Chateauneuf du Pape - 2006
2006 in Chateauneuf… Let’s see, since 1998, this region has been on fire with vintages going from strength to strength. Yes, the deluge of 2002 is well noted, but aside from that, each year has brought a unique style that’s been exploited beautifully by the producers. The sheer ripeness and size in the 1998s is in complete contrast to the bright, mineral driven 2004s and yet, each vintage produced beautiful wines in a unique style. Pair this ability with a region that has a massive diversity in wine producing styles and blends and you have a region that can consistently produce wines that can appeal to anyone. Diversity paired with consistent quality.
So where does 2006 fit in? That’s what I’ve been trying to find out. While I was able to travel to the region and taste through the majority of 2003, 2004 and 2005s, I wasn’t as lucky with the 06s and have been reduced (yes, your hearts are bleeding for me, I know) to ponying up the money (and these aren’t cheap) and buying as many of these at retail as I can afford. At this point, I’ve been able to taste through enough of these to have an opinion… and that opinion is that I really like the wines.
Coming after the hyped 2005 wines and prior to the mega hyped 2007s, this vintage seems to be largely overlooked. Comparisons to 2004 abound and phrases like early drinking, soft and approachable, unfortunately, don’t do much to garner demand. Add the crazy prices due to the euro and it’s hard to be a buyer.
Vintage comparisons aside, these wines show a consistent level of ripe fruit paired with notable density, full texture and ripe tannin. They don’t have the cool aromas or tannic precision of the 2005s nor the bright minerality and acid profile of the 2004s. The majority of my notes on these wines are from a recent blind tasting where I was able to taste through the wines blind, retaste, and then taste through them blind again the next day. Almost across the board, the wines showed better on the second day.
While I like the wines and think the vintage is right behind 2005 in terms of quality (well ahead of 2004), given the crazy prices these are currently going for and the rapidly approaching 07s (which are close to the same price), this seems to be an easy pass for a consumer. However, given the market correction that’s currently going on, if these are discounted enough, they are outstanding wines.
So with much ado… onto the wines
Blancs
- 2006 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This bottle saw a long, multi hour decant and I’m not sure if this helped the aromatics or not since this was tight and slightly muted for the first night. While not much intensity, there was beautiful richness and depth with honeysuckle, almond butter and toasted bread notes and this did open up on the second day. The palate was medium to full bodied with a stunning, rich texture, nice balance and a long, mouth coating finish. A concentrated, serious blanc. (92 pts.) - 2006 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
A great rhone blanc, this has ripe, waxy fruit, honey, flowers and smoke notes to go along with a medium to full bodied palate. Well balanced, this has nice acidity and a full, viscous texture. Excellent. (91 pts.) - 2006 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Consistent with the previous bottle, this is a clean, straightforward and well balanced Rhone white. The nose shows honeyed fruit, melon and citrus aromas and the palate is well balanced with crisp acids and impressive balance. It’s lacking in depth and complexity but it’s delicious and very easy drinking. (89 pts.) - 2006 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very bright, fresh and expressive, this has a floral and honeyed fruit driven nose that is backed up by minerals and a rich nuttiness that is striking. Medium to full bodied, this is well balanced, textured and clean. This improved with air and has a clean, medium to long finish. (90 pts.) - 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This shows ripe fruit, lively acidity and a plump, medium bodied, nicely textured palate. (86 pts.) - 2006 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very floral and honeyed with clean tropical fruit notes on the nose. The palate is medium bodied, slightly weak in the middle but balanced with some nice freshness. (87 pts.)
