Tasting Notes
Robert Parker – 99
More precise and focused than the more exuberant, sexy and rounded ’00, the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul is borderline perfection (I seriously considered adding a point here) and a monumental Chateauneuf du Pape that is drinking at point. Kirsch, olive tapenade, roasted meats, tobacco and assorted mature Grenache characteristics give way to a full-bodied, massively endowed, concentrated, gorgeously layered wine that’s just about as good as it gets. I kept coming back to this over the evening and it got better and better with air, so while fully mature, it’s not going anywhere soon.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2021
Vinous – 93
Red-ruby. Raspberry liqueur, game and exotic woodsmoke on the nose. Large-scaled, powerful and dense, with an impressive, solid core of almost medicinal black cherry and dark berry fruit. Very deep, rich, young Chateauneuf with strong but ripe palate-coating tannins and superb persistence. This will reward seven to ten years of cellaring.
