Big thanks to Harry for organizing this wonderfull afternoon!
Not only the greatest domains were presented, but also there were some barrel samples of the great 2007's
The athmosphore was so relaxed, with the opportunity to meet again some fellow BB members like Chris, Tom, Bart, Michel, John...
But also always great to discuss with the producers of these magic wines... I think I went 3 times to talk with Julien and tasted almost every bottle of Pure from Magnum and 75cl :-)

Out of the 150 wines presented... I survived taking notes of a few ones...

• 2006 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservé - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nez floral et de fruits noirs mûrs... en bouche, bonne acidité et fruité mûr (91 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Fiancée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very powerfull nose of red cherries, spices... in the mounth, pepery with red fruit and slightly tannic... I'm not a syrah fan, but if you like syrah, this is a great wine (93 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Fiancée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Medium nose of cherries and peper... very fruity in the mounth and good refreshing acidity (bottle from barrel sample) (93 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Pure - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Beautifull nose of cherries jam, oriental spices and even some meat... in the mounth, very ripe red fruit, strawberries, cherries, spices... very long aftertaste... great wine!! (96 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Pure - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  
  Whaouw... this is wine is in the top 3 of the tasting!!! With a huge nose of ripe black and red cherries, "Belgian sirop de Liège", licorice.... Very very very long in the mounth, huge ripe black and red fruit, very refined and ripe tannins, good refreshing acidity... (bottle from barrel sample) (99 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nose of farm, horse, pepery, spicy, maybe a bit green... relatively tannic in the mounth, but just enough fruit to balance the tannins (91 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very ripe and powerfull nose of black fruit with spices... very very long in the mounth, loads of ripe tannins and very very long aftertaste... great wine! (bottle from barrel sample) (94 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine Chante Cigale Cuvée Extrait - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône (11/30/2008)
  Whaouw... Explosive nose of pure cassis jam... probably the greatest nose of the evening... in the mounth, a lot of freshness, with black red fruit and loads of integrated tannins... probaly in the Top 3 wines of the tasting (bottle from barrel sample) (98 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine du Grand Tinel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nose of red fruit and a bit of smoke... quite light in the mounth, good acidity, but a bit of bitterness... (89 pts.)
• 2005 Domaine du Grand Tinel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Alexis Establet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nose a red fruit a bit vegetal... good, but not my type of wine (90 pts.)

• 2005 Château de Vaudieu Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very good nose of gamey, very evolved, oriental spices, ripe red fruit... in the mounth, a lot of finesse, very long and ripe tannins (92 pts.)
• 2005 Château de Vaudieu Châteauneuf-du-Pape Val de Dieu - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very ripe nose of red and black fruit, spice cake... in the mounth, very concentrated, pure fruit and good acidity (94 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very elegant nose of red fruit, a bit meaty and spicy... Excellent taste in the mounth with pure ripe black fruit, strawberries and cherries... great wine (93 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very powerfull nose of black red fruit... in the mounth, very integrated tannins, with ripe red fruit, good refreshing acidity (93 pts.)

• 2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Ripe nose of cherries and licorice... in the mounth, very ripe red fruit, almost sweet fruit, ripe tannins... delicious!!! (93 pts.)
• 2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Combe des Fous - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very powerfull nose of ripe cherries, spice cake and chocolate... in the mounth, very concentrated fruit and silky tannins, with a bit of chocolate aftertaste... one of the top Syrah-Grenache wines of the tasting!! (96 pts.)
• 2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Excellent nose of ripe cherries, and spices... in the mounth it is a liquor of chateauneuf, with loads of ripe red fruit, exotic spices, good acidity, almost no tannins and completely integrated... the taste goes on forever, almost 90 sec... on of the top wines of the tasting (98 pts.)

• 2006 Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nose of vanilla and coconeut, with ripe red fruit... looks like it had a lot of new wood, very fruity in the mounth.... This wine is very good and I'm not sensitive to new wood, but I wonder if this wine would not be even better without wood? (93 pts.)
• 2007 Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Very nice nose of red fruit sirop and vanilla... very powerfull in the mounth, with ripe red fruit on steriods!! Great wine with luckily so much fruit, that it supports the wood (bottle from barrel sample) (96 pts.)

