Chateauneuf du Pape

[kafreeman]

Saw a bottle of this at a wine bar the other night, but of course it's incredibly out of the way for me to get to.

I've never had a Chateauneuf du Pape, and the price was up there, but my wife pushed me to buy it.

Anyway... we loved it. I have no idea who makes it though. Has a gold medal on the front, "Selectionne Par Le Guide Gilbert & Gaillard"

Rear label says:

VIGNERONS REUNIS

CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE

Estate bottle by vignerons reunis F84350

I cant find it at all on the Google...

So, based on the enjoyment of this bottle, what else is out there?

[Colt45]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the producer might be a cooperative, and the wine bottled for the negociant / broker mentioned.

It is possible the broker has at least some say in how it is produced.

There are many CdPs you could try, and many other syrah blends from the south of France that are terrific. For a little less money

you could go with wine from Gigondas, or Cotes du Rhone, and more.

A decent wine shop should be able to help you find more similar wines to your liking.

[kafreeman]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the producer might be a cooperative, and the wine bottled for the negociant / broker mentioned.

It is possible the broker has at least some say in how it is produced.

There are many CdPs you could try, and many other syrah blends from the south of France that are terrific. For a little less money

you could go with wine from Gigondas, or Cotes du Rhone, and more.

A decent wine shop should be able to help you find more similar wines to your liking.

Thats the problem... no decent wine shops around here.

I can drive over an hour to a mega store where they are clueless... the wine bar had no idea what it was... just where it was from.

[Colt45]

Thats the problem... no decent wine shops around here.

I can drive over an hour to a mega store where they are clueless... the wine bar had no idea what it was... just where it was from.

Well, my next suggestion would be that when you do go to the shop to pick up a few bottles, check out the southern France section

(assuming the shop is broken down into regional sections), and more specifically, the southern rhone. This is where the CdP AC is.

Again, the southern rhone will use similar grape varietals (syrah, grenache, mourvedre). A well made Cotes du Rhone will be less expensive

than a CdP, and while perhaps not of the same quality, nearly equally satisfying. One of my go-to wines is the Guigal Cotes du Rhone - it's

usually a blend of syrah and grenache. But like any wine region, there can also be cheap clunkers.

I would also recommend checking out wines from the languedoc-roussillon ACs -- some great wines, and normally much less expensive than CdPs.

Pesonally, I wouldn't get too hung up on finding the exact wine you had at the wine bar - if you find it, great - but know there are many other great

ones out there to be tried

[ckearns]

A lot of restaurants buy their wines from wine merchants. You could ask the restaurant which merchant they bought the lot from and call the wine merchant for more information and about ordering a case or two.

[ZinZan]

I was gifted a 2009 Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape, I'm planning to keep it for a special occasion. This bottle would prob rank as one of the better/expensive wines i had or would prob ever try. Just wanted to know if anybody tried it before.

[kafreeman]

Well i asked at the mega store tonight and got the stare and they pointed at stuff.

So i bought three bottles of du pape and three bottles of du rhöne.

Ill let ya know how i like them

[Colt45]

So i bought three bottles of du pape and three bottles of du rhöne.

Well, your questions reminded me that one of my locals had a twenty five percent off sale on all bottles, so I went out and grabbed a few

Guigal CdR, along with some others

[charlesod]

Used the be my favorite when I lived in Switzerland. The best vintage is 1964. Very hard to find these days. If you do find one. Buy it. Period.

[maverickdrinker]

some CdP to consider trying

beaucastel

pegau

reyes

guigal

vieux telegraphe

cuvee sixtine

vieux donjon

hope this helps

[Ken Gargett]

I was gifted a 2009 Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape, I'm planning to keep it for a special occasion. This bottle would prob rank as one of the better/expensive wines i had or would prob ever try. Just wanted to know if anybody tried it before.

not tried the 09 but have visited the estate. terrific producer.

not seen the wine in the photo before but think colt probably right. the bad news is that 09 is a spectacular vintage so hard to get that quality again from some of the others. the good news is that given it is probably a co-op (certainly not one of thw weell known producers) that there will almost certainly be a great number of wines that should exceed it.

that list of producers has many of the really good names and worth following (i assume reyes is rayas? - in any event, it can be truly world class. had a 90 a year or so ago and one of the finest wines i've tried. magnificent). i'd add henri bonneau and marcoux but there are plenty of others. many of these very hard to get and expensive so if you are far from a good store, it might be tough.

as for vintages, can't comment on 64, though if you are buying a bottle of that age then you would want to be certain it has been stored in perfect conditions. 61 and 69 are usually considered the great vintages back then. 1978 is a superstar year and people still talk about it (there are mutterings that 2009 will be the next of that quality). 89, 90, 91, 98, 99, 00, 01, 05, 07 - all seriously good, though you need to be selective on producers (and sometimes sub-regions). be wary of any wines from the region from the 90's and earlier as brett was prevalent in many of the wines - crtainly not all but it pays to be careful.

[headstand]

CdP is what I collect for when I retire to the good life. Cotes du Rhone is what I drink now.

Biggest problem - keeping my wife and her girl friends out of the CdP.

[lemmycaution]

I was gifted a 2009 Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape, I'm planning to keep it for a special occasion. This bottle would prob rank as one of the better/expensive wines i had or would prob ever try. Just wanted to know if anybody tried it before.

That's a nice gift. I usually enjoy Vieux Telegraph no matter what vintage. I did try the 09, it was very good. Maybe age it for a few years if you have the patience. I know some people think that ten years is great. Although, personally I don't have as much intention on aging wine as I used to. Enjoy it when the moment is right.

[bambam]

If you like CdP also try other Rhone appellations.

Southern Rhone such as Cotes du Rhone and Gigondas.

Northern Rhone wines such as Cotes de Rhone, Cote-Rotie, or Cornas

Also try wines from Languedoc Roussillon - similiar varitals and better QPR.

[LLC]

some CdP to consider trying

beaucastel

pegau

reyes

guigal

vieux telegraphe

cuvee sixtine

vieux donjon

hope this helps

My favorites on this list are Beaucastel, vieux telegraphe and the Guigal. All can be outstanding in the right years.

[ZinZan]

That's a nice gift. I usually enjoy Vieux Telegraph no matter what vintage. I did try the 09, it was very good. Maybe age it for a few years if you have the patience. I know some people think that ten years is great. Although, personally I don't have as much intention on aging wine as I used to. Enjoy it when the moment is right.

Thanks for the advice, i do plan to have it for an extremely special occasion.