We’re getting ready for a kitchen remodel and needed one last dinner to get us through the rough times… mornings cooking breakfast on a folding table and electric skillet… no sink… you get the idea…

The evening started off with an enjoyable bottle of 1999 Argyle Brut Knudsen Vineyard. Fairly rich and with nice aromatics, it showed a soft, easy going palate. This was followed by an absolutely stunning bottle of 1981 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia. Showing gorgeous aromatics of honeysuckle, white flowers, cream brulee and wax, it was medium bodied in the mouth, perfectly balanced, textured and long. Despite its oxidative style, it’s just amazingly fresh and vibrant and I found it hard to stop refilling my glass.

To go along with cheesy polenta and a grilled leg of lamb, the 2004 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve was hard to beat. Not many ’04s come close to this wine and it showed fantastic, sweet aromatics to go along with a gorgeous palate. This continued to flesh out over the evening and is really a treat. The 1995 Fontanabianca Barbaresco Sori Burdin, when paired next to the richness and sweetness of the Rayas, seemed slightly tight and reserved. When tasted on its own though, it offered up a decidedly rich and ripe bouquet of black cherry, cigar and hot asphalt mixed with graphite, new leather and surprisingly, a slight chocolaty richness. Medium to full bodied on the palate with beautiful ripeness and a full texture, this has ripe tannins on the finish and is drinking really well.

The evening was capped with a young, exuberant bottle of 2007 Pétalos del Bierzo Bierzo. This 100% Mencia wine comes from vineyards ranging in age from 40 to 90 years and has big, intense aromatics of blackberry and blueberry fruit mixed with spice, minerals and subtle floral notes that give it lift and brightness. In the mouth it’s medium to full bodied with upfront, lush fruit, admirable purity and nice length to the finish.

A fantastic evening who’s memory should serve as ample reminder of the good dinners to come in a new kitchen!

Thanks for reading!
Jeb

Tyler Thomas of Pax Wines was in town recently pouring a couple of his 2007s at the local Boulder, CO dinning destination, Frasca (www.frascafoodandwine.com). Basically unmatched with regards to dinning in Boulder, Frasca has few peers in Colorado…  unfortunately for savvy dinners, they’ve realize it and it’s hard to sneak out at under 100 bucks a head. Despite this, I believe that they deliver on all fronts and are still a relative bargain.

As of 2007, Tyler is the new winemaker (due to Pax Mahle leaving) and comes to Pax after working for multiple years with Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.  A fan of the existing Pax wines and a mailing list member prior to being the winemaker, Tyler expressed a desire to continue the Pax style of allowing each vineyard to dictate the style of the wine.  He bottled the ’07s but had complete control as of the ‘08 vintage.

2007 Pax Roussanne Venus (USA, California, North Coast, Bennett Valley)
Slightly reticent, the 2007 Pax Venus is a blend of 80% Roussanne, 20% viognier and sports a slightly cloudy, straw color along with lemon and citrus aromas mixed with buttery, yeasty notes. Medium to full bodied on the palate, this has a full, mouth filling texture, impressive richness to the fruit and a nice finish. (89 pts.)

2007 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard (USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley)
Sporting a very northern rhone’esk profile, the 2007 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard (a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier made with 100% stem inclusion) possesses a great aromatics of blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with tapenade, peppered steak and mineral notes.  Bright, complex and lifted on the nose, it’s medium to full bodied on the palate with a deep, rich texture, crisp acids and a long finish. This wine sees very little new oak with ~35% being aged in Puncheons (500 L Barrels.) (91 pts.)

2007 Pax Syrah Cuvée Christine (USA, California, Sonoma County)
100% Syrah that comes from a selection of the best barrels from warmer vineyards and sees ~30% stem inclusion and 70% new oak, the 2007 Pax Syrah Cuvée Christine is richer and than the ‘07 Kobler Vineyard with decadent dark fruit, earth, spice and seamlessly integrated oak aromas. Full bodied in the mouth with exceptional purity and texture, this has nice edge and cut to go along with tons of fruit and a long finish. (93 pts.)

Located in the heart of the Gigondas vineyards (west of the actual village center), this family run estate has been in the Cartier/Goubert family since 1653 and has been run by Jean-Pierre and Mireille Cartier since the 1970s.   The domaine is comprised of roughly 23 Ha (57 acres) situated  throughout Gigondas, Beaumes de Venise, Lafare, Sablet and Seguret.  While they produce a number of wines, their flagship bottling is the Cuvée Florence which is named after Mireille and Jean-Pierre’s daughter.  Given how it’s common today to call domaines that use new barrique “modern”, readers might be surprised to know that the domaine has been aging this Cuvée for upwards of 24 months in 50% new french oak since 1985.