• 2006 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Tradition - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Excellent nose of ripe red fruit, spices and gamey... very tannic in the mounth and a bit over extracted (89 pts.)
• 2006 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nice nose of gamey, wet horse and already very evolved... in the mounth, the fruit is abit light compared to the massive tannins (90 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Light nose of vanilla and red fruit (did this wine see some new wood?)... very fruity in the mounth, good lenght... but tannins are quite present (91 pts.)

• 2004 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  A bit of alcohol in the nose and wet wood... very light in the mounth with some tannins... defenitely not my type of wine compared to all the beauties we have had... (88 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nose of vanilla and a bit red fruit... with powerfull fruit in the mounth and integrated tannins (93 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chaupin - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Medium nose of ripe red fruit, tobacco... in the mounth, very powerfull, spicy, pepery, relatively extracted and a bit tannic, but good refreshing acidity (92 pts.)

• 2006 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nice nose of red fruit and ripe green pepers... in the mounth, red fruit, good tannins and average lenght... this is a good wine but it is not at the level of many top cuvées of other producers (92 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Enormous nose of cherries jam, gamey, leather, farmhouse, and oriental spices.... Excellent mount of spice cake, fruity and very refined, almost no tannins... Other loved it less than me as there were almost no tannins... but I loved it!! (94 pts.)
• 2004 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Nose of "sous-bois", cherries jam... in the mounth, there is much more tannic structure with abit hidden fruit, the wine looks a bit dried out... other liked it more than me... I preferred much more the Reserve... (92 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  The nose is very muted at this stage and doesn't show much (still a bit of CO2)... very very concentrated in the mounth, pure ripe black and red fruit, slightly pepery and very good acidity... the lenght goes on forever (60 sec)... when the nose will open up, this will be a killer wine!!! (bottle from barrel sample) (96 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/30/2008)
  Whaouw nose of cassis sirup and smoked ham... in the mounth, very concentrated ripe black fruit, very good acidity, and very very very long aftertaste... one of the top wines of the tasting!! (98 pts.)

This time we have decided to share a few of our best bottles in a limited group... so that we can take the time to appreciate and see them evolving over a decent meal...

Our "cook of the evening" is Christophe Vanderkelen, and was invited not only because he is a big Chateauneuf fan, but especially for it's famous "Saucisson de Lyon aux lentilles et vinaigre balsamique" ... a typical Provencal meal... that fits perfectly with our Chateauneuf selection...

Flight 1:

• 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2008)
  Wow... the nose is immediately open with very ripe cherries, chocolate, leather soy sauce and a hint of licorice... with aeration you get some torrefied and coffee aromas....in the mounth it is pure ripe red cherries juice with a refreshing acidity and a spicy finish, this is concentrated and very very long aftertaste... The tannis are totally inexistant her it is pure elixir of delicate fruit juice.... This was one of the most feminine wine of the night... I just LOVED it!!! (100 pts.)
• 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve des Deux Freres - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2008)
  Very strong nose of black cherries and "pruneaux", with coffee and mokka... Twice as concentrated and powerfull than the Mon Aieul, tannins are present here but very ripe, silky and totally integrated... this wine still requires a couple of years to reach his peak... potentially it could be even better than the Mon Aieul, but for today drinking the Mon Aieul was THE perfect bottle!! (98 pts.)

Flight 2:

• 2004 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2008)
  Very strong nose of black fruit with loads of blackberries and blueberries, ripe black cherries... even some smoky, spicy and refreshing mineral nose.... very elegant wine with the combination of ripe fruit, spices and refreshing acidity... this is the most approchable from the 3 and the best to accompagny a meal... and indeed the most feminine of the trio. (98 pts.)
• 2003 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2008)
  Very attractive and sweet nose of red cherries jam, almonds, vanilla and a hint of menthol... with loads of ripe cherries in the mounth, this wine is very very concentrated and a very very long and warm aftertaste.... This bottle was a little bit closed and last year's bottle showed better... so I would let this one sleep for a couple of years and enjoy the 2004 and the 2005 before they will close down... This wine was the most masculine of the trio (97 pts.)
• 2005 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2008)
  Woooow... when you think you've already reached the top, then comes the Machina 2005... even if it is still young, it looks like it has it all... very classy and volatile nose of lead pencil, vanilla, spices, ripe black cherries and a hint of menthol and refreshing minerality .... In the mounth, loads of blach cherries, roasted and smoked meat and again some refreshing minerality and good acidity... this wine is a winner!!! It is at the same time very masculine and very feminine wine... how do you call that... a mistress wine :-) (99 pts.)

