WTN: Domaine de la Charbonniere Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Cuvee Mourre des Perdrix. 2005. A Kermit Lynch Import. 15% alcohol.

When I called the wine buyer at one of my local suppliers, he said "I've been thinking about you..."
"Why is that? I asked."
"I've got some Chateauneuf-du-Pape we're selling for $34 that I can let you have for $25 a bottle."
I told him I'd see him shortly. I love CDP and this deal seemed very sweet for wines that normally run from $35 on up. Normally I'd just lay this wine down to age for at least a few years before touching it, but given the price and availability, I decided to see what it was like the next evening, as I was going to braise a lamb shoulder for dinner. I opened it at 5pm, about 2 hours before I was planning dinner, and glugged it into a decanter. Excitedly, I poured a taste. The nose was pretty closed and the tannins were so strong initially I was sure I'd made a mistake in opening the wine at such a tender age, but what the heck, I was committed now. I tasted it again in about an hour and a half. Nose still pretty closed, tannins still dominant, but calmed down a bit, deep dark fruits now coming through in the mid palate, the finish long. I kept sipping it as I cooked, and we finally ate about 3 hours after the initial decanting. By this time the wine was transformed. It's easy to see why Wine Spectator rated it 94 points, as it has a very big and robust red fruit component - at one point I thought that if I'd been given this blind-folded I'd guess it was a New World wine, though the finish and complexity said otherwise. As we ate, each taste seemed smoother and more lush than the last, and at each taste you could sense its evolution. Big sour cherry flavors, raspberry, strawberry, spices, hints of brown sugar and vanilla, great mouth feel, and a long, long, did I say long? finish of melodic tannins. A big, bold, masculine, sophisticated, and very entertaining wine that could stand up to any kind of food pairing you threw at it - it was everything a CDP should be, and an obvious candidate for cellaring. Every once in a while you have a wine that reminds you what wine is supposed to be all about but often isn't. For me, this wine did just that. Wonderful. 94 points? Sure. And well worth whatever you had to pay for it. I don't see how it gets much better than this.
By the way, could someone translate "Cuvee Mourre des Perdrix" for me? Perdrix means partridge, and I know what cuvee means, but what about "Mourre"?

I have no idea what points mean, nor do I now what "Mourre" means, but this sounds like a wine that you wished you could have squeezed more out of the bottle. A magnum next time, perhaps, to track the evolution over a longer period.

I too have checked Mourre and can get nowhere! The only connection I can think is mourvedre.

I did go to Able Grape and punched in Mourre.....>

http://www.ablegrape.com/search.jsp?que ... reftarget=

"Mourre" is an old Provencal word meaning "nose" or "beak". If you are in the mountains it usually refers to a summit shaped like a nose or a beak.

Greetings / Fredrik L

Thanks Fredrik. Most interesting, and looking at the link Bob sent, one can see it's use is not completely uncommon. I'm going to translate it as "Partridge Peak Blend." At first glance I was thinking "the death of the lost" or something, but that sounded a bit morbid for a wine and of course reveals my superficial knowledge of French. Sue, a Magnum sounds a bit overwhelming, as drinking well over half at bottle at an honest 15% alcohol by volume intoxicated my fairly well. It interested me that the intoxication I felt was less of a pure alcohol high than something like what a really good meal sometimes does even without alcohol. An intoxication by the finer things in life. But rest assured I have a few more bottles safely stashed away.

Wow! I have been trying to find reasonably priced Chateauneuf Du Pape for awhile without success. We need to dollar to become strong again! However, I have found a good substitute for it - Vacqueyras. It was known as Cotes du Rhone until 1990 when it received appellation.

Wow! I have been trying to find reasonably priced Chateauneuf Du Pape for awhile without success.

Bois du Boursan.

Clos du Mont Olivet.

Wow! I have been trying to find reasonably priced Chateauneuf Du Pape for awhile without success.

Bois du Boursan.

Clos du Mont Olivet.

Yup and yup. Add to them Font de Michelle and Grand Tinel. Le Vieux Donjon used to be a screaming deal for traditional CdP, but with the '05 vintage they are priced much higher.

Mark Lipton