2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (6/23/2009)
Since there has been so much reported variability on this wine I keep tabs of the lot number from the foil. This was from one of the supposedly problematic lots L 056 SECK, but it was far from problematic. Nothing roasted or pruney or Zin-like on the nose. No heat. Quite reticent at first, but a 30 minute decant shook that free to release glorious waves of Grenachey goodness. Pure, glorious, well-fruited, yet with fresh, classic CNDP flavors going on. Peppery and vibrant, this was at its best with some rotisserie chicken. I have had some bottles show better, and if anything this is a bit sulky and closed, but I was glad to check in on it for the first time in 18+ months. (94 pts.)
Thanks for the note, Eric. I remember the half bottle we tasted together soon after Bob posted his note.
When tasted blind, the wine was disappointing about a year ago. This is encouraging! (Except I sold mine so I’ll just have to drink yours!) (just kidding!)
Alex, I grew up in Boston and have a lot of ties there (both sisters live there, one in Chestnut Hill and one in West Newton). Dad is in a senior home there. Mom is there half the year. And a lot of my best friends from high school (Belmont Hill) are still there. If you ever get to Craigie Street Bistrot (now Craigie on Main), Chef/owner Tony Maws was one of my best friends in high school.
All that to say, I get to Boston about once a year. Not sure when next, but I will be there at some point.
Hey man, did you read my note? (“I have had some bottles show better, and if anything this is a bit sulky and closed…”)
But for the most part I have only had good bottles.
Wilfred, perhaps the worst bottle I had was one I opened at your place. Zinny and hot, not what I look for in CDP. But that was one of the only ones. I think I have had it 15 times now and uniformly swoon. This note was actually my lowest score for this wine.
Had to open one up, given Eric’s note. Comes out of a half bottle and just pop and pour. This one is another stunning bottle that IMO flirts with perfection. It is a very amazing wine that is so light in body and yet so vibrant with fruit. Gorgeous notes of red fruit intermixed with delicate notes of dried parsley. I will not save anything for tomorrow, I don’t want it to put on weight, just the right level of acidity.
I am having the wine just for sipping and enjoying and Wow. I don’t think that half bottles have a lot # in the punt, so can’t help there. But so far I’ve been lucky to have had only superb examples of CNdP. 98 points.
All of the halves are something like L05DB (demi bottle). Out of 9 halves I have only had one poor bottle and 8 stunners. The juice in half bottles is pinnacle stuff.
Well, half of my 056 SECK bottles were purchased from Grapes, so I figured that perhaps you would leap in.
Look, Eric clearly likes the wine this way, although I see that his score is down to 94 from what used to be more like 99, no? Eric, how does this bottle compare to the best bottle of 03 Clos des Papes you ever opened? After all, 2003 is still pretty recent; one wouldn’t expect a 6 point drop on a wine that legitimately merited 99 points, if it did.
For me, I’ve never had one of the good bottles, but this was partly an issue of being very annoyed about the 12 or so bad ones that I owned and didn’t enjoy at all. For me they were the very definition of what can go wrong with CnDP in a hot, dry vintage. Or perhaps what can go wrong if bottles slow-roast in shipping; hard to know. Ultimately we never seem to really “know” anything in this wine-tasting thing, do we?
I did consider buying 2003 from some other source with a definitely non 056-SECK capsule. But you know what? I didn’t feel like wasting the money. And do consider this: with all the noise over that particular wine, one of the importers could have just sent me a legitimate bottle that would compare well with the 2003 Pegau. That would have silenced me definitively. Never happened, and I suspect that the reason isn’t that the importers didn’t think of it or couldn’t figure out my address at Cornell. More likely they just worried that perhaps Parker would turn out to be right and that perhaps, I just don’t like CnDP with these roasted characteristics. In which case sending me a “good” bottle would just validate my view that perhaps there aren’t any? For this wine in this vintage, I mean?
PS: I don’t mean validate in the sense of “I’m right and you’re wrong.” Just that right now, there is this remaining mystery of whether those of us who didn’t like the wine ever really tried a good bottle. Send us good bottles that we don’t like, and you end up with a more definitive story: tried it, RMP (and Eric) love it, Ken and some others don’t like it. Without being sure what was in the bottles I didn’t like, and similarly for others who share this view of the wine, you get that lingering “what if?”.
