Brunel 1995 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cailloux “Cuvée Centenaire” (Rhône) – Meat liqueur heavy on the salt. Youngish in a way, still showing blackberry amidst its more mature, meat-jerky stew components, but it’s fairly solid and unexpressive. And is that a remnant of vanilla? I wish I liked this more. (5/10)
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châteauneuf-du-pape
My belle
Michel “Domaine de la Charbonnière” 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes” (Rhône) – Corked. (5/10)
Donjonson
Lucien “Le Vieux Donjon” 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Smells like a Burgundy, tastes like a Rhône…but something more northerly, perhaps Côte-Rôtie, in its elegance and restraint. And it’s still very primary tannic and tight, albeit from a glacial cellar; more typical cellaring environments might lead to different results. It’s full of suggestions, gestures, and hints, with a peacock tail of aromas just waiting to burst forth. Classy and portending beauty. (3/10)
Pégaulantern
Féraud “Domaine du Pégau” 1994 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Réservée” (Rhône) – From a very cold cellar, so read what follows in that context. Rounding into form, but not yet done describing that arc. Classic earth, underbrush, meat, and antique funk – heavy on the meat, with just a little bit of stink; only the truly brett-averse will cavil – in a somewhat heavy-handed but not leaden package. The weight of the hand comes from an overabundance of structure, and I don’t know that the wine’s other elements will outlast that structure. But it’s enjoyable enough to drink now, so if this is an anxiety, why wait? Otherwise…wait. Not too long. (1/10)
Sean John Donjon
Lucien “Le Vieux Donjon” 1994 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – From a very cold cellar, so read what follows in that context. This is very difficult, with still-sludgy tannin and a concentrated, reductive, nearly impenetrable density. There would seem to be a great deal of iron, blood, and compacted earth within, and the wine’s very long on the finish, but there’s also a glossy sheen to the exterior that I don’t care for at all. Judgment completely reserved. (1/10)
Stuck in my Crau
Domaine du Père Pape “La Crau de Ma Mère” 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Dirty meat, sticky and supple, but with still-intrusive structure. Someone’s rammed peppercorns into well-ridden saddle, as well, and maybe there are a few wads of that grenachy bubblegum stuck between the leather than the horse. Ready? No, not precisely, though I don’t know it’s going to get better…note, however, that this is from a very cold cellar; normally-matured bottles may show more advancement. (8/09)
Marcoux plotters
Armenier “Domaine de Marcoux” 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Vieilles Vignes” (Rhône) – An explosion, but the shrapnel’s a quilt and it takes place inside the warm snuggles of a down comforter. Dark fruit, lush and supple, is just teetering over towards a meatier stage, and there’s plenty of rich, fertile black earth underneath, with the occasional morel in evidence. However, a stylistic warning: there’s also a soft, pillowy layer of vanilla and dusted chocolate, which soften and modernize the otherwise beautifully-supplied wine into something a little more anonymous than I’d like. It’s a fabulous wine, no doubt, but it would be better without the makeup. (4/09)
Bosquet of flowers
Boiron “Bosquet des Papes” 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Smoked bacon liqueur (aside: why hasn’t anyone made such a thing? I’d buy it). Porcine. Pretty straightforward aged CdP; this might have an upside, and it certainly doesn’t seem to be weakening in any way, but right now it’s a rather large but uncomplex portion of the pig. That’s never bad. (3/09)
Nerthe-do-well
Château la Nerthe 1996 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Corked. (2/09)
…and The Edge
Bonneau 1988 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Réserve des Célestins” (Rhône) – Like drowning in a zero-gravity sea of satin, this wine seduces and entices but never grounds itself, preferring to float and writhe. There’s hickory, fermented roots, a bit of that 70s-style coconut tanning oil mixed with a supermodel’s extremely sexy perspiration (visualize it, don’t analyze it), and a lot of soft, incredibly delicious fruit from the reddish-pink realm. And there’s tannin in the graphitic style, like that of a top Bordeaux in the early days of its maturity, that rumbles along the palate, resetting and refreshing, before another sleepy-time wave of silk. The caveat, perhaps, is that it’s perhaps all a bit easy; the appeal of the wine is purely reactive and animalistic, without much of an intellectual component. Still, what a beautiful wine…still years from full maturity, but absolutely compelling now. (10/08)