Currently, all grapes are de-stemmed and slightly crushed prior to fermentation with blending taking place after maturing.  The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered and the domaine also performs a single bottling session.

I drank through each of these bottles over a number of days and came away pretty impressed. While the 1990 Gigondas Traditional faded quickly, the Cuvée Florence is certainly an outstanding, cellar worthy wine. Each vintage offered similar aromatics with beautiful purity, balance and ripe fruit and it’s easy to imagine the younger vintages aging similar to the fully mature yet regal ‘86. Given the spice, red fruit and silky textured profile, burgundy lovers should find a lot to enjoy with these wines as well.

2001 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas)
The 2001 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence is aged half in new oak and half in one year old barrels and possesses a perfumed and subtle bouquet of spiced cherries, licorice, spice box and Turkish coffee aromas that lead into a medium to full bodied palate. Smooth, integrated and balanced, this has beautiful freshness and acidity, a silky texture and a long finish. While the barrique aging is still apparent, it complements rather than detracts. Drinking well now, everything points to this aging beautifully.  (91 pts.)

1998 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas)
The deep red colored 1998 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence is very rich and meaty with sour cherry, smoky earth, spice box, violets and floral notes leading into a medium to full bodied palate.  There’s nice sweetness to the fruit but also notable freshness and purity paired with a smooth texture and a long finish.   An ever so slight dry edge to the tannins should be something to watch.  (90+? pts.)

1995 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas)
Reminiscent of the ‘01 Cuvée Florence, the 1995 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence possesses fantastic aromatics of dried cherries, spice box, peppered meat and licorice.  Beautifully ripe with nice complexity, the palate is medium to full bodied with a core of sweet fruit, a smooth, rich texture, impressive balance and a long finish.  This has serious fruit density on the palate paired with mouth numbing, ripe, fine grained tannins on the finish and while a beautiful drink now, has a long life ahead of it. (92 pts.)

1986 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas)
The fully mature 1986 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas Cuvée Florence shows pretty aromatics of sweet black cherries and dried red fruits intermixed with black tea, forest floor and subtle suavage and licorice aromas.  In the mouth, it’s medium bodied with a light, smooth and integrated texture to go along with sweet, mature fruit that fades on the finish to show the acid and tannin structure of the wine.  This needs air to show well with the fruit sweetening and gaining depth over the course of the evening and while I have no doubt that I would have liked this wine more 10 years ago, it still offers lots of enjoyment. I wrote this note based on drinking through half the bottle over the course of an evening and originally rated it 88 points. Unfortunately, this showed subtle TCA early on the second day and was undrinkable by the evening.(NR)

1990 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas)
Sporting a red color with obvious bricking/orange at the edges, the 1990 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas offers up tired aromas of dried fruits, hot asphalt, truffle, dirt and leather.  On the palate, this faded quickly in the glass but for a short time, showed medium body with a smooth, integrated texture, sweet fruit and nice grip to the finish.  With air however, the acidity kicked in on the finish and the fruit receded, so if you have em, drink em. (80 pts.)

This past Sunday I hosted a 10 year retrospective of 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Papes and seeing as how I’m on record calling the vintage “mediocre”, I almost feel the need to apologize. While not up to ’98, ’00, ’01 or ’03, the region has had an amazing run of strong vintages and 1999 is certainly part of that group. At 10 years of age, these wines are drinking beautifully and offer classic, textbook aromas and flavors with most still offering a solid 5+ years of prime time drinking.  Another strong plus for the ‘99s is that they’re still affordable and most bottles, even the special cuvees, can be purchased for less than 100 dollars.

We started the evening off right with a rocking bottle of 2007 Alban Vineyards Viognier. Full bodied, lush, rich and pure, this had bright minerality and a core of acidity that kept it honest and interesting.

The first flight of reds consisted of a pair from Marcoux and the 1999 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape was one of the more mature bottles of the evening. Ripe, rich and with roasted herb, licorice and a meaty, port like character, this should probably be consumed over the next 4 to 5 years. The 100% grenache (from 90+ year old vines) 1999 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes was in another league and while it started out completely closed, it slowly opened up over the evening to show fantastic, pure dark fruit, cassis, licorice and spice notes. Structured on the palate, this needs an hour or more in a decanter for drinking now and has plenty of structure for further aging.

Flight two showcased the wines of Vieille Julienne and both were drinking beautifully. The 1999 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape started out closed but improved in the glass whereas the 1999 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve was firing on all cylinders! Fantastic aromatics, stunning purity and solid structure all show up and this will offer spectacular drinking over the next 10 or 15 years.  My third bottle this year and each one has been stunning.  Interestingly, more than one person commented on the graphite and almost chocolaty richness to the wine and questioned if this sees any barrique.  All old foudres per the domaine.

