2003 Clos de Papes

Recently posted by Larry Meehan on another board:

"2003 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape -- Bob Eppich waved a glass in my face and said "smell this". Hmmm -- powdery -- a tactile experience in sniffing. If forced to guess. I'd go with Central Coast Syrah...maybe a really ripe Zin. Scents of chocolate, and brambly, ultra-ripe fruit. Apparently my real task was to act as a TCA-sniffing customs dog -- I found none. I never tasted the wine, but based on the nose, I wonder more about truth in labeling than being corked."

HTH Mark Lipton

Here's my note from a recent offline. I didn't find the truth in labeling issues that were mentioned in the other person's note that Mark posted. In fact, I was impressed that the wine could have the size/ripeness/roasting that it did and still be discernably CdP. However, I certainly won't be buying any (and wouldn't at half the price).

Jim

that others have noted (but, unlike Oliver, did not revisit after the claret). A lot of fun to drink, but I can't figure out what I would drink it with, other than a rare "steak as big as your head". Overwhelmed the lamb chops. Didn't find the acid spine to make me think

this will evolve over the long-term into the kind of wine I like to drink, but you could hide an elephant's worth of acid under the tannin and fruit at this stage. Has the roasted, ripe notes of 2003 that are not really for me, but I was really impressed at how clearly this wine still spoke of Chateauneuf, just in an outsized way. (Thanks Michael)