2005 Chateauneuf du Pape-BLIND

In my circles, much is being made of 2005 vs. 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape. Robert Parker hailed 2007 as the best vintage in 30 years, while James Molesworth, Josh Raynolds many vigneron side on the 2005 side as superior. Anyway you dice it, 2005 is a great vintage by any standard, so for now, lets move past which vintage is better and see which 2005 is better than the other 2005s. The best place (for me) to accomplish that is at Executive Wine Seminars in New York. On July 14th, about 40 thirsty lovers of the Rhone gathered to taste 13 2005 Chateauneufs in the only method that Bob Millman and Howard Kaplan know how, BLIND. At the end, everyone votes for their top 3 wines, and the numbers are tallied.

Here are some brief notes on the wines...there were 3 flights. I do not SCORE wines, I just review them within each flight, so, if there are 5 wines in a flight, I rank them 1-5. First flight was wines 1-5, second flight 6-9, third flight 10-13.

1) This was a beast, clearly new world style, very dense, very rich. Turned out to be Cuvee Vatican Reserve Sixtine. This finished in 8th place.
2) This had written Beaucastel written all over it. Very bretty, almost rubbert nose. Herbatious in the mouth. I like my Beaucastel with age. Of course it turned out to be Pegau Reservee, and was well liked by the masses...4th place for the night.
3) I very much enjoyed this wine. One of the most accessible wines of the night. Good, clean, rich and creamy...fun to drink, were my notes. Janasse Chaupin...6th place finish
4) For me this was in a bit of a funky stage at first, when it did calm down, a hint of cocoa emerged. I kept wanting more on the finish, though. Considering the price, not too shabby...Milliere VV...11th place
5) For me, this wine was off the hook. The nose of the night! Big, rich, and very young, this was my idea of a great CDP to lay down. Plenty of new oak, but not overwhleming the great chocolatey minty fruit. I was clearly in the minority on this one...Beaurenard Boisrenard...7th place overall (my second place)
6) Wow was what I first jotted down. Big, bruising, masculine wine. Deep rich, cherry nose, this has of the stuffing to be a great wine...Usseglio Deux Freres...2nd place overall (my first place). It did get the most number of first place votes
7) Bleh was my first note. Just tasted awful. Hollow, oaky and smokey is what I wrote down. Domaine Charvin...13th place
8) We originally had an off btl (I pegged it as corked, which others at my table disagreed with, in the end something was definitely wrong, as we had a taste from a better btl). Unfortunately the better wine was not all that much better. I liked it more than the group though. Beaucastel...11th place
9) This was like Strawberry (rhubarb) pie in an absolutely delicious way. Very jammy, soft and feminine, I was a huge fan...Clos des Papes...5th place (my 4th place)
10) This was old school CDP. I actually commented that it may have smelled like burning cannabis. I liked, but not for the reason...Vieux Donjon...3rd place overall
11) Very closed down wine, while most wines were showing their youth, this one may have been the baby of the bunch. There was some good fruit. It had the lightest color of the night...Vieux Telegraphe...9th place
12) This wine was swesome, Big blueberry, very well balanced, and delicious. Very masculine, I could have sucked this down with a straw. Barroche Fiancee...1st place overall, third place for me (Pegau Donjon, and Usseglio all received more first place votes, but this was top 3 for 75% of the room)
13) This wine was practically black, when lined up near VT, you may have thought the VT was a Rose! Possibly some Sulfur issues. Clearly new world, ripe fruit, not good at all. All btls the same. Clos du Caillou Reserve...9th place. Disappointing for me, as I have enjoyed their wines in the past.

As a whole, 2005 CDP is a great vintage. Out of 13 wines here, I would be happy to drink 9 of them, which is a lot, as I tend to be a harsh critic, as blind tasting is always difficult. Barroche Fiancee is a bargain and worth seeking out. The producer makes amazing wines. Usseglio Deux Freres was just so outstanding. Clos des Papes stood its ground and considering its release price, did very well against the competition.

These wines are clearly wines for the cellar, for the most part. Find some 2004 and 2006 bargains, while allowing your 2005s to mature!