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2005 Domaine Olivier Hillaire Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (2/6/2010)
– decanted for 3 hours before tasting –
– tasted non-blind over 45 minutes –
NOSE: cherry with hints of raspberry; violets; tobacco and celery. Pretty, and not overblown or alcoholic.
BODY: garnet color of medium-light depth; the wine has thrown a small amount of sediment (maybe a tsp.); medium bodied.
TASTE: well-balanced; no alcohol taste; fruits are rather light/feminine for a CdP, but not light in a watery way … moreso light in a not uber-ripe kind of manner; hints of baking spice and cigar wrapper. Very nice; imo, better than the reviews indicating this is a boring CdP; certainly, this is on the lighter side of CdP, but I find it very engaging and interesting (and easy) to drink. Probably not a long ager, but this is still primary and has the goods to improve with additional bottle age. If I were trying to bridge the gap between Pinot Noir and CdP, I would serve this. Gut impression score: 90-92
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