Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape

Posted by Edmund in Other, Wine & Liquor | Comments Off

Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape 2006
Undisclosed Blend
Rhone, France
$99-$150 on Wine-searcher, but about 10 vendors sell it for $110 or less.

This wine is an absolute thrill to drink, and one of the best wines I’ve ever tasted! This isn’t unexpected, though, as it’s the icon-level wine of one of the best houses in the best subregion (Chateauneuf area) of the Rhone.

Beautiful color—Slightly muddy, dark purplish red, verging on black. Gorgeous reflection of a dark ruby purple just jump out of the wine. Great legs, too.

Aroma of subtle oak mixed with nuts, and, at first, an odd smell of vinegar (the bottle is fine, though—the wine just needs to air out a bit, and it tastes just fantastic). Some spice and roasted peppers are prominent on the nose. Some berries, raspberries, sour cherries, and even some sweet apples are there as well. The aroma is very complex and constantly changing.

The taste is out-of-this-world good. Extremely complex. There are tons of nice, subtle spicy notes through, along with smooth, soft tannins. Oak notes continually pick up in intensity. Upon sipping the wine, sour cherries and dark chocolate can be tasted immediately, followed by dark chocolate, then a nice nuttiness, and finally a slightly spicy, roasted pepper finish, with extreme length. The wine is also extremely full-bodied and structured. In addition to having incredible complexity and strong flavors, it is very smooth, making it an incredibly drinkable wine, as the flavors don’t bombard you but are still constantly evolving and playing in your mouth. As it airs, its flavors give way to more oak and spice, and it becomes even smoother. It’s a very heavy wine, like a meal in itself, but it’s an absolute, hedonistic delight.

Overall Score: 4.7/5.0. Quite possibly the easiest to drink and most balanced and complex wine I’ve experienced. Easily justifies the price.