The best deal in Chateauneuf '07
....or at least damn near close to, has to be the Pierre Usseglio's entry-level Chateauneuf du Pape. I've tasted this wine on 3 previous occasions, but this is the first time I've sat and drank a full bottle over dinner. For all those trigger happy '07 folks, I highly recommend you load the barrel of this BB gun for your trips to the range well before firing the luxury weaponry.
The wine possesses immediate bands of complexity, w/ a vivid array of licorice, pepper, black raspberry and leather notes that leave the palate awash in layers of rich spiciness. Full bodied, well equipped and marvelously balanced, seemingly turning on a dime before catapulting to a long, lush finish, 94 points.
Give me 4 bottles of this over 1 bottle of Mon Aieul any day of the week. Color me sensible.
posted by Brad Coelho at 12/20/2009
6 Comments:
I completely agree with the above sentiment and believe that the 2007 base cuvee is most likely their best offering yet, and, considering that it is still being offered at $24.99/btl on pre-arrival from premiercru, it really makes this a no brainer for those looking for serious CdP without the serious sticker shock now commonly associated with the luxury cuvees ... other under $30 contenders would certainly include the base cuvees from both Clos du Mont Olivet and Clos St. Jean where individual preferences would ultimately decide the favorite
for conversations sake, would you tend to agree, or ... ?
No question. If I could find Clos St. Jean for a similar price tag then I'd likely buy even more of it. I think the reason I chose Usseglio over St. Jean is that it tends to make palates of both persuasions (traditional & modern) equally happy. There are plenty of CDP fans out there that can't stand Clos St. Jean (I'm obviously not one of them). Clos du Mont Olivet was fantastic in '07, top to bottom. They also made a superb Cotes du Rhone, nearly 100% Grenache, that I tasted at the domaine but haven't been able to find stateside.
I did not realize that the pricing of the Clos St. Jean jumped so much, I can still remember when I got an email blast from Sokolin listing it for $19.99/btl, damn ratings! ... and clos du mont olivet makes 2 CdR's that I found listed in a dated skurnik book; the 'font de blanche' and the 'monteuil la levade' and it appears that both can be found using winesearcher, what was the name of the one you were referring too?
Serre du Catin, here were my notes on the '06:
http://unidentifiedappellation.blogspot.com/2008/05/wines-of-clos-du-mont-olivet-there-are.html#links
if you are looking for the 'Serre du Catin', Skurnik does not carry it but I was told that North Berkley brings it in out in Cali ...
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