Reviews

Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina

One of the top wines in the lineup, the Ex Machina inched past the Sanctus by a hair due to the Machina's amazing concentration and complexity, even with its pile of ripe fruit off-loading on to the…

Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Not For You

Upon first sip, notes of bark and earth pinch the palate before the fruit begins to infiltrate the gates. More stemmy than sultry on the front end of the attack, the Not For You tells you right away…

Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Blackberry, black cherry, black licorice, black everything, this brooding cave-dwelling bat boy is ripe and gothic in posture. There is decent flex here as well, with its Emo personality still…

Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul

Sexy and powerful cassis and licorice notes lead the charge, with deeply pitched red and black berry notes rushing up to fill in the gaps. With air, the flow of flavor is even more expansive and…

Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Party-rockin' and sexy ta-boot, the Clos des Papes struts black licorice, blackberry, spice, and tears of shame like it's not coming back home til the next day. Ripe and ready, the black licorice…

Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Deux Frères

Fresh pine needles on the nose makes for a curious first sip, but the taste is all about succulent blackberry and saturated red raspberry fruit washing over the palate with such juiciness and…

Chimère Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Black raspberry, fresh orange peel, cardamom, plum, and cassis present in a subtly candied and liqueur-like fashion, but stay true to the region from where it is attempting to honor. Does it taste…

Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon

Amongst a number of the CdP beasts in the lineup, the Sabon was a beauty, with a well-orchestrated cadence of delivery and a sauntering flavor expansion, it offers flavors of red and black berry…

M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac

A funky cold medina, the Barb Rac was one of the more farmy and earthy of the bunch, with plum and red/black raspberry notes playing tug-o-war with the dirty overalls American Gothic (or rather,…

Domaine Saint Préfert Châteauneuf-du-Pape Collection Charles Giraud

This is a total gym rat of a CdP, with power and chewy toughness forming the frame for ripe black and dark red raspberry fruit flavors punching their way through the palate (rather than along the…

Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire

Powerful and a bit edgy, the Cailloux Centenaire shows some cocktail elements that shoot the dark red and black berry fruit into the boozehound arena for now. Surprisingly watery on the finish,…

Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo

More of a red-fruited animal, the Capo showed a tartness on the finish that both helped and hindered the expansion of the mid-weight ripe fruit on the front end. Herbal and earthy notes offer frame…

Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Folie

Ripe and plummy, with a slight raisin quality, the Bosquet des Papes La Folie is all about RIGHT NOW. If Realm made a CdP and barreled it down in the basement of an Atlantic City casino, it would be…

Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois

Corked. Wet newspaper and bitter blackberry seeds.

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin

One of the CdPs of the night, the Beaucastel Jacques displays instant purity and depth from the first sip. Beautiful and stately and also dark and brooding, there is an elegance-meets-athleticism…

Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes

Funky and a bit barnyard, this was one of the least fruit-driven of the 2016 CdPs. Leather and garrigue dominate the front end, with raspberry and black cherry coulis rounding out the profile.…

Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pure Rouge

On the modern side of modern, the stewed and plummy nose of the Barroche Pure signals what you're in for, flashing ultra-ripe black berry fruit, steeped plums, black cherry syrup, cassis, and dark…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Dirt Vernacular

A couple of domestic pirates made their ways into the mix, specifically two Krankl creations (outside of the Chimere) - the Third Twin Nuestra Senora and the SQN Dirt Vernacular Grenache.

Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée XXL

A HUGE mouthfeel here, powerfully ripe and not ashamed to throw it in your face with a fistful of dark and heady fruit. This is a Napa Cab on steroids type of CdP that somehow manages to majestically…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Profuga

With an instant outpouring of savory and succulent black and red raspberry, cassis, purple plum, licorice, Christmas spices, soft soppressata, and hints of white pepper notes, the Profuga is a…

Vice Versa Pinot Noir Platt Vineyard

It's been two years since my last bottle. Still a good amount of tension and acidic verve here to keep the party going for quite some time. The savory and meaty characteristics are poised for…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Night Children

It's been 2.5 years since my last having a bottle of this wine. Time has been very good to the Night Children, with an even more integrated sense of itself. Gushing wild black cherry, earthy and…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Reserve

12/2019 since my last bottle. This is performing like a champ, but it needs a decent amount of air to truly unlock the complexities it is otherwise coveting. In fact, I imagine this wine will be…

Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Actaeon Quixote Vineyard

It's been about 3.5 years since my last bottle of this. Well, when Pott strikes the perfect chord, he nails the notes right on cue without a doubt. This was a beautiful bottle of wine, needing just…

The Third Twin Nuestra Señora del Tercer Gemelo The Third Twin Vineyard

So, this was a wild ride of a wine, with a screaming baby and thundery boozy-blast start that luckily touches down at the right landing field after a succession of layovers and misconnections. I kept…