La Crau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend

#AgedWineTuesday

Beautiful color of dark ruby, with a cloudy brick rim.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing black plums, cherries, sweet strawberries, spices, oak, licorice, chocolates, tobacco leaf, eucalyptus, earth, dark coffee and peppercorn.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 13 year old is drinking beautifully now. Shows exactly how you would expect it to, especially from this wonderful vintage.

Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel. Good by itself or with food. Rich yet elegant.

Good right out of the bottle, and much better after 2 hours of airtime, when tannins show up.

I've had a few different vintages of this wine, younger and older, and I find this to be at a perfect age for my palate. Nonetheless, it will continue to age nicely in the next 15 years.

Wine Spectator 96 points. Wine Advocate 97 points.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$120.

Flavors of smoked meat and a little plum and white pepper great# bottle

Great wine showing with deep plum flavors and a bit of spice. Such a smooth finish this can be a glass all on its own.

Tasty but still young!

Young and beautiful. Next time, a light decant would be nice.

Very complex, ever changing, plums, graphite, soy sauce, tannic, a bit on the ripe side with some bourbon barrel notes and raisins, never the less very good after opening up

Well balanced among fruit, earth and acid. Not a high octane cdp. Delicious

great white chateau neuf du pape

Generally I’ve been a fan of this wine and liked this vintage when it was younger. However my last two bottles have not been nearly as good. This turned pruny with air and I could taste the alcohol on the finish.

Either 2 more hrs of decanting or 2 more years before drinking.