2005 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/31/2016)
– decanted for less than one hour before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 2 hours –
– 50% Grenache, 50% Syrah –
NOSE: dark, earthy cherry; beefy (beef broth); wet stones
TASTE: still some drying, stony tannins; dark and earthy; alc. pokes through a little; tobacco; very nice; entering its prime drink window. Drink or Hold.
The two of these I have drunk were excellent. One was in '13 and the last one was in '15. One bottle remaining but I am in no rush.
I would hold off on that last bottle, Don; I think there’s still room for further improvement. And I agree with you about this one being excellent — this is the third or fourth time I’ve had it, but first since 2009 it would appear.
I’ve been drinking the 2001 Paul Autard ‘La Cote Ronde’ [CNDP] the last couple of days. It’s quite a bit better than an underwhelming 2000 last year. I’ve stopped buying this producer, and the general style of heavy oak has grown less appealing to me…but it all works out in this now old enough to vote Chateauneuf. Color is a dusky orange, fading at the edges, looking quite evolved, but the cork and fill are excellent. (I’d bought 00 and 01 on release, stored properly) I get a little iodine, cinnamon, sandalwood on the nose. Lush fruit, strawberry driven, a touch of orange peels on the palate. Low acid, no tannin. Delightful 45 second long finish. I’d slot this into the A- bracket on my scorecard.
By the time the 2001 So. Rho rolled around I had a cellar full of the 98, 99, 00’s and was getting rather blase to the all the good vintages. So I didn’t really buy that many outside a few favored names. But now in the fullness of time, I think many are/were as good as the 98s, even though nearly all of both have been drunk down. If I’d had a perfect crystal ball, I might have saved some money/space allocated for 00 to 01.
I didn’t get blasé to the string of good vintages in CduP but I got more selective as my palate shifted away from the ripe/sweet Grenache, low acid versions of CduP. The 2007 vintage is what really pushed me over the edge.
Autard was a favorite but no longer. Glad your bottle performed so well for you. It sounds like something my former palate would have loved.
I only bought two vintages of this producer (1998+99) and was never really happy with it. Quite modern in style, but lacking a bit in depth, oak too obvious - not bad at all but there are more interesting wines for this money, for instance Charvin.
I agree on the oak on Autard - generally - but at this point in time the 2001 has absorbed it nicely.
Still not a producer I’d sign up for again though, between palate preferences changing and the market.
Charvin’s CdR makes me happier than a lot of the goosed up CNDPs.
A bottle of this is the first wine I ever purchased on release with aging in mind…entirely based on published reviews, of course. I still have it, although it seems like it’s time to get into it soon. Seems it’s a good thing that my wife and I aren’t exceptionally oak-averse.
Love Charvin CdR and CduP Arv, one of the few S. Rhône producers that I’ll still buy.
A few more on this one, from the end of 2017 to Now. It’s ready to go!
2005 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (1/12/2023)
– decanted approx. 45 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over a few hours –
– 50% Grenache; 50% Syrah –
NOSE: expressive; aged purple fruits; light leather; celery and roasted celery; roasted parsnips; hint of burnt candle wick; quintessential aged CdP.
BODY: lots of sediment in the bottle; dark garnet-violet color of medium-deep depth, with some bricking throughout (not too much for its age); medium to medium-full bodied.
TASTE: medium-fine drying tannins; aged dark fruits — has a sweet flavor along the lines of horehound candy; iodine; strong note of golden rolling tobacco; alc. is a little noticeable; unmistakably, aged CdP; this is in its prime window right now – I don’t see this getting any better from here on out. Drink Now and over the near term.
50, 5, 14, 16, 8 = (93 pts.)
2005 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (6/12/2021)
– decanted 6.75 hours before initial taste –
– tasted “blind,” but I knew what this was when I was tasting it –
NOSE: minty; stony; light purple fruits; some tertiary elements present now.
BODY: medium bodied.
TASTE: hint of soy sauce; horehound candy; old wood furniture; good acidity; comes across as aged; in its prime window right now.
2005 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/26/2017)
– tasted non-blind on Days 1, 2, and 5 –
Very tannic, medium-big, and not terribly complex on Days 1 and 2. Day 5 rolled around and I figured I’d have a little taste before dumping the rest down the drain … Yo! Hey now. This is what CdP is all about! Black tea, mineral, garrigue, tobacco, plum, still some light tannin hanging around. Medium bodied. This wine epitomizes the general rule that big-time CdP’s fall asleep around the 10 year mark. Hands off for now. Patience will be rewarded here. I see this in the low to mid 90’s further down the line. Excellent.