Rouge
- 2006 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This is young and packed with jammy Grenache fruit notes of blackberry, cherry, garrigue and licorice notes on the nose. By the second day, it lost some complexity but gained richness and weight. Medium to full bodied on the palate and with low acidity, this is rich, meaty and alarmingly tannic. While the tannins were less noticeable on the second night, there’s enough of them to give me pause.(89+? pts.) - 2006 Domaine Lucien Barrot et Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
My second bottle of this (first from mag… can’t beat the price from this estate) and it’s shown consistent both times. Traditional, spicy and with subtle leather, garrigue and sweet, licorice infused cassis and blackberry fruit, this comes across as a text book Chateauneuf du Pape that’s medium bodied, beautifully balanced, rich and long. I don’t know why this sells for a song (low 20s) over here in the states but I’m not complaining. (90 pts.) - 2006 Domaine Lafond Châteauneuf-du-Pape Roc-Epine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Big, soft and straightforward, this is right up there with fruit bomb status and shows beautiful fruit, purity and length. Low in acidity, medium to full bodied and with a smooth, supple texture, this is for drinking in the short term. (89 pts.) - 2006 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
I decanted this for 3 hours and when I first opened the bottle, its barrique upbringing was more than apparent. 3 hours later however, the fruit had completely absorbed the oak and in a blind lineup of experienced tasters, not a sole commented about oak. The nose is slightly brooding and takes some coaxing but finally offers up dark cassis and blackberry fruit, raw meat and subtle wax aromas. Almost Bordeaux’ish given the dark fruit and dense structure, this has a blockbuster palate that’s rich, balanced and possesses a weighty, almost thick texture that leads into a long finish. Very pure, clean and beautifully built, this could be even better if it fleshes out with more bottle time. (91+ pts.) - 2006 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This is a stunning bottle of wine that possesses amazingly pure levels of fruit, impeccable balance and a seamless, integrated character. On the nose this gives up copious amounts of blackberry and raspberry fruit mixed with graphite, spice box and cedar. Full bodied on the palate and just massively fruited, this has a stunning texture and a long finish where sweet, fine grained tannin comes out. While this has the structure to age, the sheer level of ripe fruit has this drinking well now. (95 pts.) - 2006 Domaine Moulin-Tacussel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Henry Tacussel - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
A real wow wine, this seems to be a traditionally made wine on steroids and possesses stunning aromatics of black cherry, spice box, roasted herbs and hoisin sauce. On the first night, this had a resiny, sappy texture but on the second night, this fleshed out and was full bodied, soft and almost decadent. Give this some time in the cellar or if drinking now, lots of air. (94 pts.) - 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Reticent at first (pop and pour), this really opened up with air (and darkened in color) but didn’t start to really sing until the next day. Just filled with sweet, jammy Grenache aromas of licorice infused blackberry, raspberry, minerals and garrigue notes; this is intense, perfumed and possesses serious richness and depth. Balanced and just rocking on the palate, it’s full bodied, sweet, suave and shows fine grained tannins on the long finish. Barring this shutting down, this is very approachable now given a long decant. (97 pts.) - 2006 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Just gorgeous right out of the gate, this leads off with a big blast of spicy raspberry fruit, leather, minerals and garrigue notes that lead into a medium to full bodied palate. Balanced and with a traditional feel, this has a beautiful, tannic finish. (93 pts.) - 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Along with a dark, almost opaque color, this possesses a big nose of dark fruit, licorice and sublte spice notes. Rich and dense but slightly straightforward. This improves with air and is full bodied on the palate with ripe, lush fruit, a big mouth filling texture and gobs of sweet fruit on the tannic finish. (92 pts.) - 2006 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault is aged in tank and foudres and possesses a high toned, bright nose of wild raspberries, hot stones, licorice, roasted herbs and garrigue notes. Seemingly disjointed at first, this comes together nicely with air and is medium to full bodied with a rich, savory texture, impressive balance and long finish. (93 pts.)
- 2006 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
I’m not sure what Paul Avril did to get this amount of density in this wine but it’s head and shoulders above any other 2006 I’ve had in terms of sheer extract and structure. The nose gives up rich raspberry and black cherry aromas mixed with spice, graphite, minerals and licorice. The palate is full bodied, massively structured and concentrated with amazing depth, perfect balance and a tannic, blockbuster finish. This needs time. (97 pts.)
- 2006 Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Not quite up to their 2005, this bottle comes across as very traditional with black pepper, new leather, hoisin, gravel and stone aromas supporting pure, black cherry fruit. The palate is solid and well built with medium to full body, concentrated, rich fruit and a long finish. This is a workhorse Chateauneuf that should drink well for the next 10+ years. (90 pts.) - 2006 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
I hate to admit it but I drank though a whole bottle of this during the gators game… Beautiful stuff and a small pour of dregs the next day was even better. On the nose this has copious amounts of licorice infused black cherry fruit. Dark, dense and rich, this fills out with roasted herb and garrigue notes. On the palate this is medium to full bodied with some serious palate weight and a full texture that gives off ripe, soft tannins on the finish. Great wine. (91 pts.) - 2006 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Tintot - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This borders on fruit bomb status and shows massive blackberry and cassis aromas mixed with spice, graphite and earthy notes and while not terribly complex, this makes up for it with its depth and richness. The palate is full bodied, structured and powerful with a rich, creamy texture, beautiful balance and a seriously tannic, long finish. This has a richness and palate presence that isn’t found in many southern rhones and with its clean, pure fruit, it’s almost new world’ish. Gorgeous and drink this baby over the next 20 years. Be warned, tannic as hell on the second day. (93+ pts.) - 2006 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Right out of the bottle, this wasn’t giving up anything on the nose and the palate was locked tight and tannic as all hell… A couple hours in the decanted did wonders for it though and this was still going strong (better?) on the second day with ripe, peppery and earthy dark fruit, leather, violets and lots of garrigue notes. Very young and concentrated but also very traditional. The palate is medium to full bodied and structured with plenty of concentration, impeccable balance and nice length. This is a young, dense wine and while there’s enough up front fruit to make this really enjoyable now, it really needs to be packed away for 5+ years. This is better than the 2004 and worth checking out! (93 pts.)
- Jeb Dunnuck