The Mon Aieul was the WOTN for me while the Deus 2005 winner of the group... I'm happy that I've a few left of these ...

This was another great evening with friends of the Robert Parker Forum where we organize some offline events and share some good bottles... And this time again, the food at truffetlje did not dissapoint it was a great match with the Chateauneufs.

After the two champagnes as aperitief, we started with a flight of white Chateauneufs... and this confirmed that the quality of the white Chateauneufs gets better and better every years and certainly deserves attention. The styles were quite different... so and at the end it's a question of taste... my personal favourite of the flight was the Clos St-Jean which is probably the most exotic...

• 2006 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008) Nose of abricot, nuts and slightly mineral... in the mounth very fat, mineral and quite long (90 pts.)
• 2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  Starts with a light nose of tropical fruit and ananas... the mounth is fat, very nice, very long with some lactic tropical fruit, some refreshing citrus and a hint of minerality (91 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/26/2008) with a nose of grilled bread, walnuts and a hint of honey, the mounth is quite mineral with some refreshing citrus and a hint of greeness, but overall very good wine! (90 pts.)

And now to the reds with the meat!! We started with probably some of the best Cote du Rhone from Pierre Usseglio, followed up by a delicate Cailloux, and a great St-Jean... and a fantastic Cadettes that overshadowed the younger wines... the last one should probably have been aligned in the next flight...

• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (4/25/2008) Typical, nose of ripe black cherries, black berries and licorice... the mounth is again full of black cherries with a long aftertaste, some ripe tannins but very well integrated (91 pts.)
• 2004 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  This wine is very delicate and can be easily overshadowed by more powerfull wines... the nose is full of ripe strawberries with oriental spices... in the mounth is spicy, with ripe cherries and a refreshing acidity... this wine is perfect with a dinner, but suffers from the comparaison in a line-up (90 pts.)
• 2004 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)The nose took some time to open up... but turned up very powerfull and sweet with spices, very ripe red cherries and a hint of soya sauce... in the mounth very concentrated with asian spices, ripe red cherries and very very long aftertaste (92 pts.)

The next flight was a mini-horizontal of 1998... one of my preferred vintages. The Rayas was a nice surprise and unfortunately the Vieille Julienne were big dissapointments... and a Roger Perrin Vielle Vignes that never dissapoints...

• 1998 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008) Nose of ripe cherries, meaty and slightly greenish... in the mounth again some meat with soya sauce and a hint of wood tannins but well integrated ... overall very good wine and better than I expected. (93 pts.)
• 1998 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  Nose of freshly cut grass, very shutdown, with some red cherries...in the mounth, "cerise du nord", quite acid and unbalanced... and overall very dissapointing for a wine of this level... (88 pts.)
• 1998 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  Very ripe nose of cherries, almost port like... very light in the mounth with some red acidic fruit and wet wood... is this a defective bottles? at least there is no hint of TCA...but overall very dissapointing for such a wine (87 pts.)
• 1998 Domaine Roger Perrin Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve des Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008) Very nice nose of ripe red fruit with wild mushrooms and spices... in the mounth it is not ablockbuster, but very elegant red fruit and integrated tannins (92 pts.)

Next flight was the "oldies"... with some example of how Chateauneuf can age beautifully... this make me want to burry some of my younger Chateauneufs and rediscover them in 10 or 20 years from now...The Beaucastels and the Vieux Telegraphe were so fantastic, that I didn't spent so much time on the two last wines of the flight...

• 1979 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  Whaouw... usually I'm not a fan of Beaucastel... but this one has an amazing jammy and sweet nose of red cherries, brown sugarand very ripe red pepers... in the mounth, perfect balance, good lenght and a hint of "pain d'épices"... excellent wine that feels more like a 15 years old wine than a 30 years old wine...and even better than the Beaucastel 1990! (96 pts.)
• 1988 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  Very powerfull nose of ripe cherries and ripe red pepers... in the mounth again ripe red cherries, remarquable refreshing and very long aftertaste... (93 pts.)
• 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  Nose of earth and "fraises des bois", animal, meaty... in the mounth, very silky and pure ripe cherries, very refreshing acidity (95 pts.)
• 1978 Clos du Mont Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  nose of mushrooms and cherries... I didn't spend much time on this wine as the Beaucastels were much more attractive... (89 pts.)
• 1964 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cèdres - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/25/2008)
  Eucalyptus, brown sugar,.... but corked! NR (flawed)

And now the top of the top... la crême de la crême...with a Mon Aieul that was out of this world, as good as wine can get, one of my all times favourite CDP... followed by a sex machine that deserves his name... that has a HUGE potential to get even better in 10-20 years from now!! It was really a hard time for the Clos des Papes and the Pégau which are great wines nevertheless...

