Another broken rule

BJ

BJ
2001 Bois de Bursan CnP. I'm surprised - this is flush with brett. I have a half case of this, and normally I'd just move on bretty wines. But somehow, this is just fine. It is noteworthy that this doesn't deteriorate with air, so somehow the wine seems to fold in the brett just fine.

I'll probably hang onto this, but I see no reason to age this more.

PC purchase.
 
originally posted by BJ:
Another broken rule2001 Bois de Bursan CnP. I'm surprised - this is flush with brett. I have a half case of this, and normally I'd just move on bretty wines. But somehow, this is just fine. It is noteworthy that this doesn't deteriorate with air, so somehow the wine seems to fold in the brett just fine.

I'll probably hang onto this, but I see no reason to age this more.

PC purchase.

Not that surprised, I've found those to be pretty bretty in general but it usually works in the context.
 
I bought my Bois de Boursan from the unlamented Carolina wine (with the French label, no less). I'm brett tolerant, so I won't comment on that aspect. But I think the 15 year rule is likely to work out for this 2001-and a lot of others. I have drunk this wine in the last year and it seemed to me like a lot of 01s. The baby fat has gone and one can taste what it will be. I would amend BJ to say there's no reason not to drink it now. I think there is some reason to give it a few more years, especially if you like Gigondas with 15 or more years on it.
 
Well, true, my CdP rule is really start checking at 10, in any decent vintage best at 12-15. And of course some go regularly longer and there is Cole's 1929 bottle.
 
Brad-

I remember the PC deal - $14.99 closeout...I got a couple of cases at the time.

I had one of the last bottles of this a few weeks ago as well and the little brett I noticed wasn't worrisome...in fact, I kinda like a little bret...It adds something...mouthfeel, maybe. the problem, for me, for almost all CdP is the alcohol and the harshness of the grape....I just don't dig Grenache that much...Add to that the pricing in the last decade and I'd rather have strong AC or 1er cru...or several bottles of Cru Beaujolais, Jura, ...

-mark
 
Yeah, I tuck into S. Rhones earlier, but not much earlier, than 15. Ten is about right. But it is so vintage dependent.
 
originally posted by Mark Davis:
Brad-

[...] the problem, for me, for almost all CdP is the alcohol and the harshness of the grape....I just don't dig Grenache that much...Add to that the pricing in the last decade and I'd rather have strong AC or 1er cru...or several bottles of Cru Beaujolais, Jura, ...

-mark

Sums up where I've come out on CdP, after some trial and error. I continue to hold out hope for some '99 Clos des Papes I still have, though, and some 2001 St. Cosme Valbelle (Gigondas).
 
Well, okay. I've been itching to open one or the other when the cold weather returns, but maybe I'll hold off. Plus, they're in magnums.

Otoh, better too young, imho, than too old, where Grenache is involved.

I wonder what Jonathan would do.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
originally posted by Mark Davis:
Brad-

[...] the problem, for me, for almost all CdP is the alcohol and the harshness of the grape....I just don't dig Grenache that much...Add to that the pricing in the last decade and I'd rather have strong AC or 1er cru...or several bottles of Cru Beaujolais, Jura, ...

-mark

Sums up where I've come out on CdP, after some trial and error. I continue to hold out hope for some '99 Clos des Papes I still have, though, and some 2001 St. Cosme Valbelle (Gigondas).

The '99 Clos des Papes is lovely. Young, but really not too young at this point.

The St. Cosme is a bit on the spoofy side, imo.
 
Dude. If they're in mags, don't touch. And I've never had Valbelle, but Brad knows what he's talking about. So sell that.
 
99 Clos des Pape is from the good old days of Clos des Papes. And 99 is a great vintage. It's in the prime of its life right now, though if you insist on tertiary flavors, you'll get more of what you want in another couple of years or so. It's going to be in the prime of it's life for the next 10 years or so.

St. Cosme is spoofy for me. Valbelle is his special cuvee of spoof, made special by the tender and loving care with which it is completely spoofed. But I've never tasted the Valbelle with any age on it and there are posts from BJ somewhere indicating that St. Cosmes get better with age. BJ and I differ on the aging of Gigondas. The 98s and 99s are a point now. Many of them will start to see a downhill slide in the next 2-3 years, I think, unless you really like them old. I'd open this one and hope that you aren't watching the movie Spoof Never Dies.
 
I'm actually not so sure we're that far apart at all. Honestly, the only older St. Cosme I've had is that 99, which indeed was very ready. Other 99 Gigondas I've had was ready to rock. 98's, on the other hand, have been mixed - some ready, some still fairly stern. The slew of early 90's Gigondas I posted on a while back really were great, and indeed each was fresher than that 99 St. Cosme for example.

Jonathan may be right about your CDP mag, but I generally subtract five years to mags re aging/subtracting decisions. Many but not all 99 CnP is ready to me. But I am generally a tertiary guy, though more recently have found myself enjoying some secondaries.
 
Careless reading on my part. I missed that the 99 Clos des Papes was in mag. If so, and subtracting 5 years and then adding 2 for error and dividing by one's age, one clearly gets a wine that is too young. OK, even without the new math, if it's in mag, I'd reduce its age from a point to just exiting adolescence. Still, having bought a number of these and having started drinking them in 06 or 07, I've never had a bottle I didn't like. I do decant them for a little bit.
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:
[...]

The St. Cosme is a bit on the spoofy side, imo.

originally posted by Mark Davis:
Valbelle is indeed spoofed imo, -mark

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
[...]
St. Cosme is spoofy for me. Valbelle is his special cuvee of spoof, made special by the tender and loving care with which it is completely spoofed. [...]

Bugger. I had a youthful romantic sentiment about St. Cosme when I bought these.

Thanks for the views on the Clos des Papes. I'll hold them for a bit, though dividing by my age doesn't militate strongly in that direction.
 
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