Please don’t treat my scores like those from Jay Miller or Robert Parker. I reserve the right to give a wine 75 one day and 95 the next based on my mood or whim. I score based on the pleasure in front of me then and there in the glass. BTW, 99-94 = 5. My highest score has been 98. So that is a 4 point spread in my scores. I just don’t see the controversy. And on that day this most recent bottle was a 94, but as my note indicates I popped and poured with a very brief decant and it seemed pretty closed. I have had unscored bottles (well just one) that showed worse than this one. Mostly though I have been 95+ and loved this wine.
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (6/23/2009)
Since there has been so much reported variability on this wine I keep tabs of the lot number from the foil. This was from one of the supposedly problematic lots L 056 SECK, but it was far from problematic. Nothing roasted or pruney or Zin-like on the nose. No heat. Quite reticent at first, but a 30 minute decant shook that free to release glorious waves of Grenachey goodness. Pure, glorious, well-fruited, yet with fresh, classic CNDP flavors going on. Peppery and vibrant, this was at its best with some rotisserie chicken. I have had some bottles show better, and if anything this is a bit sulky and closed, but I was glad to check in on it for the first time in 18+ months. (94 pts.)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/23/2007) L 056SECK. After tasting so much Clos des Papes earlier this week, I was revved up and itching for some more. Alas, the other day I opened a 2001, and it was corked. So tonight I popped a 2003 … which was so heinously corked it was SCARY! Not to be deterred, I went back to the well one more time for another 2003. This one had a poor looking cork which broke in half as I tried to remove it. I was worried, since another bottle from the same case earlier this week was oxidized due to a split in the cork. If you’re keeping score, the first two bottles from the case were flawed with #3 looking tentative. Fortunately the dry cork was a red herring. The wine was strong, young, reticent, but with a stunningly plush and deep mid-palate. Aromatically this bottle was holding back a lot, but the depth of intensity. Mmm, sweet cherry, raspberry, garrigue, white pepper, this stuff just rocks with such purity and focus. DAY 3: Alas, I had one glass left which I simply corked up and left on the counter, but I didn’t get to it on day 2. Today I decided to see if it was still alive. Nose shows some more action now, a little pruney and roasted but not unappealing. The palate, wow the palate, this is very structured both with tannins and acid. Mmm, the waves of garrigue come at you, very classic flavors now, a little more crunchy and Grenachey than on day 1. I am amazed this is not only alive but in fact improved.
I have little fear about these L 056SECK bottles … simply bad luck with corks on the first two. (96 pts.)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/20/2007) Clos des Papes Shootout (Seattle, WA): L 054 JUNG. Mmm, some funk/bretty notes, spice, a great nose, really ripe. Wow, this is great stuff! Stupendous wine that has it all with an extra oomph, very dynamic, vibrant, white pepper, funk, power and vibrancy. I incorrectly guessed this as the 2005, and no taster picked it as a 2003. Hands down the favorite wine for each taster. (97 pts.)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/20/2007) Clos des Papes Shootout (Seattle, WA): L 057 CLOS. Rather mute at first with notes of iron and rust dominating for quite a while. Eventually this starts to yield spicier notes on the nose that struck me as a bit more Zinfandel than Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Wow, big disconnect between palate and nose, super zippy, vibrant, intense, this is CRAZY. This just pounces all over you, very tight relative to the rest of the wines, but after 75+ minutes it really started to open up. In the end my notes were pretty simple: “This rocks!” Amazing minerality and spice on the finish. All four tasters correctly picked this as a 2003. 95+ points for me and gaining very rapidly after a slow start. (95 pts.)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/20/2007) Clos des Papes Shootout (Seattle, WA): L 056 SECK. Hoohah, fun and reasonably expressive nose right from the get go! Bramble and funky-dunky Grenache pop right of the glass. Definitely smells more ‘dense’ as it airs with string notes of raspberry jam and a definite overripe element on the end of the nose. Mmm, this is weighty and spicy with super vibrancy, white pepper, dynamic, intense, very nice! Wowza, there is LOTS of minerality on the finish with tooth-gripping structure, on the verge of ‘uncivilized’ at this stage and definitely almost over the top. Every taster correctly picked this as a 2003, and given some of the complaints of the vintage and wine, this was most in that neighborhood. Despite that, I had this at 93 in my book. Around the time we were comparing notes (but before we had unbagged) I started to notice a increasingly troubling edge of volatile acidity on the nose. At this point I recalled that one of the 2003’s had an unusual cork with a vein/split running 1/4 of the way up the bottom end of the cork on one side (and wet into the middle of the cork). Right