• 2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/26/2008)
  Spicy nose and ripe cherries with a hint of licorice... in the mounth, very ripe cherries with a long aftertaste, but slightly hot finish... (93 pts.)
• 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/26/2008)
  Whaouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuw.... what an amazing wine!! An explosive nose of ripe red cherries, licorice, sweet asian spices and a hint of soy sauce... in the mounth, meaty juice, very sweet ripe cherries with a refreshing acidity and a long long long aftertaste of pure fruit juice and totally intergrated tannins... very close to the "perfect chateauneuf" to my taste (99 pts.)
• 2005 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/26/2008)
  This wine has the appropriate name and is really a "sex machine"! Amazing nose of black cherries with tons of minerality... in fact a very classic nose, in the mounth it is very concentrated black cherries, meaty and spices... almost "essence" of Chateauneuf... I can't wait to see how this wine will evolve after 20 years... it is fantastic now and has a LOT of potential!!! (98 pts.)
• 2001 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/26/2008)
  It was not fair for the CL to come after the mon Aieul and the Deus... so my notes are quite short... but overall typical Pégau notes of meaty and asian spices... this is a great pégau that never dissapoints... but the Réserve 2003 would have been a tougher competitor for the other wines of this flight (95 pts.)

The sweet whites came as last flight, with a surprising sweet viognier that was excellent, two Tokaj and a "dead" Sauterne from 1967...

To end, John ordered an Yquem 1999 from the wine list.... which gave me the same sensations as the Climens 2001 we had the last time... some said it was lighter... I thought it was just great... 

So, the Mon Aieul and the Beaucastel 1979 were for me the wines of the evening... and I'm already looking forward for our next event... maybe a Léoville evening... with Netherlands vs. Belgium...?

As the Bordeaux 2005 have received A LOT of publicity and attention in the last month... it was time to make our own mind by tasting some of the first "in the bottle" highlighted wine 

So we started with the whites with a Pape-Clement that really stood-up:

• 2005 Château Carbonnieux Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (12/12/2007)
  Nose of yellow apple, anis, lemon marmelade and white pepper, the mounth has a nice acidity with ripe apple and some melon (90 pts.)
• 2005 Château Lynch-Bages Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Contrôlée (12/12/2007)
  Nose of vanilla, asian spices and orange peals. the mounth is not very fruity, but has some fat and good minerality (91 pts.)
• 2005 Château Pape Clément Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (12/12/2007)
  Wow, here is more serious stuff, with a nose off smoke, grany apple, the nose is very powerfull with some hints of accacia flowers. The fruit is very very long in the mounth with a good and refreshing minerality. Great stuff... but is it still a QPR at 165€ per bottle??? (94 pts.)

Then came the left bank 2005 reds, quite tannic and lacking some charm to my taste (I'm a big fan of the exotic 2003's...) ...

• 2005 Château Petit Bocq - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (12/12/2007)
  Lots of vanilla with ripe black fruit, but with a hint of alcohol in the nose... unfortunately the tannins are quite harsh and slightly green in the mounth...hoping this will resolve with some bottle age!! (88 pts.)
• 2005 Château Chasse-Spleen - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc (12/12/2007)
  A nice nose of licorice, ripe green pepers and some black fruit... but here again the tannins are powerfull but slightly green..hoping this will resolve with time!! (88 pts.)
• 2005 Château Sociando-Mallet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc (12/12/2007)
  Very nice nose of black fruit, coconut, black peper, vanilla and some coffee.... the tannins are very concentrated but much more silky here, with some lactic even creamy components. Great stuff, but very masculine and lacking some charm (90 pts.)
• 2005 Château Carbonnieux - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (12/12/2007)
  The nose is full of red fruit with some strawberries, green pepers and even some chocolate and prunes... Arghh, the tannins are harsh and powerfull with some hot alcohol in the throath... not very "grave" type of wine... (89 pts.)

