Albert got his hands on some very reasonably-priced bottles of 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape and invited several of us out to join him a few weeks back at Dong Khanh in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood, where Trung ordered what seemed like a few hundred amazing dishes for all of us to share (none of which I am sure I would have probably ordered on my own but am so glad to have tried). As for the wines, nothing was served blind and all bottles were opened on site and decanted at the table.
2001 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett. This wine started things off on a festive note, sporting as it does a very appealing bouquet of fizzy peach juice, apple flesh, petrol and dusty blue slate aromas. It has a good deal of pizzaz and perkiness, but also fine class and an easy sense of balance. On the palate, it really fills the whole mouth with flavor. It has a mild but directed streak of acidity, good structure and plenty of stuffing. The flavor profile largely matches the nose, though some yellow tropical notes like pineapple are present as it warms in the glass. The finish is a bit guarded at this stage of the game, not really fanned out or complete, though moderately persistent within a defined band. So, while I would not hesitate to drink this again now, it seems better to wait just a bit more.
2007 Delas Frères Châteauneuf du Pape Haute Pierre. Poured alongside the Lafond, this is a much darker and denser color. The nose is similarly dark and frankly feels a bit ponderous to me at this point. I smell notes of tire tread, darkly-smoked wood, patent leather and charred earth. I am not a fan, though some interesting forest floor notes do come in later in the evening to provide more character. In the mouth, it has a rather smooth texture to the fruit. However, there is a good dose of wood to contend with and a blast of alcoholic burn that sits right in the middle of the palate impression. The finish is even more obviously wooded. In between these uninspiring elements one can find some pure and easy purple and blue fruits that need time to find their footing and beat back the harsher elements. When or if that will happen, I have no idea. But I would wait at least 5 years before trying to find out.
2007 Domaine Lafond Châteauneuf du Pape Roc-Epine. The nose here is fairly tight, but much less dark-toned or heavily done than the Delas. Here one is more likely to find scents of velvety black, blue and purple fruit leading the way. It is a bit unfocused and on the sweet side at this point, but it feels friendly and welcoming, especially the longer you stay with it. In the mouth, this just feels much more ready to drink and I would actually call it approachable now. It actually shows more fuzzy tannins than the Delas, but the wine as a whole is so much more open for business. It has more moderate body, no obvious notes of alcohol and a nice pure expression of Southern Rhone fruit. It turns just a bit chewy and sticky on the finish, so it could use some short-term polishing in the cellar. Ultimately, the Delas seems destined to be the longer-lived wine, but this is just so much more appealing right now and for the foreseeable future that I would have to recommend this wine over that one.
2007 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf du Pape. As has been my experience the other three times I’ve tasted this wine, the bouquet is deadly serious in tone as it slowly unfolds its wings over time to reveal scents of hung meat, fireplace ashes, tobacco leaf, jalapeno pepper and moss—with a well of dark mysterious fruit straining at the reins behind all of that. In the mouth, it is totally voluminous—expanding out to all corners of the mouth. It is not huge or thick or anything, it is just youthfully mouth-filling. Otherwise, it features lively and seemingly already-polished purple fruit and smoky earth notes through the finely-flowing mid-palate. However, a rougher-hewn and woody finish brings things back to earth and along with the seriousness of the bouquet remind one of just how much better this will be with ample cellar time.
2007 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf du Pape La Crau. The Vieux Telegraphe offers up by far the prettiest bouquet of this set of Chateauneufs—featuring lovely and immediately engaging aromas of sweet raspberry rhubarb pie, blueberry and black Necco wafer candy that are surprisingly open and giving right from the very first moment. It is juicy and luscious and fresh in the mouth, with a layered feel already and a heavy-duty push of fruit and tangy acidity giving it a sense of immediacy. There is a good deal of sweet concentration and glycerol feel here, along with a reasonable bit of restraint to the tannins. There is just a lot of appealing flavor and a nice spicy finish that invites one back for more. This is a beautiful young wine and I wouldn’t hesitate to drink it in volume right now. My easy WOTN.
2007 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf du Pape La Cuvée du Papet. This wine shows it earthy side right out of the gate, with a nose that sports lots of dark soil, campfire ash, leather, gravel, peppercorn and brown grape stem aromas to go with black currant and blackberry fruit. In the mouth, it is rather fudgy and a bit rich at first—with flavors of Belgian chocolate and dark fruit starting things off. After a while, it turns again to the earthy side of its personality, although along with that comes a more obvious set of tannins to deal with, as well. Overall, though, this is a nice earthy wine that is serious and sometimes fudgy in tone and clearly has the stuffing and make-up to age for a good while.
2007 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf du Pape Signature. On the nose, the Barroche is redolent of kirsch, boisterous fruit tart and chocolate torte combined together in full force, with bits of white pepper and ash hiding in the background. Over time, strong notes of hot road tar and darker earth elements come in to provide some interesting counter-point. In the mouth, though, it is all about the pure fruit—with flavors of sweet plum and blueberry pie filling coming across as rich and creamy. Also, it is not especially tannic and so feels readily accessible at this point.
In summary, if you want to drink and enjoy a 2007 in the short term, I would recommend the Vieux Telegraphe, the Barroche Signature and the Lafond Roc-Epine. For the others, stash them away and try again much later.
2000 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives. Oh man, this is one gorgeous and entirely enveloping bouquet that absolutely soars out of the glass with vibrant and lively but beautifully sweet aromas of lime pith, clementine, lychee fruit, crème brulee topping, dried pineapple cubes and exotic brown spices in a luscious aromatic panoply. In the mouth, it is not so sweet as the nose would suggest, but it is very well-balanced and intriguingly complex. Flavors of slightly bitter peach pit and brown spices offset sweeter bits of baked yellow tropical fruit, pear and lychee. It is really even-keeled and actually shows moderately dry on the spice-filled finish. All the while, it sports airy, lacy top notes riding above the richer tropical core—leaving a very pleasant impression when all is said and done. I’m glad I brought this along, as it was a really nice cap to a fun evening of food and wine exploration.
-Michael
