. A very pleasant nose and I was hopeful it was a preview of what was to come. Upon tasting, I noticed that the wine was quite integrated. All characteristics seemed to flow in concert with each other. The mid palate was somewhat muted, but I attribute this mostly to my tastes in more bolder wines. The finish was considerable and lasted about 30 seconds.The wine paired with Peking Duck and I thought it was a perfect compliment. This wine delivers if you are a Cdp lover. If you prefer wines with a more fruit forward style, this might not be your cup of tea. I thoroughly enjoyed it and while this wine most likely would not stand up to a nice steak, it complimented the duck very well and was quite enjoyable. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED A+

2

I had a few bottles of this and finished my last in November of last year, but never really had an experience like yours. I’m not the guy who wants a ‘fruit-forward’ wine, particularly CdP, but this one to me seemed a bit one-dimensional each time I had it.

Here’s my last TN on it, posted here: TN: 1999 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape) - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

3

I bought 6 bottles of this crap and gave the last 2 away to zombies.
Different strokes I guess. [bleh.gif] [barf.gif]

4

Todd, read your note with interest and personally, my opinion of most Cdp is exactly as you describe. I don’t find it overly complex and a rather easy drinking wine. Did I say it was “fruit forward”? I hope that is not what you got from my note, because it was not fruit forward at all. I wouldn’t say the wine was crap, it is what it is…Cdp… I have also heard about bottle variation from others, so really it could come down to each bottle having its own characteristics…which in all honesty…sucks.

As for WOTY for WS…goes to show that their picks lack credibility (in my opinion).

I guess for Cdp, I set my expectations appropriately and usually I don’t get too disappointed. It is a very small percentage of my cellar overall (very VERY small).

Oh…and I do like fruit forward wines :slight_smile: very much so . But I also love the backwards wines as well, to me , each is different. I would get very bored drinking the same styled wines every day.

5

Serge I have been drinking great CDP since the 80’s. I still have hundreds of bottles. I actually bought this wine at Costco the day WS gave it the uno. Their most laughable choice ever. Just open up any good standard CDP and it will blow this dreck away.

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I wouldn’t call it dreck, Jack. I think thats a bit overboard, but I respect your opinion of course. I would have to say the most laughable WOTY for WS was the 2001 Casanova Di Neri . I had it multiple times, rather ordinary and I would take a Valdicava anyday of the week. I still have one or two of the Casanova Di Neri’s and will try to sell it. At least the Paloma Merlot that won one year was a rather good effort and enjoyable…but I sold those as well because they were going for crazy money and I am not a huge merlot lover.

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[dance-clap.gif] Alan I was at a WS Numero Uno Offline a couple of years ago and the 2001 Casanova Di Neri came in second in laughable choices, but not by a nose more like 2 lengths. [wink.gif]

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[winner.gif] So what were your thoughts on 2002 Insignia…for me, I loved it for it’s aging potential and I know at about 2012 or more , it will be a good wine, right now it is rather oaky for me. I have some Telegraph I will spring on Serge to bring him over to the dark side…lol. For me , Cdp has to be paired with the right food…at least for me. I wouldn’t drink it at a wine and cheese party,although I know others who do that relatively frequently.