The third flight was a personal favorite and these both showed similar profiles with pure, up front and dark fruit driven personalities.   Aromatically, the 1999 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz was very similar to its big brother with thick, rich cassis and dark fruit mixed with beautiful spice aromas and a mineral driven core. The 1999 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Reserve showed more restraint and structure on the palate but had decadent, rich fruit, beautiful balance and stunning purity. Both of these wines are on the upward slope with regards to aging.

The age worthy 1999 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul was structured, tight and slightly burly with rich fruit, minerals and iron aromas.  A candidate for another year or two in the cellar, it was the complete opposite of the 1999 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac. Light, perfumed, floral and spice laden, this is a beautifully balanced, hedonistic wine that seems to be drinking at point.

A slightly controversial bottle of 1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape had some calling foul. I wasn’t one of them and found nothing objectionable and thought it showed solid fruit, spice, roasted herb and mushroom notes, medium to full body and plenty of length on the finish. Possibly softer than a bottle earlier this year, this was still more than a little enjoyable. A cruel joke was the corked bottle of 1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin. The only corked wine of the evening and my second corked Hommage in a row.  While this was still drinkable, the nose was hideously corked.  I sucked down my share before the TCA could completely saturate the palate.

The 1999 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée was showing the typical, stunning Pégaü spice aromas along with a masculine, structured, awesomely fruited palate. I’m not sure what the going rate for this is but it offers gorgeous Pégaü terroir in a classic package. Another textbook, classic Chateauneuf, the 1999 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau was impressive with intense aromatics, beautiful balance and a savory, rich texture.  Certainly more accessible than the ‘98, this still seems young to me.

The final flight capped the evening nicely and the 1999 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chaupin showed more southern Rhone typicity than normal with deep, rich and thick fruit, garrigue, smoke and mineral aromas and flavors. This is young and has plenty of years left. The hedonistic 1999 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape offered up stunning sweetness paired with a rich, lush and perfectly balanced palate. Pure pleasure and I’d drink these over the next 10 years. The 1999 Château de la Gardine Châteauneuf-du-Pape was a step down from the other wines with straightforward aromatics and a rich, meaty palate.  Still very enjoyable and I’d drink bottles over the coming 4 to 5 years.

Thanks to everyone involved and this was another fantastic event with great friends, wine and food!

2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
While not up to either the unbelievable ‘03 or ‘05, the 2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina is a stunning wine for the vintage and offers up a perfumed, heady and intense bouquet of spice box, cherry and blackberry liqueur, licorice and smoked meat notes.  The palate is full bodied with rich fruit, a savory texture, impressive balance and a blockbuster, long finish with notable fine grained tannins.  This improves with air should benefit from 2 to 3 years in the cellar and drink well for 15+. (95+ pts.)

2005 Mas Belles Eaux Coteaux du Languedoc Les Côteaux (France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc)
Seriously impressive, the 2005 Mas Belles Eaux Coteaux du Languedoc Les Côteaux possesses an inky, opaque purple color along with gorgeous aromatics of black and blue fruits, smoke, earth and subtle meaty aromas.  With air, graphite, roasted herbs and chocolaty notes come out and this has noteable intensity, purity and lift.  The palate is medium to full bodied with plenty of teeth staining viscosity, fantastic richness and a smooth texture that leads into a long finish with ripe tannins.  While this lacks density on the midpalate, it shows lots of fruit, character and depth.  It benefited from a decant and should drink well over the next 10′ish years. (91 pts.)

I’m a sucker for these wines…  Soft, lush, drink me now… yet still showing that subtle licorice, mineral and spicy notes that scream southern rhone.  While this isn’t a wine to lay down, it offers immediate pleasure that’s hard to beat for the price.

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Les Sablieres (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)
The soft, lush and hedonistic 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Les Sablieres offers up gorgeous black cherry and blackberry fruit mixed with minerals, licorice and subtle spice box aromas.  Fruit forward, medium to full body and simply delicious, this is a textured, sex pot of a wine that should deliver gobs of pleasure over the next 5 to 6 years. (90 pts.)

This midweek dinner morphed into the end all, be all of 1990 Chateauneuf-du-Pape and I was lucky and humbled to take part.  Prior to diving into the reds, we worked though a gorgeous bottle of 2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes.  Beautifully rich with toasted nut, white flowers and ripe citrus and stone fruit notes, this had lively acidity in the mouth paired with cut, edge and precision.  A seriously good bottle of wine.

