It's a truism that the food I cook/the food I like best, goes amazingly well with Chateauneufs and particularly so in autumn. So over the past week we opened:
2005 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend
Liked it, didn't LOVE it. Expected more fruit density and less acidity; at a blind tasting, I'd have guessed it more likely to be Italian than French; it more strongly resembled a Produttori we opened last week than the 06 Janasse CdP the night before. Pale aged color, raspberry fruit, yada yada. I don't know what to expect of my remaining three bottles.
2006 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend
Very very good. Pleasant mix of bright primary fruit and interesting secondary development. Tastes/feels like it has more time ahead, but the second glass wasn't as good as the first. Probably beginning downhill slide. Fine silt sediment should be filtered out if you PnP.
2014 Caves Saint-Pierre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Fiacre du Pape Red Rhone Blend
Took to a dinner party where I thought this would play well to assemblage who don't usually drink aged wines. Fruit still showing well, but the oak really stands out now. (They loved it.)
2006 Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend
Past peak. Drinkable but fading.
2004 Beauchêne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grenache Blend, Grenache
It's dead, Jim.