We had an excellent opportunity to host an epic tasting last week- but I have come to notice that ‘epic’ is a theme here at Graileys when it comes to tastings… We tasted through multiple vintages of Clos des Papes Blanc and Rouge Chateauneuf du Pape with the man himself: Paul Vincent Avril, winemaker and owner of this famous CdP Estate. The members who experienced this grand tasting can contest that we had a lot of wine on the table. From the Blanc we opened: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013; and from the Rouge we tasted 1990 and 2003 all the way through their current release and #7 on this year’s Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List: 2012.
What was really interesting about this tasting, besides the fact that we open and poured over 20 vintages back to back of Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape blanc and rouge with Paul Vincent Avril, was that Paul creates his wines the same exact way, from his vineyards to what goes on in the winery, with the same percentage of grape varietals for each vintage- so for geeky peeps like me: it was really cool to experience a line-up that was exclusively vintage dependent. Due to the sheer amount of wines to talk about, I will only go over the crowd favorites of the night for a lighter read.
Clos des Papes Blanc 2000- Full bodied, rounded texture with loads of deep minerals, bruleed orchard fruit and spurts of wild field flowers. The 2000 was greatly complex in savory richness, yet obtained its freshness that gave this wine its wonderful balance. One of my favorites of the blanc lineup.
Clos des Papes Blanc 2003- The wine of the night! Rich and deeply complex with multifaceted hints of toasted almond, baked apples, pears, and spice that was laced with sun flowers, deep minerals, and just enough citrus notes that had me going back to this glass all night.
Clos des Papes Blanc 2004- Sweeter exotic fruits of juicy pineapple and guava, more opulent in the honeyed-melon tones with luscious floral notes. The minerals were still developing within but maybe a little overpowered by the ripe fruit and wild spice.
Clos des Papes Blanc 2010- Fresh and vibrant, but starting to show its complexities via darker minerals and savory nuances. Citrus was just as bright as the orchard fruits and the baking spices started showing through as the night went on.
Clos des Papes Blanc 2011, 2012- There was a brilliant spritz in the texture of these youthful bottles that the other bottles lacked. Great CdP Blanc to enjoy for its freshness, but will age tremendously well I am sure.
Clos des Papes Rouge 1990- Woah….
Clos des Papes Rouge 2003- Deeply complex on the nose and palate; but by the tail end of the night, the once lively flavors settled down.
Clos des Papes Rouge 2007- One of the favorite Chateauneuf rouge of the night agreed by all. This nearly perfect pointer was the most powerful of the lineup with outrageous layers of black fruit, smoke, tar, licorice and everything else amazing in between.
Clos des Papes Rouge 2009 Magnum- Not as powerful as the 2007, not as complex as the 2010, but still a knock-out Chateauneuf du Pape! The black-pepper spice was dominant in this classic Chateauneuf with layers of leather, deep earth and marvelous texture that the other vintages did not quite match.
Clos des Papes Rouge 2010- Wonderfully balanced with rich black and red fruit, great depth in the mid-palate with deep gravels, cured meat, touch of briny olives and spice. This second 99 pointer was a personal favorite of night!
Clos des Papes Rouge 2011 & 2012 both from magnum- Absolutely delicious right off the bat! A great Chateauneuf du Pape for New World lovers as these two seductive vintages offer opulent fruit, lush florals, great power, and seamless texture while keeping to its typically smoky, minerally old world ways.