With a wine theme of Chateauneuf du Pape, our lunch group continued to experience another stellar lunch with the menu shown below. And the following wines with the lineup photo below.
First flight of 3:
1990 DOMAINE du PEGAU CDP- double decanted for 2 hours; dark purple still youthful color; from the nose on, it just exudes brilliance; its seamless and perfectly balanced; in a real good place now and promising to be around for a lot more time; the spicy fruit profile carries on into a long finish; all is delivered in a soft and smooth texture; a great start and Im already thinking WOTD.
1994 DOMAINE du PEGAU CDP- this was an entirely different animal than the 90`; the fruit is on the wild side with red cherry being the dominant flavor; with a strong tannic backbone, this hit the astringent factor about mid palate and overwhelmed the fruitiness that just could peak through.
1989 DOMAINE de MARCOUX CDP- theres some perceivable 4- ethylphenol Brettanomyces early on in the nose; stiff tannins, fruit reduction and a somewhat dusty, earthy finish; Im left with the ides of what this wine could have been.
Next flight of 3:
1994 CHATEAU de BEAUCASTEL CDP- the first of 2 bottles; this was stood up for hours and opened two hours before serving, but not decanted; some viable red and black fruit notes sing out with much delight; this is charming and not real serious; being the last of many bottles in my cellar, it did not have any perceivable Brett which to me states it was below my olfactory threshold because all previously bottles clearly had it; it threw a lot of sediment which begged for proper decanting; lesson learned- do it.
1994 CHATEAU de BEAUCASTEL CDP- little to compare between these 94s; I believe this was decanted 2 hours prior; and as with the first one, I did not detect any Brett; I liked the balance and gentleness across the palate; theres nice fruitiness; both showed well, but different with the first bottle maybe a touch more complex.
1998 CHATEAU de BEAUCASTEL CDP- from the excellent 98` vintage, this shined nicely; medium bodied, silky smooth and mild fruitiness make for a pleasant journey from the nose through the finish.
Next flight of 3:
2005 CHATEAU de BEAUCASTEL CDP- as we move into younger vintages of Beaucastel, the expected more fruit forwardness stands out; this had a full on assortment of pleasant flavors and has the structure to hang out for a long time and mature into a beauty; even though way young, it gives up a lot of treasures now.
2004 CHATEAU de BEAUCASTEL CDP- even though young, it`s already in a good place; nicely balanced, this gem is really shinning and offers shear joy in all of the right areas with complexity, depth and length prevailing.
2007 CHATEAU de BEAUCASTEL CDP- very concentrated coffee and spicy black cherry notes coming in early on and lasting throughout; theres some indication this is the way young version of a wine, that I predict, will be more than very good; lots of complexity with a massive statement carried over the palate; a small taste goes a long way; as good of a Beaucastel as I can remember in an infant stage and the 90 is on my mind.
Next flight of 2:
2007 CLOS des PAPES CDP- this just took off and sailed right on past all the other wines to this point with perhaps the exception of the 90 Pegau with age in its favor; predominantly Grenache and Mourvedre, theres an abundance of licorice and chocolate flavored red, black and blueberry showing up in a deep dark rich purple color and is transported with a pleasing mouthfeel that invites more sensory gratification; all of the superlatives Ive used before apply here; theres immense power, complexity and structure and yet some elegance to beg the thought of the iron fist in a velvet glove analogy; magnificent wine and just building for the maturing encore.
2003 CLOS des PAPES CDP- after the 07`, I was anticipating a lot from this one from a very good vintage, but found it to be quite Bretty in the nose followed by a seriously good fruit profile which was overshadowed for me by the Brett; I suspect this could have been a real winner as a few others commented had been their previous experience; the Brett pick up was nearly unanimous at my side of the table and I did not utter the flaw word.
Next flight of 1:
2001 DOMAINE de la JANASSE CDP- firm tannins stood out here along with a tasty fruitiness that covered an array of flavors with a touch of coffee, chocolate and licorice topping it off; I loved the balance and theres no doubt, its built for the long run.
Next flight of 4:
2007 LES CLEFS dOR LES CRAUS CENTENAIRES CDP- 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah; well, theres some barnyard in the nose and at the end, but not to the extent of covering up the nice fresh floral and red fruit character that has a touch of cola along for the ride; firm tannins also come into play.
2006 DOMAINE de la VIELLE JULIENNE CDP- a very interesting wine; seemingly different from those before it; the fruit is a mix of many possibilities and certainly on the wild side; Im not sure whether it is in a somewhat closed state or starting to open as it seemed to be in the middle of the road in that it had a medium body and weight, medium fruit expression and with medium length, Im thinking this might be enhanced by decanting if one is to open now, but a better idea is to wait for a few years.
2010 DOMAINE de MARCOUX CDP- this youngster is the wine that begs the answer to the question, “where will this be in 20 years”; the nose is redolent with nice spicy chocolate flavored black and red berries which continue on and by mid palate come together and hit all of the right places; it has some minerality and a good mouthfeel; the finish was somewhat hot; I failed to get the alcohol content; it is made mostly of Grenache and Mourvedre.
2010 CHATEAU SIXTINE CDP- another youngster with star power potential; the inky dark purple color supports the idea of something intense and serious; there`s quite pleasant black cherry/ berry that has some vanilla and woody oak influence not yet integrated; it comes off soft and lush on the palate and has a long finish carrying the richness all the way to the back end.
Dessert wine:
1976 SCHLOSS-BAUER TBA RULANDER- our prince of sweets graced us again with another dessert in a glass delight; this is my new go to pancake/ waffle topping with its splendid maple syrup flavors and texture; even the color is maple; there`s a bit of toasted almond showing up; a little sip will do ya just fine.
When it was all said and done, all of us left with an aura of pure pleasure surrounding us and gleaming smiles on our faces. We just had an experience.
Cheers,
Blake
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