Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar,
Jan/Feb 2009
Component #1: Inky purple. Expressive
aromas of black and blue fruits, Asian spices, smoked meat and
lavender. Very fresh in the mouth, with lively blackberry and
boysenberry flavors, velvety texture and a late note of cracked pepper.
The smokiness carries through the long, sweet finish. Component #2:
Full purple. More energetic than the first sample, with bright
raspberry, cherry and floral aromas. Racy and focused, offering sweet
raspberry and strawberry preserve flavors and tangy minerality. Gains
weight and a smoky, meaty quality on the broad, sweet finish. The final
blend should be exceptional. 93-96 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, October 2009
The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee, still aging in foudres,
was tasted from different lots. The most promising wine made here since
the 2003, it is a full-bodied effort revealing dense, concentrated
fruit, and high tannins that still need to be resolved. It will require
some bottle age to round into drinking shape. The color is a dense
plum/purple, and the wine shows considerable licorice, lavender,
roasted herb, and meat juice characteristics, as well as a texture of
beef blood - no doubt attributable to the old vines from which it is
made. The fruit dominates, and the wine is intense, rich, and
full-bodied. It will undoubtedly need 3-4 years of bottle age after its
release, and should last 20-25 years based on the fact that their older
vintages (i.e., 1979, 1981, 1983, and 1985) are all still in terrific
condition.
94-96 points |
