Chateau La Nerthe, Cadettes, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Bouteille 2/6. Bouchon en parfait état. Robe rouge foncé avec quelques reflets bruns. Nez sur le fruit et la vanille. En bouche, à l’ouverture, je pense qu’il a évolué mais ça disparaît peu après. Toujours jeune. Quelques notes d’évolution mais très discrètes. Attendre 2 ans avant la suivante.

Dark red in the glass with a very rich bouquet of red fruit, mature cherries, dark chocolate, coffee and licorice. The palate is expressive and evolves with time. Many of the bouquet notes show in the palate, with a long finish. Still a hit tight, but not tannic. I think it might continue to evolve over a couple more years but not beyond that. My next and last bottle in 2026.

This is basically made of raspberry jam, dried figs, milk chocolate, bbq smoke and bacon. With all those rich and sweet layers you also get a focused acidic lift and considerable but extremely fine grained tannins. In my very humbled opinion this is a textbook CdP , that is extremely good but lacks any extra special features to qualify as totally outstanding.

Sommelier Scholarship Fund Tasting (Popina - Brooklyn NY) : Walk around tasting. Large scaled and well spiced with wonderful balance and length. This would thrill me served with a great rare steak. Good already this young, certainly further upside.

Du fruit, de l’extraction et 15% d’alcool. C’est très bien mais trop jeune à mon goût. Tout cela doit encore se fondre.

Duc’s

Smooth, delicious. Decanted for an hr.

Southern Rhône trip with Rainer. Tasted at the Domaine. 52% Grenache Noir, 38% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre. 15% ABV. Medium to dark ruby, almost purple in colour. Ripe mixed berries, yogurt, herbal notes and spice, with just enough acidity, ripe tannin and superb length. Riper than the regular CdP. Smooth and clean, with good concentration. Very precise winemaking. Very good. That said, I am generally looking for more character in wines.

Spicy, sweet, soft and fresh, the vibrant red fruits offer length, precision and length with complexity. It is going to take time in the cellar ti come around, so be prepared to wait. The wine was made from blending 52% Grenache, 38% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre.