Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend

I was gifted this bottle last year and since I had decided on lamb for dinner, I figured a 2014 Marcoux would be splendid (spoiler alert: it was). Popped and poured; consumed over the course of a few hours. The wine pours a garnet color with a transparent core and browning edge with a slightly watery rim. Medium+ viscosity with very light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous. Powerful notes of desiccated strawberries, black cherry, bramble preserves…ensconced in leather. This is a real leather daddy. But there is more! Red flowers, hot rocks, garrigue, mushrooms, dry leaf tobacco, and allspice. On the palate, the wine is dry, with medium tannin and medium acid. I would say that the tannins have mostly integrated at this point. Note from the nose are confirmed. Alcohol is medium+ alcohol and the finish is long. As the 2014’s from CdP continue to mature, they are becoming even more Burgundian and I’m here for it! They are so unique and strong producers made stupendous wine. NOTE: this bottle came across more advanced than I anticipated and may not be indicative of better cellared examples of 2014 Marcoux. The cork did show very slight signs of seepage which could have caused the wine to oxidize more than normal at this stage. Nevertheless, this was a beautiful, mature wine that perhaps gave a glimpse of what we can expect when the 2014’s begin to enter their twilight years. Drink now and over the the next 3-5 years.

Still a baby even after a 30 min decant

2021 Independence Day Party 🇺🇲 🥳 with several members of our Tastevin crew and extended friends.🍷 Proof that our palates are wider than Burgundy, outside of sanctioned events.🍾 Notes may be light, scores will be honest. 💯

Dark scarlet tawny color. Almost opaque. Strong CdP nose. Notes of herbs, red fruit, dry brush, dusty earth. Good balance in the mouth with fruit, acidity and structure. A bit over the top in its delivery with some heat involved, and a bit medicinal, but I liked this more than I thought I would.

Magnificent showing. Perfect cork and storage, alive and vibrant. Exotic spices, loads of garrigue, white pepper, cinnamon, leather, tobacco, roasted plum and black cherry fruits, almost brandied in a way. Continuing to evolve with meat, smoke, truffle, and warm stones. Warm and redolent. Richness held back by the whole cluster, gravelly tannins that have evolved into very nicely with time. A favorite domaine in CNDP now, but I truly love their use of whole cluster in the old days, last vintage for it I believe.

Nice red and black fruit and licorice on the attack, but a hot mess on the finish. Disjointed and not very pleasant. We had a Beaucastel from the same year open and didn’t even end up drinking any of this

One of my last remaining 2010 CdP’s...from back when I was exploring the region. I’ve since only focused on a few specific producers but Marcoux is one that still has some of my attention...mostly because it’s hard to deny that it’s really good wine. This bottle seemed a touch reductive at first but that blew off with some time and what emerged was a bounty of brambles, sandalwood, garrigue, Twin Bing, some sediment...actually a lot of sediment. The tannins weren’t very obvious at first but after a couple of hours, the tannin monster showed up in full force. For whatever reason, this has happened to me on occasion with top wines from CdP and Gigondas. Not sure what causes that. Anyway, based off this experience, I would have to say that these still have quite a bit of life in them. In the same breath, however, I would exercise caution as I’ve witnessed too many Grenache based wines not age as gracefully.

Drank this over some deep conversation that was way more important than this bottle but this was a really nice enhancement. There has been some positive evolution over the last year and it’s beginning to flesh out. Brambles, garrigue, lavender, nutmeg, all spice. Elegant and screams 2014. A real pleasure now and should be for years to come.

Shocker of the night. Complex, dense, aromatic. Great wine for an underwhelming vintage

Reasonably ripe CdP, even for a big vintage. Nose isn’t forthcoming, but plush and inviting on the mid. Red briar fruit without great complexity, but plush and seductive. Young, but open for business.