The right bank was very nice, with some good QPR's (Rouget) in the context of the expensive vintage and a fantastic Pavie Macquin... great stuff!!

• 2005 Château Rouget - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (12/12/2007)
  Very nice nose of smoke, caramel, mokka and tobacco... in the mounth it is very ripe, even creamy but lacking some freshness and lacking acidity... but good QPR in thye context of an expensive vintage!! (92 pts.)
• 2005 Château La Fleur-Pétrus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (12/12/2007)
  Very closed nose of Licorice and red berries... in the mounth the tannins are powerfull but well integrated, good wine but not great for 130 Euro per bottle?? (91 pts.)
• 2005 Château Pavie Macquin - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (12/12/2007)
  This is a great nose of ripe cassis, prunes, graphite and some blueberries... the month is great with loads of black ripe fruit, very good acidity and very very long... great stuff!! (94 pts.)

Mhhh... I love the Italians with very ripe fruit combined with refreshing acidity.. I need to look for some Petrolo in my cellar!!

• 2005 Fattoria Petrolo Galatrona Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (12/12/2007)
  Whaouw!! Great nose of jammy black fruit, with tobacco, mokka and almonds... The mounth is very lactic with ripe red fruits, and good refreshing acidity, fantastic wine!! (96 pts.)
• 2005 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (12/12/2007)
  Nose of Chocolate and prunes.. the tannins are very present, with some licorice, but lacking some fruit... must be in a closed phase, not showing much... (89 pts.)

The red flight of the evening!! with a stunning Vega Sicilia... very very nice!!

• 2005 Artadi Rioja Viña El Pison - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja (12/12/2007)
  Nice nose of spanish "Jamon", chocolate and red fruits... in the mounth some violets, powerfull fruit, very mong aftertaste, a little bit sweet, with hints of "sirop de Liège", great stuff (94 pts.)
• 1996 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero (12/12/2007)
  Fantastic nose of smoke, tar, ripe strawberries tobacco and a hint of mint... very very fruity, elegant, almost sweet but with a refreshing acidity...Great classic wine!! (97 pts.)

As our host is a stickies fan, and has a very good taste, I've had some of the best Sauternes of my life!!

• 2004 Château Climens - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac (12/12/2007)
  Whaouw, I'm not a fan of Sauternes, but this is great stuff with a nose of abricot, pêche, ripe ananas... the mounth is full of loads of abricot, almonds, orange marmelade with a very nice refreshing acidity... at this point it was even better than the Yquem 2004... a great QPR for 60€!! (98 pts.)
• 2004 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes (12/12/2007)
  The nose is more closed with some apricot, it looks more like a nose of "passerillé" rather than " botrytisé"... but much more power in the mounth than the Climens, could be closed at this stage (95+) (95 pts.)
• 2004 Château Doisy-Daëne L'Extravagant - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac (12/12/2007)
  Whaouw!! nose of pêche, gelée de coings and compote de rhubarbe... in theb mounth it is even more concentrated than the Yquem 2004... what a great wine... unfortunately very expensive at 175 Euro for a half bottle... (98 pts.)
• 2003 Château Doisy-Daëne L'Extravagant - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac (12/12/2007)
  Very sweet nose of honey, abricots, caramel and salty butter... this wine is extremely powerfull with an incredible lenght... almost as good as the 2004, if it would have a hint more acidity... great, great great stuff!! (97 pts.)

What a great evening, I'm looking for the next time I can replace my father in law and thank him so much for this great evening with great people 

Tonight we decided to put our best Syrah's from over the world in a competition.  As we were a limited to six participants, we had the time to see the wines evolving in the glass...

This was a very learnfull evening, all tasted blind of course with a very nice Italian discovery... yes they also have great and elegant Syrah

• 2001 Domaine l'Aiguelière Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Côte Rousse - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux (11/30/2007)
  Light nose of smoke, cherries and licorice. A little bit lactic in the mounth, some red berries, good minerality and good intergrated tannic structure... The wine was better at opening than after one day slow aeretion... (89 pts.)

