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TN Chateauneuf du Pape old ones Hello, If it weren´t for good guy and entirely mad man Mårten, the Society of Tastevins in Helsingborg would be a rather dull venue where we tasted South African Pinotage, 3 years old, in the SEK 100 - 150 prioce bracket, and somebody would suggest a test round of bagses-in boxeses. However, we do have Mårten, who is a one man "old wines are good - the older the better" crusade, and has caused untold damages to my aching credit cards (I swear, there are blisters on it) by inciting me to buy old Bourgs and Loire wines on auctions - and they are never as good as the ones he presents from the apparently inexhaustible cornucopia of his cellar. So, when the call goes out for a tasting of old CdP's, we do not hesitate, we do not dawdle, and, we do not expect him to present the 1996 or 1994 Beaucastel (which might have been a good thing in itself of course). Nor are we disappointed. Mårten made a short parentation over CdP and the history of the AOC, then the compulsory dig at RMP, who, apparently, has 40 000 bottles of old CdP in his cellar, but doesn´t post notes on them - how come? Starter was a reference wine - the kind you can buy in the shop today. Dom Vieux Lazaret 2003 n Roses and walnuts, cherries and black olives p Tobacco, fruity sweetness, prunes, tannines laid-back, acidity, as Dogberry might have it, conspicable by its abstinence. Overall, this was not bad, but not much better than many Cote du Rhone we have tasted during the latter years - 2003 is a difficult vintage, what with heat waves and drought, so the lack of acidity and tannicity is not to be wondered at. There were color diferences in the wines, but generally, we had to deal with reddish brown in different hues. Also, there were bottle differences, so each comment is the impressions from two glbuttes from different bottles. Overall, notes of bitter orange, smoke, even gunsmoke, or burnt-out fireworks, and various notes of torrefaction were abundant. So was presence of VA, and rose petals. Some of the wines had a haunting aroma of reduction of Chinese soy (if you haven´t tried it, just pour a dollop in a pot and start simmering ...) - these were largely considered dead. #1 Jean Bouchard VSR, NV but identified as from the 60s by the label design. n stable or barnyard, smoke (tar), lavender, VA, slight sniff of mimeograph p acidic attack, mineral (flintstone), smokey, has a nice volume of body #2 Pére Anselme 1964 La Fiole n bitter orange, leather, oxidation, bitter almonds, dill (gherkins), roses p Initially slight of body, but grows; chocolate, again acidity, well-preserved tannic structure, and a hint of saffron on the after taste #3 Pére Anselme 1967 La Fiole n aged, cellary, mushroomy, dead or dying - the other bottle, bitter orange and dill p Delicious sweetness of maturation, and holds some healthy tannines, but appears in fact older than #2. #4 Mouret 1966 n coffee, and gunsmoke p smoke, flintstone, tar This one was arguably the most flinty and explosive of the lot. #5 Funny, the label says "Grand Vin de Bourgogne", then Chateauneuf du Pape ... Pasquier Desvignier 1953 (yes, yes, yes, 1953!) n Enormous bouquet of roses, or even, attar of roses, with a hint of VA, and, strangley, white pepper p acidic attack, burnt rubber, dried fruit This was one of the wines where bottle differences was most marked. The good bottle was one of my favorites. #6 Ogier 1959 'Grand Cuvée' n stable or barnyard, walnuts - the bad bottle was soy sauce reduction p chocolate, sweetness of maturation in the good one - burnt fire cracker in the other. #7 Ch Fortia 1957 n smoke and roses p lightly acidic attack, very nice acidity, in fact, as was the tannic structure. Very good length, with burnt notes. This one was elegant, very enjoyable - best wine of tthe tasting. You may notice that apart from the reference and #7, all the wines are from negociants. This refelcts the CdP of older times, apparently. According to Mårten, at one time Grenach grown in CdP was sold to Cote d'Or to flesh out the reds when they were to anemic - somewhat like the practice of adding Syrah, from Northern Rhone, to Left Bankers in the early 19th century. For those of us who have had the opportunity to tste older Barlolos (and, believe it or not, by older I mean such wines as Aldo Conterno 1964, or Borgogno 1947), a certain similarity is apparent - some of that is of course due to a convergence of history (old wines, oxidation, barrel notes) but the haunting rose petals are very similar. The price for the tasting was SEK 400, plus SEK 100 for #7. Mårten more than hinted that there will not be a second one, his wife even asked, why are the TV-companies not here? Cheers Nils Gustaf -- Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se
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