Tasting held by Michel Siegenthaler, which I hesitate referring to as a trade tasting for the simple reason that he put it together for, as he called it, his “own education”, and because his shop does not have a single one of the following wines for sale.
There were minor changes to the programme: the 2001 Charvin had to be replaced with the 2000, and Monsieur Siegenthaler thought that La Mordorée’s Reine des Bois 2000 would fare better in the context of the other wines than the standard Vieille Julienne 2001.
The tasting was held blind to the very end, with the wines, all of which had been decanted for three and a half to four hours, served one after the other. We were handed tasting sheets, asked to rate them, possibly guess their identity (which, apart from grouping them into the traditional, modern and perhaps semi-modern camp – Beaucastel’s Hommage would seem a typical exponent of the latter – is not easy at all).
There were surprises as to the group’s favourites (although it is hardly surprising in a blind tasting that the more mature wines, inevitably the ones that show what they have got, came out on top), but let me point out what I found most educative: although I continue to feel that Châteauneuf, Grenache in particular, should not be aged in new oak (although only because I do not like it, in particular, what it masks of a wine’s tannin and potential finesse), the barrique-aged wines seem to hold up in bottle as well as traditional-styled ones, and appear to be at least as resistant to oxidation once decanted. But then, Monsieur Siegenthaler had clearly chosen a couple of particularly successful examples of the modern style.
Was interesting to talk to Monsieur Siegenthaler, too. Among other, he is the first wine merchant I heard openly admit that the 2005 CdPs need to be chosen with care, as there are quite many “green ones”. On a side note, he expressed his chagrin over the fact that Henri Bonneau’s 1998 Cuvée Spéciale became an overnight speculative object of unheard-of proportions, apparently after the American importer bought 200 cases (about two thirds of the production?), so that there are now only 1000 bottles left for the whole of the European market. When I opined that maybe he paid top dollar, Monsieur Siegenthaler gave me a stern look and said “No, he paid less!” Oh well... I would be curious to hear what the wine sells for in the U.S.
#1
Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2000
Michel Siegenthaler was forced to replace the 2001 with the, as he claims, “better” 2000 (I do not find this claim so obvious at all). Also, this bottle had just been imported the day before, and clearly appeared to exhibit signs of travel shock. My first hand-scribbled words read “love the style, but where is the fruit?” Not a representative showing, then. Lightly pruney garnet-ruby, medium black hue, large watery rim. A bit animal and garriguey, a little tobacco ash and scorched tree bark, some crystallized as well as meaty Grenachy fruit, cooked strawberry and cherry perhaps with a light Mourvèdre animal fur quality. Good minerality. Slightly dusty-grainy tannin. Hints at fair-enough complexity, but could be denser and fruitier. Not too big or long, albeit showing an attractive smoky aftertaste. All who knew the wine were, like me, rather shocked when its identity was revealed. Rating: 88+
#2
Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reine des Bois 2000
80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah, 5% Counoise, 5% Vaccarèse. From 60-years-old vines. Aged in 50% new oak. Opaque garnet-black, slim ruby-purple-orange at the rim. Distinctly modern-styled wine that someone referred to as “maquillé”, not wholly without reason. Christmas spice box and marzipan new oak to sweet blackcurrant cough drop fruit of impressive density, very chocolatey, thickly smoky-fruity. Not too tarry charcoal touch. Not the expression, depth and finesse I look for in wine, but certainly sizeable, with high alcohol and a warming but not hot finish, big enough and with enough raw material at the core it stands a chance to improve with bottle age. Group’s third, my shared third along with Chapoutier’s 2001 Croix de Bois and 1999 Pignan. Retasted this at the end, a typical trophy cuvée that will please many, perhaps a top wine of the vintage, but a style I am unable to warm up to. New oak and Grenache, oh well... Rating: 92+/93(+?)