• 1998 Delas Frères Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (11/30/2007)
  Wow... this wine really opened up after one day of slow aeration and showed an explosive nose of black berries, cassis, coffee and torefied nose with a hint of menthol. In the mounth it is a festival of ripe cassis, very silky tannins, a hint of minerality, quite elegant and very very long!! This wine is already very good now and has still a lot of potential ahead!! (94 pts.)

• 2000 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (11/30/2007)
  Light nose of smoke and bacon, it is very discrete, sweet and feminine. Quite velvety in the mounth, with red berries and lacking a little bit of lenght, but very elegant... good wine, but not worth the $$$ :-( (91 pts.)

• 2003 Isole e Olena Syrah Collezione de Marchi Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (11/30/2007)
  Whaouuuuuw... this was the wine of the night!!! An explosive roasted, torrefied nose with ripe cherries and cassis, oriental spices, very elegant with some good refreshing volatile acidity in the italian style. The wine is mounth watering with very ripe cherries, very elegant, totally integrated tannins and a refreshing acidity, even a little bit of white peper... this wine is very very very long!!! BRAVO!! (95 pts.)

• 2001 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (11/30/2007)
  The nose is too much of everything... with cassis jam, chocolate, black and red fruit coulis. This wine has an enormous concentration...almost as they forgot to add some water in it... siropy, alsmost port like... if fact it is more like a dessert wine and fitted quite well with the crême brulée ... 96/100 as competition wine... 90 /100 as pleasure wine... at the end of the evening the bottle was still half full, while the Italian was already empty in no time :-) (93 pts.)

The second day started a little bit later than planned ... as we finished the bottles of "La Combe des fous 04" and "Ex-Machina 04" at la Beaugravière the evening before, and couldn't resist taking a bottle of 1991 Pignan (Syrah from Rayas) which was also very nice, but of course different style...

Domaine Pierre Usseglio:

We arrived really late for our appointment... but Thierry Usseglio was very nice and had even prepared a couple of 2006 samples to taste...

• 2005 Domaine Pierre Usseglio Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (4/29/2007) Tasted from bottle with Thierry Usseglio at the domain: Incredible meat nose with ripe cherries. Loads of ripe red fruit in the mounth. This Cote du Rhone is a Chateauneuf level in this vintage. Great QPR! (90 pts.)

• 2005 Domaine Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) tasted at the domain with Thierry Usseglio: Nose of very ripe strawberries with a refresshing impression. Medium concentration, slightly tannic with good lenght and very fruity aftertaste (91 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) Cask sample tasted with Thierry Usseglio at the domain: Powerfull nose of cherries, strawberries and cocoa. Very fruity and very long aftertaste! (92-93/100)

• 2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) Cask sample tasted with Thierry Usseglio at the domain: Powerfull nose of Licorice, ripe cherries, very elegant... soft and silky tannins with a long cherries aftertaste (93-95/100)

Domaine du Pégau:

It is always a pleasure to meet Paul and Laurence, so this was an absolute "Must do" in our 2 days trip!

Every time we visit them, they always have great stories to tell... This time Paul told us that he had bought some shares in a water "source".... that we of course tasted, and that was very good!! So the 2 good news here are:
- First good news: their sparkling water is really excellent, it is very mineral, with a hint of salt but not too much.
- 2nd good news: there are more than 300.000 bottles available...so no worries here... 

• 2006 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007)
  Tasted from cask with Paul Féraud at the domain:
  Grenache cask : Nose of pure cherries, loads of red fruit in the mount and a little bit of white peper and spices, totally integrated tannins almost imperceptible. Very good and refreshing acidity combined with sweetness of the bonbons "Haribo"
  Syrah cask: Black as ink, loads of very sweet and silky tannins and loads of spices in the mounth. (94-95/100)

• 2005 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007)
  Tasted from cask with Paul Féraud at the domain
  Nose of licorice, loads of spices and a little smokiness. The mounth is more powerfull and concentrated than the 2006 cask sample, with some light tannins. Very masculine wine. A Pégau to forget in the cellar for 5 years… (94-95+/100)

• 2004 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007)
  Tasted from bottle with Paul Féraud at the domain, seems to be a second bottling of the 2004 according to Paul...
  Nose of cocoa, very ripe cherries, licorice, pain d'épice, black chocolate, loads of spices.
  In the mounth, very concentrated, with cherries and load of spices, loads of integrated and soft tannins.
  This wine was even better than the cask sample of 2005 and 2006… This is a true "Must have" for a Pégau lover!! (96 pts.)

