Tasting- Domaine du Grand Tinel Chateauneuf du Pape

Week 5

Domaine du Grand Tinel Cateauneuf du Pape Vertical

Name: Domaine du Grand Tinel Chateauneuf du Pape

Variety: 60% Grenache blanc, 20% Clairette and 20% Bourboulenc

Region: Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhone Valley

Country: France

Year (L to R): 2012, 2001, 1988

Price: Unknown; shared at a tasting

Food? No

Description: Could not find a description online

My Review: This was truly a treat. My friend Scott Drake hosted a wine, beer, and dinner party, and brought these three beauties out of his cellar. All three had been decanted prior to the party, and we tasted them from oldest to youngest.

1988- This wine is a little past its prime, but it was my favorite. The flavors were so savory and complex from time, I enjoyed trying to put my finger on what I was tasting. I detected spices, tannins, and leather. Overall, this was a musty, dank wine, absolutely fantastic. After tasting more, I decided that the spices I tasted were like a smoked grilled rosemary, or herb du provence. It reminded me of the lamb chops that my roommate fixed on Valentine's Day. I also picked up notes of apple on the back palette.

2001- Now is the prime time to drink your 2001 vintages! The color was darker than that of the '88. The smells were not as developed in the younger wine; I still got tannins, but a different spice note. Instead of rosemary, I picked up Old Bay and crabby smells. The wine tasted much bigger and juicier than the previous one, but also less dimensional. The taste was very similar, but just slightly less rich. The back palette was bitter.

2012- This was a one dimensional wine- definitely stick it back in your cellar for ten years. The red fruit comes out heavily in the smell and taste of this wine, like raspberry and strawberry. I also picked up notes of sour cream in the mid and back palette, as a bright tartness. This was a great exercise in aged wines, because the 2012 is definitely too young. It needs another decade on it.