WTN: Papes John Creach

[David M. Bueker]

2008 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (10/12/2022)
Served blind as part of an informal tasting, this was opened about two hours before we got to it, but not decanted.

Two things were obvious from the first sniff - ripe red fruits and sweaty horse. The brett element didn't completely dominate on the nose, but it was always there. On the palate there was more red fruit and some herbal tones, with a bit of dustiness. The brett didn't become notable until there was a metallic edge on the finish, which I have always picked up on bretty wines. The overall texture of the wine was incredibly smooth to the point of sexy, but then there was the horse. My blind guess was 2012 Southern Rhone Grenache, so not bad at all.

sounds disappointing for Clos des Papes, though it's been quite a while since I've tasted one. There was a time when I had extremely high expectations for that stuff.

[David M. Bueker]

sounds disappointing for Clos des Papes, though it's been quite a while since I've tasted one. There was a time when I had extremely high expectations for that stuff.

It changed after the 2001 vintage. Got very slick/polished.

[Jenise]

Once upon a time, based on all the hype and with no first-hand experience I tried desperately to get a Papes, for which I would have paid north of $100 if successful. Wasn't successful. Since then I've had a few shared by others that gave me that "whew, dodged a bullet!" feeling as all were disappointingly slick. The only standout was a '99 in 2017 which was very nebbiolo-like, which I'm not sure you can count as a success since it didn't resemble what it actually was at all.