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CdP - Barbe Rac 1994 Chapoutier

10/2002. Bought at auction, Oct-98 for $95.
This Chateauneuf du Pape is made from a 100 years old parcel of Grenache.
The 1994 vintage was not a great vintage to say the least. But as I have had an excellent 1994 'La Mordoree' Cote Rotie by Chapoutier in the past, I had pretty high expectations here.
We had this wine to accompany Friday night dinner at home. Lasagna for starters followed by beef fillet baked in salt with bacon and mushrooms.
We only drank about half the bottle on Friday and finished the rest the next day. There were some distinct differences between the two tastings.
COLOR: Dark ruby with slight clearing around the rim and plenty of sediment on the bottom.
NOSE: Nice flowery and herbal tones on Friday. More heavy, meaty elements the next day. Reasonably good nose in both cases.
TASTE: Tannic, acidic and thin on fruit, with only medium winyness on Friday. Less acidic and a bit deeper in flavors on Saturday. In both cases the wine felt alcoholic and definitely lacked charm. Not "cheap" tasting or simpleton, but not really enjoyable.
LENGTH: Actually long and reverberating aftertaste that carried on the pronounced acidity for a couple of minutes after each sip..
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium bodied light-textured wine. Too much perceived alcohol and acidity and too little fruit winyness and concentration. Appeared to be a bit more balanced on Saturday. Perhaps this wine needs a few more years to get its act together or - as I suspect - WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)...
OVERALL: Very Good only. I still have another bottle of this and a couple from the 1995 vintage. I hope these will turn out to be less disappointing.
MARK: 17/20.BUY MORE? No.


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Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.