#3
Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Croix de Bois 2001
From 80-years-old Grenache vines planted on sand, clay and silt soil underlain by quartz pebbles. Vinified in cement tank, aged in foudres (no new oak here as some people claim!). About 15.5% alcohol. Medium amber-ruby, soft black hue, large watery rim. Quite intriguing, Tokaj-like (yes, the sweet wine from eastern Hungary) nose of nuts, minerals, tobacco, quince and fig, strawberry jam, tangerine rind. Quite viscous and long wine. There is a tiny balsamic aspect that I found weird here, perhaps not quite sewage/brett, though. The group’s (surprise, surprise!) favourite wine of the tasting, which may partly have been due to a majority being convinced it was an Henri Bonneau. I had it on shared third spot together with Mordorée’s 2000 Reine des Bois and the 1999 Pignan, and had no clue what it was (it did seem distinctly traditional-styled). Cannot say I was unaffected by one tendency myself: early-mature wine is difficult to deny in a blind tasting. Rating: ~93
#4
Domaine de la Solitude Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Secrète 2000
Partly aged in new oak 12 months, partly in foudre. A blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache. Opaque purple-black almost to the rim. Modern style no doubt, but no perceptible oak. Faint sulphur here? Faintest horse sweat, big and closed fruit on the nose. Dense fruit on the palate, too, big, has grip and great alcohol integration. Pebbly minerality. Leafy tobacco, touches of violet, soft laurel, faint lavender. Ink/steel/lead note to the soft (almost absent) acidity. Very finely-grained tannin. Long, warming finish. Someone claimed the price escalation here will need to be watched. Perhaps. It has certainly got some of those “hallmarks” of a fashionable trophy cuvée (not necessarily meant in a pejorative sense), the kind of wine I prefer having at a tasting than on its own. Does that mean one should hurry and get some before that happens? While I found the quality undeniable (shared second on my score sheet together with Bonneau’s 2000 Célestins!), I could not make up my mind about the style. In dubio pro reo... Rating: 93+/94?
#5
Henri Bonneau Vin de Table de France Les Rouliers L 01.06-02/03
Officially, of course, VdT is non-vintage. However, the way I read this lot number, it seems to me a blend of 2002 and 2003 that was bottled in January 2006 (Michel Siegenthaler interprets the label the same way). Medium-deep ruby with a soft black hue. A little CO2 and nail polish volatility? Difficult to judge. Smooth, raw meat, sweet pipe tobacco, lavender- and blueberry-tinged, faint dried rose-petal. Fairly finely-grained grey-peppery tannin. Medium length, warming on the aftertaste. Less weighty than some. Lactic perhaps, a bit yoghurt-like. In hindsight not a disappointing showing at all, as people were concerned before its identity was revealed, at least qualitatively consistent with earlier bottles. Rating: 87+?
#6
Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2001
From one of my favourite CdP vintages, this showing came to me (and others who know and admire this bottling in other vintages) as a (relative) shock. Looks, smells and tastes more evolved than the 1998 and in fact the 1990. “Impossible to describe colour and flavour” were the first words I put down. Bit lusterless though not murky, pruney ruby-black, fairly large watery pink-orange rim. Much better on the palate than the nose. Morello, partly jammy, partly crystallized, macerated flowers. Dark bitter chocolate, firm tannin, lightly salty-grainy core, good grip. A bit hot, certainly partly closed, but slightly burning. Not particularly resistant to oxidation, this seems a bit tired already. More Port-like than most. Best on the mildly sweet, somewhat light and burning finish. Mistook this for a modern-era Rayas. Retasted this at the end of the evening, my opinion remained unchanged. Rating: 88+
#7
Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins 2000
Interestingly, it was the luminescent gloss of the colour (like one of those higher-quality varnishes – before they all had to be free from poisonous, non-water-soluble thinners – on a great piece of mahogany) that gave its identity away for me almost before I stuck my nose into the glass – it reminded me of the 1986 this time. Glossy garnet with an amber hue, black reflections, watery orange at the rim. A bit volatile, along with a citrusy menthol freshness. Quite complex, smoky and candied cooked fruit, not necessarily super-precise, evolved on the surface, although wrapped around a dense core. American hazelnut coffee top note. Nice body. Impressive wine, long on the finish. Quite smooth tannin. The archaic reserve style shows in every possible way. Drink or hold. The wine of the tasting for current consumption. Shared second on my score list together with (oh well...) Domaine de la Solitude’s 2000 Réserve Sècrete. Rating: 93+/94
#8
Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservé 2000
Reportedly contains 15.2% alcohol. Lighter garnet-amber, some black reflections, watery amber-orange at the rim. Fairly precise on the nose. Some found it a fraction light and vegetal on the nose, if not exhibiting a bell pepper note. I got distinct tobacco ash, cedar and mentholly-citrusy strawberry on the nose and entry, followed by a round, sweaty, quite cedary-complex and firm mid-palate, also exhibiting more tertiary attributes and finishing a bit short and dry. High but quite well-integrated alcohol, mainly thanks to some viscosity. Attractive smoky and black tea-like tannin. I was not the only one who found the combination of caramelized sugar candy and brick clay earth (mature) Pessac Léognan-like. Not bad at all, if another relative disappointment to those who, like myself, once used to count Rayas among their favourite wineries. Rating: 92
