To help a good friend celebrate their 40th birthday, we had a small dinner party in our home Monday evening. We had outside catering to provide the food, which was outstanding. Since I hadn’t had CdP recently, and seeing an opportunity to open some large formats, I elected to go with the 2010 Clos St. Jean Sanctus Sanctorum, 2010 Chimere (a collaberation between SQN owner Manfred Krankel and Clos St. Jean), and a 2007 Pegau Cuvee da Capo at the end of the evening. We began the evening with 2 bottles of 1996 Dom Perignon Oenothèque, but I didn’t take notes other than to note they were excellent.
I was interested in trying the Sanctus Sanctorum and Chimere side by side. They were both killer, but the Sanctus edged out the Chimere by a nose. The Chimere needs more time to fully show everything the wine offers. In time, it will be the equal if not better, but for now it was the Sanctus but only if you are splitting hairs. The Cuvee da Capo on any other night would have been the wine of the evening, but it was outclassed by the two Clos St. Jean made wines.
A fun evening with some tremendous wines. I wouldn’t hesitate to open the Sanctus Sanctorum now (unfortunately I have drunk my three bottles) but would personally wait on the Chimere if you have one.
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2010 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Sanctus Sanctorum - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (5/26/2020)
Opened for Nadia’s birthday celebration at our home. This is an amazing wine. Every vintage I have had has proved to be as good as advertised, and this was the best of them all so far. This is a massive wine with a fair amount of alcohol, and yet manages a deftness that belies its structure. Soft tannins, good acidity, beautiful mouthfeel. Among the very finest CdP’s I have ever tasted. Decanted three hours prior to dinner. (99 pts.)
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2007 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (5/26/2020)
Opened for Nadia’s birthday celebration at our home. I have had this wine many times over the years, and always enjoyed it. At times, it seemed almost too big. Now, it is beginning to settle down, although still a huge wine. Ripe without being overripe. It was a beautiful compliment to the other two wines of the evening. Very close but I gave the Chimere and Sanctus Santorum a slight edge. Beautiful notes of strawberry and dark fruit with some spice. Popped and poured towards the end of dinner. (96 pts.)
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2010 Chimère Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (5/25/2020)
Had at Nadia’s birthday celebration in our home. Deep dark purple in color, just a beautiful wine. The nose promises an enticing experience and the wine really delivers on the palate. Great purity and concentration. The finish was pure silk, just a treat to drink. I clearly opened it too soon, as this wine would benefit from at least five more years in the cellar. Decanted three hours before dinner. (97 pts.)
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Wow! That is some serious drinking. The SS is a hens tooth wine. What were the major stylistic differences in your opinion? Or just different forms of hedonism?
Commercial post: I import Pegau to most of the U.S.
Great notes! I’ve had the 2010 Clos St Jean ‘Deus ex Machina’, which I thought was really great wine, and their top bottling. I didn’t know Sanctum Santorum existed until this note, or that they made a wine with Krankl! I’m a little tunnel-vision sometimes.
IMO the '07 da Capo is great wine that needs at least 5 more years. It was stunning (in every sense of the word), if a bit overpowering on release. The last time I had it, about 2 years ago, I thought it was still great, but a little broody. I’m holding back the few bottles in my cellar, penciling in ~2027 to hit a sweet spot.
I guess ‘Sanctus’ is mag only? Aww. I own way too much large format. Usually pop them at my national sales meetings for the team. But that was then and this is now. If anybody can figure out how to do a Zoom meeting with 20 people sharing a 6L bottle, they will get very rich.
Sounds like a great evening.
Dan Kravitz
Kelly - more the latter versus the former. Similar in style to me, but the SS was overall a more rounded package. You can’t go wrong with either.
Hi Jim,
These are killer wines and great tasting notes!!
About the Da Capo, my experience with 2003 vintage is that the Pégau cuvée Reserve 2003 is at peak now and showing beautifully… While the Pégau Capo 2003 has more potential, but still painfully young and not fully open for business… I suspect the same with 2007 vintage as it is even younger…
Nice! The only time I’ve had the Chimere and Sanctus were together as well. Perfect time to break out those big boys! ![[training.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/d0f39866e5714408d7091b0bd2d7bb764d7bb973.gif "[training.gif]")
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2012 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Sanctus Sanctorum - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(mag) 100% Grenache from 100+yr old vines…decanted for 4+hrs I believe…super young and tight at first…but did open beautifully as the night went on…massive wine here! Amazing red berry fruits…liquered and concentrated to the dark side…pretty florals and crushed minerals…firm tannins with high toned acidity…little heat…of course 16%. Everything is massive…but the florals and spices are what makes this wine…cherry blossoms, kirsch, licorice, b pepper…and to be honest, it was really balanced for such a young beast! A real treat! (97 pts.)
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2012 Chimère Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(mag) 93% Mourvedre, 5% Grenache, 2% Grenache Blanc…opened in bottle for 8hrs…DARK beast of a wine at first…black coffee, cassis, blackberries…not as concentrated on the fruit as I thought it would be…really good dose of acidity really livens it.This gained and gained as the night went on…became richer and deeper in flavor…even brighter to the cherry side…but still this is a massive Mourvedre that shouldn’t be touched for 10+ years…still quite a treat to taste! Creme de cassis, black raspberry jam, scorched earth, exotic spice, licorice, tilled flower field…maybe just a tad bit of forest floor…couldn’t really find something screaming Mourvedre. Intrigued to try it again…as well as other efforts in the future…just wish it wasn’t SO crazy $$$! (97 pts.)