At the end we were talking about this famous cuvée "Intuition" or "Inspiration" which is unafordable for me... and Laurence promised to visit Belgium and maybe bring one for tasting......


Domaine Les Cailloux

Andre Brunel has quickly become one of my favourite Chateauneufs, so enclosed the tasting notes, between the bariques of his cellar...

• 2005 Domaine André Brunel Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Est - Ouest - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (4/29/2007) Very fruity nose with pure ripe red currant, no spices here. Refreshing acidity and quite silky tannins for a Cote du Rhone... a great QPR!! (90 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine André Brunel Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Sommelongue - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (4/29/2007) Tasted with André Brunel at the domain: Nose of ripe cherries and spices, very elegant. In the mounth, some jamy red currant with refreshing acididy and nice taste of "bonbon Haribo". An excellent Cote du Rhone!!! (91 pts.)

• 2004 Les Cailloux (André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) Tasted with Andre Brunel from domain: Nose of very ripe cherries, very spicy, licorice and "pain d'épices". Good acidity, very fruity and long aftertaste. Aftertaste of "bonbon acidulé"... a great wine! (94 pts.)

• 2005 Les Cailloux (André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) The nose is more closed with red fruit and spices. A lot of structure and concentration in the mounth, fruity and slight integrated tannins. This wine will probably improve with time when the tannins will be even more integrated. (93+/100)

• 2005 Les Cailloux (André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) WOW!! Explosive nose of licorice, dark chocolate, very ripe cherries, "bonbon acidulé" and very very very long aftertaste combined with a great purity and freshness. BRAVO!!! (98/100)

We had 2 fantastic days of visit in Chateauneuf du Pape, enclosed the tasting notes...

Domaine Clos du Caillou:

Sylvie Vacheron was not there... so we had a quick tasting of wines already available from bottle.

• 2005 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône Bouquet des Garrigues - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (4/29/2007)
  Tasted from bottle at the domain:
  Nose of ripe cherries with some minerality. Quite fruity in the mounth with a refreshing acidity and some light tannins. Very good for a Cote du Rhone... It seems that the terroir is just in front of Beaucastel, which could be an explanation why it is so good! (89 pts.)

• 2005 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007)
  Nose of black fruit, with a little bit of volatile alcohol and a hint of smokiness. "Cerises du nord" in the mounth with powerfull tannins... this wine needs a couple of hours of aeration to integrate the tannins... To be retasted, as the wine had just been bottled a couple of days ago (92-95+/100)

Domaine de la Mordorée:

Fabrice and Christophe where hosting the tasting... it is fantastic to see the quality wines they make in the Lirac appelation... and the good news is that the Armenier sisters from Marcoux have also some new vines in the Lirac appelation...

• 2005 Domaine de la Mordorée Lirac Cuvée de la Reine des Bois - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Lirac (4/29/2007) Nose of black fruit, cocoa, pain grillé and a hint of Licorice. In the mounth again some cocoa with quite well integrated tannins. (91 pts.)

• 2006 Domaine de la Mordorée Lirac Cuvée de la Reine des Bois - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Lirac (4/29/2007) Strong nose of licorice, black cherries and cocoa. Powerfull mounth of red fruits, with loads of integrated tannins, very mong fruity aftertaste. Seems much better than the 2005 at the same stage. (92-94/100)

We also had the Chateauneuf 2005 which was great... but I can't recall the tasting notes... :-(


Domain de Marcoux

Sophie Armenier hosted the tasting and Catherine joined us later. It was very interesting to see how far they can go in their "Bio" approach... Sophie was preparing infusions of "Pissenlits", "hoties" and other herbs to be put on the vines to stimulate natural growth and fight nocive insects... It smelled like a nice tea, but in a vat of 300 liters!!!

• 2005 Domaine la Lorentine Lirac - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Lirac (4/29/2007)
  Very spicy and feminine nose. Good acidity in the mounth, integrated tannins and red fruit. Very good Lirac! (89 pts.)

• 2005 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007)
  Powerfull nose of Licorice, black cherries, and oriental spices. Medium concentration but very long aftertaste. (93 pts.)