#9
Château Rayas Pignan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservé 1999
About 15% alcohol in this vintage for the Pignan! The miracle of early maturity of a cool climate/vintage wine, this was singing (if not rocking for what it is!) that night. Not too luminescent, fairly pruney garnet-ruby-black. Complex, at least somewhat elegant tobacco ash and tree bark. A bit sugary dried black cherry with an oyster or snail like tope not that seemed to please the Francophiles. Semi-cooked fruit with some Burgundian finesse. Half-dried currants. Nicely firm, good body. Could be fresher, but showing really well at present. Tannic, well-balanced if a bit grainy. Soft but flavourful acidity. Quite long on the finish. The positive surprise of the tasting. There seems to be no way this could ever show better than it did right then and there. Shared third favourite that night along with Chapoutier’s 2001 Croix de Bois and Domaine de la Mordorée’s 2000 Reine des Bois. Wow! Rating: 93-
#10
Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Cuvée Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2000
A blend of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise? From vines between 70 and 100 years old. Approximately 500 cases made. The longer I tasted this, the better I liked it, until in the end I thought it the wine of the tasting. It may also be the wine of the vintage. But it is not as easy to judge as one might think. Opaque purple-black. The most youthful and backward wine of the tasting. A wine many felt seemed “constructed” (someone said “technical” even) in the sense that all elements seem as if taken to the limit: this is heavy but not too heavy, big without being overbearing. Clearly free from new oak or brett, this still seems to lack personality at least at this early stage. It could be fresher, or rather, more refreshing. Quite meaty, lightly grainy and a bit salty with stone dust and animal fur (from the Mourvèdre), firm, this has body and good grip. Faint steel to crystallized dark berry notes. Balanced finish that I did not think especially long at first, though wholly satisfactory, but then, this did not exactly profit from being served last, as it is the kind of wine in this youthful condition whose qualities sneak up to you, instead of hitting you all at once. Not quite on the surreal level of the 1998 Hommage, but as promising as (and more backward than) the 2001, this seems close to the 1990 in quality. Clearly needs bottle age, possibly lots of it. Rating: 91++/94+?
Additional wines offered by Monsieur Siegenthaler that night:
Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Croix de Bois 1998
From 80-years-old vines planted on sand, clay and silt soil underlain by quartz pebbles. Opened spontaneously by Michel Siegenthaler once he noticed the 2001 was the group’s favourite (quipping “Chapoutier is one thing we always have enough of to sell”). Glossier, a fraction healthier-looking medium ruby-orange than the 2001. Ever so faintly lactic and dusty on the nose, someone claimed (nitpicking when I think of one disastrous showing of 1998 Barbe Rac in May, which smelt and tasted as if it had undergone malo in bottle). Lovely sweet pipe tobacco, faint (and here for once nice!) tobacco ash, quince, dry strawberry. Medium length. Already acceptably mature for a 1998, albeit not fully there yet. Typical 1998, consistent from nose to finish. Very tasty indeed. Even though the vintage clearly makes its mark (this showed that arrogant “Any questions?” kind of balance and early harmony), and it really seemed three years younger than the 2001 instead of vice versa, one should not forget 1998 was the first vintage of this bottling, in other words, it should not (yet?) be expected to be on the level of the Barbe Rac. Rating: 92(+?)
Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2005
90% Grenache, 4% Mourvèdre, 3% Syrah, rest Cinsault etc. Full purple-black, not quite opaque but close. Primary floral essence of an almost candied smoothness, pretty emphasis on lively lavender, lovely purity and length, a clean and sappy wine, mouthwatering, good alcohol integration. Perfectly ripe and refreshing tannin, barely youthfully bitter, not at all green as in some 2005 CdPs. As good, or almost, as the (more concentrated?) 2003. Monsieur Siegenthaler said who likes this should also consider the Clos des Papes in this vintage, even if he does not supply that producer’s wines. Rating: 92+/93
Santa Duc Gigondas 2003
A blend of 75% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Cinsault. From half bottle. Good purplish ruby-black. Modern-styled wine. Medium weight. Primary fruit. Quite finely-grained tannin. Quite fresh. Not too long on the finish. Rating: 88(+?)
Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2004
Liked this better than when last tasted in March, even if it is not the kind of vintage I would buy to cellar. Medium-plus ruby-black with a soft purple hue. Faintly cheesy top note, but also fresher than remembered. Finesseful medium-floral fruit that is pretty and shows good precision. Well-integrated garrigue and pepper. Not too light, nicely crisp wine with some body, offers nice subtlety and quite good length on the smoky finish. Rating: 91-/90
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________
„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti