M. Chapoutier : Barbe Rac 1998

Chapoutier’s 1998 Barbe Rac is close to full maturity. It exhibits an abundance of Provencal herbs intermixed with new saddle leather, kirsch, framboise, and spice box. The intoxicatingly heady, complex aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, lush, succulent style of wine with a relatively high alcohol/glycerin content and loads of fruit. This wine is drinking terrifically well after going through an awkward stage about two to three years ago. Drink it between now and 2020.

Rich strawberry and Demerara sugar flavours. Thick and sweet. Looks, tastes and smells almost like port. (JR)

Medium red. Smoky red fruits, graphite and pepper on the complex nose. Superripe, plump and sweet, with lovely balancing acidity for a wine this high in alcohol. This has real depth and chocolatey sweetness. Very long, ripely tannic finish builds slowly and lingers long. Distinctive, outstanding Chateauneuf du Pape.

Last bottle from my case. All good things have to come to an end sooner or later. Luscious textures, low in acidity, with a kirsch liqueur, herb, licorice and fig nose, the fruit was showing riper flavors than I recall from earlier bottles. The texture really add much more silk. At close to 20, if you're sitting on a lot of this wine, I'd pop your remaining bottles over the next few years.

A clearly lightening wine-red with brick-red highlights, with a broad rim at the edge. Intense, heady bouquet: Pfeffernüsse, cloves, fermented tea leaf, a touch of cedar; behind that, a currant-like, Colheita-style sweetness. On the palate, fairly full-bodied, with a lightly prickling acidity that unfortunately slightly dominates the flow (secondary fermentation). The finish shows a certain jammy residual sweetness (?), and a strong dryness on the aftertaste, driven by extract. The wine has stature, but it lacks harmony.