Pick My Next Bottle – 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Revisited

The July installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the the 2007 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published the following week.

Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate rated the ’07 vintage in Châteauneuf-du-Pape 98 points. “This is the greatest vintage I’ve ever tasted in the southern Rhone” exclaimed Parker. The vintage was warmer than normal in Châteauneuf-du-Pape but cool nightime temperatures allowed the wines to maintain a unique freshness. Many though, criticize the hype bestowed on the vintage by Parker and think it has more to do with his taste for hedonistic wines.

When I first did a Pick My Next Bottle for the 2007 vintage the naysayers proved to be correct as a bottle of Domaine de Ferrand was too over the top for my tastes. As always though, instead of rushing to judgement and selling my remaining stash I’m more inclined to see what time in the cellar does to future bottles.

The Contenders

• 2007 Le Vieux Donjon – Up there with the 2010 in terms of quality, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape dishes out loads of plum, lavender, ground pepper and licorice in its full-bodied, ripe and layered profile. Possessing a rock-star texture, no hard edges and beautiful concentration, it’s drinking nicely now, and should continue to evolve gracefully for another decade. 96 points from the Wine Advocate (8/2014).
• 2007 Clos Saint Jean – The sensational 2007 Châteauneuf du Pape is a wine I’ve drunk more than a case of over the past seven or eight years, and it’s probably one of the best value buys in my cellar. Notes of roasted meats, dried herbs, black currants and graphite all emerge from this big, rich, full-bodied Chateauneuf du Pape that has sweet tannin and no hard edges. It’s drinking great today but has at least another 5-6 years of prime drinking. 94 points from the Wine Advocate (2/2017).
• 2007 Domaine Charvin – Never one of Laurent’s favorite vintages (although I suspect he’s warmed up to it slightly), the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape continues to drink brilliantly, and while this bottle was just slightly closed, I’ve had numerous bottles from my cellar that are open and singing. Nevertheless, on this occasion, it took some swirling to get it to open up and it’s a concentrated, structured, full-bodied beauty that has the classic elegance of the estate yet with another level of fruit and exuberance. It’s just at the early stages of full maturity, is a smoking good drink and will keep for another 10-15 years. 96 points from the Wine Advocate (2/2017).

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Thanks for voting! I’d love to see a comment below on why you picked one bottle over another and hit me up with some suggestions for the August version of Pick My Next Bottle.