I know - I can take much more of this. I’m thinking of moving them to a private forum where they can be gentlemanly in private and not influence the Berserkers
Sorry about the gentlemanliness and mutual respect thing here Guys. I guess that’s just the way Gordon and I roll.
Finally got around to entering my notes from the same tasting. Richard’s notes are so much better than mine 
2007 CHATEAUNEUF TASTING AT BELTRAMOS - (11/9/2009)
Quite a nice event, with a great representation of CdPs from 2007. Pretty easy to pick out the wines Parker would rate most highly, though he also rated my favorite highly as well.
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2007 Domaine Giraud Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Medium dark color, big, slightly ripe, fairly modern, touch of spice and some bitterness on the finish. Decent but uninteresting. (87 pts.) -
2007 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nice, medium red fruit, fairly forward, missing a bit of acidity for balance. (91 pts.) -
2007 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very clean and crisp, beautiful depth, mineral, great balance, love the low oak profile that gives this some edge, instead of rounding and blunting the fruit. (93 pts.) -
2007 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Medium body, decent fruit depth, touch spicy/hot, medium finish, nothing to grab your attention at this stage. (90 pts.) -
2007 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Medium body, terrific nose of crushed berries, garrique, lavendar perfume, spice; palate is amazing - not in a big, grab you by the throat sense, but in its depth, intensity and complexity. Great intensity on entry, then spice and herb complexities, and a long finish. Candidate for wine of the vintage. I later tasted this side by side with the 05, and this showed much better, less heat, better overall balance than the 05. (95 pts.) -
2007 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very nice spicy fruit, but for my tastes the wood treatment overpowers the fruit, imparts too much wood spice, blunts the fruit and takes away too much freshness. (89 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Touch skunky on the nose, but there is nice darker fruit, good balance, nice wine. (91 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very nice dark, complex fruit, but the wood is fairly obvious here. A little less oak and this wine would be very good. (91 pts.) -
2007 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Dark garnet, big, deep, rich, spice, bit too large and modern, showing some obvious oak. (90 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nice medium depth, some spice, decent finish, showing bit of wood. (90 pts.) -
2007 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Safres - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nice medium body, good depth, bright, lush, good balance. Very nice. (92 pts.) -
2007 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Darker than the Safres, big, rich, deep, lush, slightly ripe, sweeter finish, some spice. An example of “too much of a good thing”, here’s a case where making a single wine would almost certainly be better overall than dividing into smaller cuvees. (91 pts.) -
2007 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Medium body, bright red fruit, slightly woody, with fair amount of wood spice. Another argument for just making a single blend wine, instead of treating this as a unique cuvee. (91 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Slightly ripe nose, big, deep, lush, cali-like. 50/50 syrah/grenache. Decent wine, but I can buy wines like this from California. (91 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Juline - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
50/50 syrah/grenache. A slight chemical aroma on the nose, can’t place it. nice deep fruit, darker flavors, good balance. Would not guess CdP, but decent wine. (91 pts.) -
2007 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very nice medium dark red fruit, nice complexities, good balance. This is a great CdP, showing some real character in the vintage. (93 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Decent medium red fruit, quite forward, OK balance, Ok but uninteresting. (89 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Etienne Gonnet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Medium body, very nice darker red fruits, some complexities, good finish. (92 pts.) -
2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Gorgeous dark, intense red fruit, medium/full bodied, earth, spice, anise, garrique, this has it all. A potential 89 in the making? This anchors the other end of the spectrum from the more feminine, elegant, but equally complex Vieux Telegraphe in the vintage. (95 pts.) -
2007 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Signature - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
~65/20/10 grenache/mourvedre/syrah. Big, dark, rich, lush. slightly ripe, cali-like, but very enjoyable. (92 pts.) -
2007 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Fiancée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
50/50 Grenache/Syrah, big, deep, dark, spicy fruit, rich, medium ripe, would be hard pressed to tell this in a Cali lineup, but fun to drink. (91 pts.) -
2007 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Pure - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Old Vine Grenache. Dominant VA on the nose, some ethyl acetate, quite ripe, sweet, over the top, lacking any CdP character. Doesn’t have that 2003 roasted character, just far too ripe. (88 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Nice notes. Thanks for the update.
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to post.
But I am puzzled.
I counted 24 wines, but the point spread only goes from 90 to 94.
What conclusions should one draw? That there was little variation?
Best regards,
Alex R.
I have always liked Vieux Telegraphe, but I am having a hard time buying it at teh high price it is being offered for. I am used to paying around $30 for it.
Bob, you’ll never see $30 again, get over it 
Believe me, I’m with you on this, but those were the bargain prices of the day, when the region was less popular and the dollar stronger. If you bought this on prearrival it was $55, not so bad, and well worth it in today’s crazy wine world.
Alex,
They were all solid CdPs from a solid vintage. What are you expecting for a point spread in that case? That’s only points, which is my estimate of where they stand on the quality scale in terms of complexity, purity, taste experience and the like. For the variation in flavor profile, noses and the like, I would direct you to the text of the note itself.
FWIW, Alan above has a larger point spread, between 87 and 95.
–Richard
I generally seem to have a couple more points range than Richard, but we both just call em like we see em. Frankly, I’d like to downgrade some of the OTT wines even more, but I’m already doing that relative to most reviewers.