Vieilles vignes

ROBERT PARKER

DOMAINE GRAND VENEUR  « Vieilles Vignes » 2010 : 100/100

-    A monumental effort meriting a perfect score, the super-rich 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is a 4,000-bottle blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah from 55- to 105-year-old vines and was aged for 18 months in small oak. The wine offers majestic blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with kirsch, licorice and subtle Provencal herbs in the background. It is akin to chewing meat in the mouth given its viscosity and thickness. This utterly amazing wine comes close to being over the top, but it pulls back just in time. A massive Chateauneuf du Pape (even for a 2010), it needs 5-6 years of cellaring and should age effortlessly for 25-30 years. Bravo ! »

 - The 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape “Vieilles Vignes” is the most concentrated and potentially long-lived of this 2011 trio. It came in at an amazing 15.5% natural alcohol, and is one of the wines of the vintage. A blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah aged in small barrels, it blows away just about every other Chateauneuf in this vintage. It boasts an inky/purple color in addition to a gorgeous perfume of crushed rocks, jammy black fruits, charcoal and graphite. This intense, full-bodied 2011's concentration and power are atypical for this vintage. It should age nicely for 15 or more years.