then and there upon smelling the faint whiff of VA I showed the group the cork and bet that when unveiled that this would in fact be a 2003 AND the bottle from whence that defective enclosure had been removed. I further postulated that the VA was a sign of some oxidation and that it was an enclosure issue. Who knows if my theory was correct, but when we unbagged later I was indeed correct in identifying the bottle. I am rating this as NR since I think it was flawed as a result of a poor cork. That said, my notes clearly show that I enjoyed the wine a lot for the first 60-75 minutes. By the way, all four tasters correctly guessed this as a 2003. NR (flawed)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/12/2006) Passover seder (Seattle, WA): Wow, yet another note, yet another stunner. I finished up a long couple of days of cooking for Passover seder and just needed something special to curl up with once I finished cooking and cleaning. Wow, this is just so pure and explosive, a huge Grenache bomb. Loads of cherry greet you at first, and this wine seems to be tightening up and become more elegant and well defined than it was just 9 months ago. With 15 minutes this really starts to pop with loads of dried herbs and white pepper. Very powerful and intense, almost a little too brash and intense right now, as this does show a bit of raspiness. (96 pts.)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (1/3/2006) Flanken and Châteauneuf-du-Pape!!! (Seattle, WA): Tasted from 375ml. Wow, this was the best bottle of this I have tasted yet in 6 tries now. I simply cannot understand how people can call this roasted or raisined. It is some of the most exotic, spicy, complex, intense yet gloriously lithe Grenache I have ever tasted. The wine had a little alcohol showing on the nose when we first popped it, but this was quickly integrated. Loads of white pepper, cherries, licorice, and spicebox explode from the glass. In the mouth this stuff is breathtaking, as it literally fills every last corner of your mouth with flavors that build in intensity, loads of fresh cherry, pine more pepper, the whole spicebox is in there. Yet there is just no heaviness to this wine, and rather it finishes out gorgeously dry, youthfully tannic, yet so in balance. I am really, really a big fan of this wine! (98 pts.)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (8/11/2005) Pre-Parker warmup dinner at Citronelle… (Georgetown, USA): We revisited this after dinner. Wow, I can’t believe how much this opened in a few hours. This is simply unreal and deep, a testament to the vintage. Lovely as it is, the 2001 seems like a lightweight by comparison to this beast!
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (8/11/2005) Pre-Parker warmup dinner at Citronelle… (Georgetown, USA): OMFG, this wine just does not quit. I need to stop with this already (my third bottle in a week, hoohah!!!). Raspberry jam and some heat moving to white pepper, deeply tannic, wow, what structure! The extraction, intensity and depth relative to the 2001 are just dramatically deeper. Wow!
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (8/8/2005) Dinner at Cru (New York, NY): When we first popped the 375ml there was indeed some heat on the nose, but within 5 minutes this was integrated. The nose is dusky, almost forbidding with some hints of leather but not giving away much right now. The palate was initially sweeter than I recall with intense, almost jammy raspberry. However, after 10 minutes the spicey, dried herbs and white pepper are exploding in the mouth. This is very tannic, but the fruit and extract already make it surpisingly approachable. Wow, this is lovely albeit much more monolithic than the 375ml the other evening (which I sipped at slowly from a decanter for 3+ hours). I let the glass sit for an hour and if anything the wine shut down a fair bit but did show lovely elegance and balance. This stuff is the real deal. I need to hide more of my bottles away and soon! (95 pts.)
2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (8/4/2005)
Tasted from 375ml which I nicknamed as a ‘Pape-let’. Oh my, this was lovely and extremely reminiscent of the 2003 Pegau I tasted from fermenter last July. The nose is loaded with soaring notes of kirsch, white pepper and pine needles, yet beneath this are some more dusky scents of beef blood and mineral. The wine explodes onto your palate with wave after wave of spicy and rambunctious Grenache, loads of dried herbs, white pepper, laser-focused notes of cherry and raspberry, sort of like a Clarendon Grenache yet so much more intense, spicy, lighter and more alive. There is surprising grip and verve to this young dynamo of a wine, and as intense as the flavor profile is there is just nothing heavy or cloying here, not too much heat (but this is clearly very ripe). Is this what the 1989 Beaucastel might have tasted like on release? Wow, fun young wine, spicy, spicy, spicy!!! (97 pts.)
10~15 years from vintage for us Brits to begin drinking from a ‘good’ vintage/house of Chateauneuf, save the odd bottle. Good for Eric (and others) to drink a case & report. I’m still letting my 01~07 slumber while you lot drink & report! The 2003 vintage will turn out to be stunning!
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The 2003 vintage will turn out to be stunning!