Young cdp

If you were going to open young cdp at the moment what would you pop?

15-17 pegau
15-16 beaucastel
17 donjon
17 Clos des papes

I have some other random singles like usseglio mon auiel, bosquet, chagrin, and veneur too from those years.

Not beaucastel. And probably not clos des papes.

Probably pegau.

And god not the mon aieul. :slight_smile:

I’d open the Pegee-weag.

Not the Beaucastel. Any of the others.

Interesting; I opened a bottle of the beaucastel a few mo ago which was delicious. We’ll see.

Clos Des Papes shows well young - it’s “bigger” than Pegau or Beaucastel. Depends on the style you want. 14 Donjon left me wanting the other day. Lean without much interest, but I have less experience with that producer

I actually had a ‘17 Donjon last week at a tasting. I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was at such a young age. I was actually given the bottle to take home and even after being re-corked and opened 24hrs later, it was still powering through nicely and if anything, gained more structure.

In my experience, some vintages of Beaucastel drink very well young and some are very grumpy. I wouldn’t know how to tell without tasting.

Donjon has changed more than the others over the past ten years. Used to be pretty funky and stinky. Not so much any more. These days I’d open any of them. They’re all good young. They were never made like old-school Barolo that was tannic and hard for years.

The 2016 Beaucastel is drinking really well at this stage.

Here’s a previous thread about this wine.

I think the past few vintages of Beaucastel have been wonderful in their youth, including both '15 and '16. I wouldn’t hesitate to open either of those. Plus, they’re probably the only wines on that list that I would like, but I do strongly feel that Beaucastel is a lot better soon after release than I’ve read it used to be.

All the 17s will be young and forward, but fine if you like them that way. Beaucastel and Pegau from 15 (and maybe 16) may be showing some grumpiness, but I’m sure they’ll be OK.

I’d say not 2015, probably 2016 Pegau at this point

I popped a 2015 Beaucastel a few months ago ITNOS, though I usually like them best once aged. It was delicious.

  • 2015 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (8/26/2019)
    Couldn’t resist an early peek at one of my favorite Chateauneufs. Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Dark red, almost purple. Cherry, garrigue, and pepper on the nose, a bit reticent at first but they fill the air after 60-90 minutes. Full body, flavor profile leaning more toward Grenache than the typical Beaucastel, and while the fruit is ripe it is well-balanced with acidity and firm tannins. It never approaches the sickly sweet over-ripe Grenache that I’ve become less tolerant of. Long finish. No complexity at this young stage but it will start to show up in a decade or two. Still a pleasure to drink young. Excellent.

2017 Clos des Papes is drinking well right off the bat. I am sure it will shut down at some point but it’s really easy to drink now. Same for the St.-Prefert wines. The 17 Donjon is drinking pretty well right off also but not as good. The 15 Beaucastel has turned a corner and is showing well, the 16 not yet for my taste. And Pegau is simply too much brett for me.

Adam Lee
Clarice Wine Company