Domaine de la Solitude (Lançon Père et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Secrète

Black color, dark. Stewed fruit nose, some beef and blood, little character. Palate is very prune and plum oriented, some hints of earth, black pepper and sweet earth. Not my style, very singular and flat.

Single glass thru coravin. Much better and more integrated than my last experience. Nose was still rich with ripe fruit and hard earth. Palate was showing plum, stewed prune, black pepper and spice. Good acid and certainly benefitted from some air and a rich french meal.

Single glass thru Coravin. Cloudy Crimson. Rich bouquet of oak, vanilla, black cherry and pepper, spice. Glycerin palate of hard berry, brush, black licorice, molasses, and thick cough syrup. Full bodied and firing on all cylinders. A bit extracted for my liking.

Dark and smoky Crimson. Dark berry nose, grape gum, touch of herb, mint and licorice. Palate is thick and heavy. Notes of dark cherry, touch of coffee and chocolate, mushroom and herb. Dry on the palate and a bit viscous. Not my style of Rhone wine.

The color was dark purple, a little cloudy, with some bricking. The nose was nice. On the palate, it came across as a tart fruit bomb, with moderately harsh tannins, and it did not improve over a couple of hours. Maybe this was an off bottle or the wine needs quite a bit more time to integrate. Very disappointing, considering the cuvee and the price.

At dinner with frineds. I'll do the best I can from memory. Incredible color showing no sign of age. Initally very pungent nose of iodine and sulphur and similar taste on palate. Decided to decant and return to bottle and take to restaurant. Allowed to decant for 45 minutes. At restaurant this wine was amazing with great cherries, integrated tannins, blackberries, just incredible palate. Balanced with allot of structure. Sorry I don't have more but incredible wine. Now here is …

thick and rich, almost overpowering the cassoulet ... needs more time