Do you like CdP

[Roy Hersh]

Some would put in CNdP, but either way Chateauneuf du Pape is one of the world's great reds and until five years ago, was one of the last bastions of very reasonably priced red wines. I know lots of fans who are into CdP (many are new collectors who began their cellars since the early part of this decade and went for "affordability" when buying in) and although I own some old and young, have never been a really serious collector. I find them very solid and best examples can be every bit as terroir driven, idiosyncratic and earthy as Douro wines. There are some dishes where I find the food screams out loud for a CdP rouge. In that vain, most who are into the category know that the 2007 vintage for Chateauneuf rivals and probably even beats the hype for 2007 VP. Here is an article by Eric Asimov of the NYTimes re: these wines ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/dinin ... l?_r=1&hpw

[Michael Hann]

I like Chateauneuf-du-pape quite well. I like to serve it with game roasts such as venison roasts and elk roasts. I'm drinking 2000 Les Cailloux -- a CNDP on the lighter side, I gather (I'm drinking the standard wine, not the Centenaire Cuvee which I assume is a higher grade selection, as is done more and more frequently now in CNDP wines) -- currently with these kinds of foods with satisfaction. Good fruit, good body, and pronounced bouquet, without being a heavy weight. Thanks for posting the link to the article.

[Eric Menchen]

Love it. I tried to get some 2007 when I was in France in September, but they didn't have it in stock yet. D'oh.

[Frederick Blais]

I'm not a big fan of C9, I think that the core of the wines are thin for the amount of burning alcool they deliver on the finish. So far the only exception to that from my experience are the wines from Henri Bonneau et pe-95 Beaucastel.

I've recently attend a tasting of several 2006 and 2007 and boy!!! It is harder to go through a dozen of those wines than young VP. These C9 have a finish of rubbing alcool while VP have just some heat that is much easier to accept on the palate.

C9 is producing, more and more, and 2007 is a perfect exemple, of those pushed to the limit wines that lose their balance trying to achieve a wine they should not produce in this region....

[David Spriggs]

Wow! I'm just the opposite... I love the 2007's. They are full of life. Very fruit forward and in general clean wines. So many CdP's from the past were poorly made and Brett infected -- nice on purchase and became leathery, horse-y cr@p within a few years (I'm talking the 1980's and early 90's here). Tack room and horse piss are not wine smells that I like. I've been tasting through quite a few of these 2007's lately - over several days. They have much more structure and balance than people give them credit for. I am concerned about a couple of the big scorers - Janasse Vieilles Vignes for example. They are delicious now, but the alcohol is buried under baby fat. They claimed that some lots were picked over 17% - not good. Still it's delicious now and probably for a few more years. Very impressive stuff - but I will be drinking on the early side. The wines from Isabel Ferrando are amazing - Domaine Prefert and Domaine Isabel Ferrando Colombis. Wow! The wines from Domaine Giraud are also quite impressive - both the Cuvée les Grenaches de Pierre and the Les Gallimardes. Last week I had the 2007 Clos Saint Jean Vieilles Vignes. It was so amazing - almost Burgundian in it's presentation and transparency. Personally, the wines are drinking so well I don't know why anyone would want to put then down for years and years. Maybe my palate is fried, but I'm not getting the high alcohol. Then again, I taste these on the cool side.

The wine I just finished tonight isn't even a Chateauneuf - the 2007 Coudoulet de Beaucastel - this might be the best Cote du Rhone I've ever had. At $28, it's as good or better than many of the CdP's I've had in previous years.

I'm going to a 2007 CdP tasting on Friday (Vieux Télégraphe, Vieux Donjon, Beaucastel, etc.) and will report back.
-Dave-

[Eric Ifune]

I've always liked CdP, still have vintages from the mid-80's. I guess the rest of the wine buying community eventually discovered it, and it became fashionable.

[Andy Velebil]

So many CdP's from the past were poorly made and Brett infected -- nice on purchase and became leathery, horse-y cr@p within a few years (I'm talking the 1980's and early 90's here). Tack room and horse piss are not wine smells that I like.

This is why I stopped drinking them early this decade, I just couldn't handle so much brett. Looks like I need to rethink it and give them a go again.

[Moses Botbol]

Wow! I'm just the opposite... I love the 2007's. They are full of life. Very fruit forward and in general clean wines. So many CdP's from the past were poorly made and Brett infected -- nice on purchase and became leathery, horse-y cr@p within a few years (I'm talking the 1980's and early 90's here). Tack room and horse piss are not wine smells that I like.