All of the reds were opened ahead of time and then drank over the evening.  I did my best to will away the TCA on the 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin but it steadily grew worse over time.  This didn’t carry over onto the palate however and the wine possessed a perfect, silky texture and incredible length.  I had no problem drinking through both my glass… and Traci’s…
The 1990 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve was the lightest wine in the flight and was simply a perfect blend of complexity, lightness and hedonistic pleasure.  The consensus of those that have had this wine numerous times was that this was a top bottle.  I can only concur and if there’s a better wine out there, please let me know.  The texture and finish on this wine are something to behold.
The crazy 1990 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale was a real treat and a small pour on the next day was still singing!  Extremely ripe with a meaty, bloody and liquefied stem character, this is still reasonably civilized but those that decry the slightest hint of alcohol had best stay away.

Aside from the TCA on the nose of the Hommage, these were all riveting and not a one seemed on the downward slope.  My sincere and heart felt thanks to all those involved!

1990 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Truly otherworldly, the 1990 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve possesses stunningly perfumed and intense aromatics of kirsch and raspberries intermixed with sweet spice, roasted herbs, leather and licorice notes.  Very ripe and beautifully complex, the palate is full bodied and a hedonistic dream that just expands in the mouth.  There’s amazing sweetness, low acidity and an unbelievable, lush, thick and yet light texture that carries into a monster finish.  Firing on all cylinders and as good as wine gets!  (100 pts.)

1990 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
The late harvest, 16.5% alcohol (w/ 3 grams residual sugar) 1990 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale shows fantastic, Amarone like aromatics of grilled meat,  blood,  roasted herbs, liquefied stems and leather nuances all supported by borderline overripe plum and prune fruit.   Full bodied on the palate with stunning balance, decadent fruit and a seamless texture, this picks up a chocolaty richness on the blockbuster finish.  The alcohol is certainly noticeable on the tail end of the finish but this remains an absolutely stunning, unique bottle of wine!  (97 pts.)

1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
The 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin started out with meaty, funky earth, truffle, cassis and black berry fruit aromas but also subtle TCA aromas that ,over the coarse of the evening, slowly dominated the wines bouquet.  Regardless of the TCA on the nose, the palate was perfect with full body, a lush, rich and full texture, impeccable balance, stunning fruit, and a screaming long finish.  (NR.)

Traci and I spent a fantastic evening hanging out with good friends this past Sunday and we were able to drink through some amazing wines at a relaxed pace.

I’ve had both of these wines multiple times and the 2003 Clos des Papes has been amazingly consistent and always shows phenomenally well.  I’m happy to report that it continued that string on this evening.  Massively aromatic with sweet fruit and spice notes, it’s beautifully balanced and incredibly long.  This is just about as good as it gets and for the life of me, I can’t understand the controversy with this wine.

The 2005 Clos des Papes on the other hand has been another story with early bottles being riveting but more recent ones showing a closed, tight and and slightly unfriendly character.  Luckily, this bottle was one of the prior ones and was open for business.  Much more dense and concentrated than the 2003 and not as open nor flamboyant, this wine is all about purity, structure and texture.  It has a long life ahead of it and I’m a huge fan.

Both bottles were decanted and consumed over the evening and getting to compare these two side by side was a real treat.  The similarities were very apparent, as were the stark differences imparted by the vintages.

Food wise, we had a perfectly cooked rack of lamb, broiled green beans (haricot verts) and fingerling potatoes that were simply boiled until tender and then liberally seasoned… It doesn’t get much better than this and simple, perfectly cooked fare paired with stunning bottles… with friends at a home… is the end all be all for me when it comes to wine enjoyment.

2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Simply fantastic, the 2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape possesses screaming aromatics of kirsch, spice box, saddle leather and licorice. Sweet, perfumed, complex and down right hedonistic; it’s full bodied and has a lush, seamless texture, gorgeous balance and a blockbuster finish with ripe, fine grained tannins. This wine blends finesse and power perfectly and should age effortlessly for years to come. (98 pts.)

2005 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
The 2005 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape offers up stunning purity with kirsch and black cherry aromas mixed with licorice, flowers, resin and mineral notes. Full bodied in the mouth and showing considerable amounts of dense fruit and concentration, this possesses solid structure, beautiful texture and a long, seamless finish.   Simply a perfectly built wine with a long life ahead of it. (97 pts.)

2004 Domaine Moulin-Tacussel Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Rustic and with a slight vegetal/funk character, the 2004 Domaine Moulin-Tacussel Châteauneuf-du-Pape shows lots of roasted herbs, fennel, cedar and stem nuances, medium body, a streamlined texture and tannic finish.  While good, the amount of herb/green in this wine is cause for some concern and I’d guess it’s a crap shoot with regards to aging…  Best case, the herbal and vegetale notes morph into more cedar and spice with the tannins integrating… Worst case, this turns green and the fruit dries out…  I wouldn’t take the chance and would drink these while there’s fruit holding.  (87? pts.)