Clos Saint Jean:

And we finished the day with the discovery (at least for us...) of a fantastic domain which will not need a long time to become one of the top domains of Chateauneuf...
Thanks again to Mr Maurel that hosted the tasting and where we had great fun... We finished the day with the remaining of the bottle of Deus 04 and Combe des Fous 2004, that we brought and finished at La Beaugravière...

• 2006 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) Grenache cask sample tasted at the domain: This is not the final blend and represents only the grenache part of the blend. Powerfull spicy nose jumping out of the glass, very ripe cherries but not jammy and loads of licorice. In the mounth incredibly long with tons of ripe red fruit and a refreshing acidity. The tannins are superbly integrated for such a young wine. This producer is clearly in the top tier of great Chateauneuf producers! (92-94+/100)

• 2005 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) Cask sample tasted from the domain: This will probably be the final blend and is black as ink. Nose of black bramberries (Mûres) and again loads of licorice. Good acidity and more tannins than the 2006 CDP, but again surprisingly well integrated compared to 2005 tasted from other domains. Red fruits and very long aftertaste in the mounth (92-94+/100)

• 2004 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) Tasted from bottle at the domain: Powerfull nose of spices and "herbes de provence", very clean and concentrated red fruit with refreshing acidity and loads of licorice. Great wine! (94 pts.)

• 2004 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Combe des Fous - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) Tasted from the domain: Powerfull spicy nose, "herbes de Provence". In the mounth, very concentrated ripe cherries with no jamyness and a good refreshing acidity. This is a very sexy, feminine and irresistible wine... the bottle was finished at an incredible speed!! (96-98/100)

• 2004 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/29/2007) asted from the domain (60% Grenache and 40% mourvedre) WOW, this is a very masculine wine with a powerfull nose of licorice, smoke, "pain d'épices" and "figues". In the mounth it is a BOMB of spices jumping out of the glass, this wine is much too young and too powerfull at this stage.... This is really "essence of Chateauneuf" concentrated in a bottle!! (96-98+/100)

What a great day!!!

We had a fantastic evening at Christophe's place with Thierry, Quentin, Jean-Louis and Stephane Vayron as special guest.

This was a good opportunity to share some old Pomerol in a small group.. so that you can have a good glass and not just a sip... The wines didn't dissapoint with some positive surprises...


Here are the tasting notes:

• 1995 Château Bourgneuf - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (3/25/2007)
  Nose of dark chocolate, cedar and black fruit. It is rich and opulent with integrated tannins and average lenght. This wine is still very young and has a lot of potential (90 pts.)

• 1982 Château L'Eglise-Clinet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (3/25/2007)
  Explosive nose of black truffles... you see them almost in font of you... licorice, moka, white peper prunes. Fresh red fruit in the month, a little bit acid, average lenght and tannins slightly present. The month is a little bit dissapointed compared to the wonderfull nose... but overall a beautifull wine! (92 pts.)

• 1982 Château Le Bon Pasteur - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (3/25/2007)
  Wow... Moka, tobacco, cigar box, sweet caramel and old leather in the nose, which is more evolved than the Eglise Clinet 1982. The tannins are totally integrated and very soft, good lenght and ripe red fruits. This was one of the most ripe and sweet wines of the evening... Stephane told me that it could be due to a little bit of residual sugar left, it is only perceptible when comparing with the Eglise Clinet. One of my favourite wine of the night!! (93 pts.)

• 1985 Château Bourgneuf - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (3/25/2007)
  Powerfull nose of licorice, truffles and jammy strawberry. The ripe fruit is very present in the mounth. This wine is clearly more powerfull than Eglise Clinet 1982 and Bon Pasteur 1982... Stephane told us that the terroir is situated between Trotanoy and Latour à Pomerol, which is not surprising us seen the amazing level of fruit... This wine was the surprise of the evening for me!! (93 pts.)

• 1982 Château Le Gay - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (3/25/2007)
  Nose of coffee, tobacco, cigar box and jammy strawberries. Very powerfull in the mounth, concentrated with ripe red fruit and good lenght... This wine feels much younger and less evolved than the Bon Pasteur and Eglise Clinet 1982. The winner of the evening!! (94 pts.)

• 1975 Château L'Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (3/25/2007)
  As the evening is going, my notes become shorter... Nose of lead pencil, leather, bleck fruit and some minerality... Very very long red fruit in the month with some licorice... this is a beautifull wine with still a lot of potential and still feels very young!!! (93 pts.)