I thought that was CdP's terrior?

I am big fan of CdP. Some are so crazy that there is only ham, smoke, and earth tastes... Absolutely no fruit! Prices are no longer a bargain with most names starting at $50 above... Not the bargains they use to be. As long as Beaujolais is left undistrubed to market trends I have something to fall back of for value.

[Eric Menchen]

2001 (and possibly 2003) Louis Bernard CdP is on sale at my local b&m for $30.99 for a magnum. Is this any good? I've never had it. For that price I picked up a 2001. Should I go back and buy more? If there is a choice, 2001 or 2003?

[Peter W. Meek]

I recently bought a case of 2005 Domaine du Pégaü Cuvée Réservée CdP, but, having tasted a (13th) bottle, I expect to cellar this for a decade. The question (always) is: do you want to pay to cellar it, or do you want to buy this 10 years from now and pay someone else for cellaring it? Buy now and pay a decent price, but take the risk that this ISN'T the wine of greatness; or, buy later when everyone and his brother has sounded off about the wine of the century and pay the premium.

In homage to another thread: investing vs. gambling.

[Moses Botbol]

Buy now and pay a decent price, but take the risk that this ISN'T the wine of greatness; or, buy later when everyone and his brother has sounded off about the wine of the century and pay the premium.

In homage to another thread: investing vs. gambling.

I don't think it's really a gamble. The wine is going to be good at a minimum down the road. It's already good. Just keep buying and don't look back.

[dan s]

I like CdP! My true love is Burgundy, but looking over my cellartracker reports, I see that Port and Rhone are the next two categories.

Dan

[Roy Hersh]

Eric Ifune looks at this similarly to older collectors of CdP. We used to pay ridiculously low prices for CdP. When Bordeaux and Burgundy started to increase in price exponentially in the mid-1990s, along with CA Cabs too, MANY wine lovers started scouring the globe for bargains. Those new to wine, went towards the lure of big fruit and easy drinking with Australian Shiraz, which was a bargain at the time for the really top stuff like Penfolds, Henschke and d'Arenberg to name a few old school great producers. They bought into Marquis Phillips and others like Kay Brothers and Greenock when those become fashionable from Barossa and Yarra etc. Anyway, older palates went towards old world and discovered Rhone wines, with some preferring the beauty of the North, Syrah based and blessed with Hermitage and Cote Rotie; whilst others enjoyed the S. Rhone bargain cuvees from CdP and nearby appellations. For $20 or less, you could buy Beaucastel back in the late 1980s into the early 1990s. Nobody really knew Pegau back then but there were great names like Chaves and Rayas and others which were pricier but still less than equivalent great name first growth Bdx or Grand Cru Burgs.

Fortunately the funk and Brett from the 1985-1994 period is pretty much a thing of the past, except for the outlier. The majority today are clean (and by that I mean hygienic) and well made, but when newbies discovered they were some of the last bastions of affordable French reds, people piled on in droves and prices skyrocketed. The last vintage I bought with any seriousness was 2001 and I am done buying Rhones, although probably will grab some 2007 too (mixed cases) but nothing like 1998 and other greats 1990/1989 etc. I agree with David about the 2007s and wonder if Fred had consumed copious quantities of 2007 Vintage Ports before he tasted the Rhones!?!?!

[Frederick Blais]

I agree with David about the 2007s and wonder if Fred had consumed copious quantities of 2007 Vintage Ports before he tasted the Rhones!?!?!

I wish I could have drink VP

Got a couple fo C9DP during Christmas time. Clos des Papes 95, was totally mature, balanced, only a hint of heat on the finish, not really complex but fresh and easy to drink. Good stuff with food. Was 35$ in the time, totally worth it, but not the 100$ it is asking on the market today. Clos St-Michel 2005 The fruit is drying out, leaving thin structure and lots of alcohol. Even my brother who is a big fan of C9 did not like this one. Bois de Boursan 2004 While I do not like the top cuvée des Félix from this domaine, the regular bottling is always offering good value. A fresh, elegant and complex wine with almost no sulfur, pure, elegant terroir of C9 is shining here. Nothing close to trying to be those fruit bombs. Good stuff and will last for another 10 years effort less.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, there is only a handful of producer really trying to bottle the terroir of the region while the others are pushing experimentations of the last 15 years to produce wines that the grapes and land are not living to give.