TN: 2001 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine

WINE TALK
#1
  • 2001 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (6/18/2011)
    I continue to be disappointed by this wine. It had so much promise in its youth, but time has not been kind to it. It still seems over-extracted and shrill to me. It lacks typicity for me. It, a little like the Usseglio from a few nights before, seems “modern” in style and devoid of the smells and flavors of CdP. No kirsch, no garrigue, no earth, no brett…just tons of blackberry and licorice (the black kind) which seems too one-dimensional. It is definitely still a good wine, but it isn’t a great wine or great CdP/example of its appellation.

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#2

You nailed it. And not just from the 2001 vintage either. I’ve been extremely disappointed with the Sixtine as well. Could be from anywhere, the Douro, Australia, California, Priorat…

#3

Ditto for me. Picked up a few bottles each of the '98 and '99 on release. To be kind, they didn’t wow me. Definitely modern-could-be-from-anywhere wines. The best of the lot, the first bottle consumed of the '99, was pretty good, but it was all downhill after that. I also used the “shrill” descriptor for the last bottle of the '98.

#4

Shockingly, the 2000 Sixtine is really a very fine wine. Note to be posted later.