Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2009

Still relatively young tasting, the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape accents lush red fruit with hints of leather and Asian five spice powder. It's full-bodied and velvety, ripe, plush and long, a completely delicious taste experience that culminates in a lick of salted licorice. Owners should count themselves lucky to have purchased some, as this still has a decade or more of life ahead of it. As Paul-Vincent Avril said, "2009 is still a baby—decant it if you can."

Taking on some lovely forest floor scents, with polished wood and a touch of brown sugar to the strawberry fruit. It’s full-bodied, really quite voluminous and powerful. Intense blackberry, liquorice and seared meat characters present themselves on the palate – this is big, structured, powerful and tannic. The alcohol is showing just a little bit, but there's a lovely menthol side bringing freshness. This was the product of a very long fermentation, so it was stressful to vinify. I've been lucky enough to taste this several times this year, and there is some bottle variation, but this was a particularly good one.

While described as masculine by Paul-Vincent (possibly due to the tannin level and quality), I found the 2009 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape to be quite elegant and almost finesse driven, showing gorgeous kirsch and licorice-laced blackberry-like fruits, Asian spice, garrigue, and floral notes on the nose, medium to full body, and a very straight, focused texture that highlights very fine grained tannin. A resounding success in the vintage and lovers of Clos des Papes will not be disappointed.

Sinewy and reserved, with a light dusting of cocoa powder over the tangy damson plum, red licorice and cassis notes. The long, supple finish, with a lovely wafting note of Lapsang souchong tea, is packed with minerality and tight-grained tannins that will need time to fully evolve. One of the more backward 2009s, though this should pick up steam in the cellar.

Much paler than the Beaucastel. Mid straw. Grass and herbs on the nose. Honeysuckle. Good acidity. Rich and lively. Great freshness entering its second phase of evolution. No heaviness. A hint of coconut. So fresh! Nervy.