By Rick Riozza
The most pleasant of spring weather has been thankfully overstaying its welcome—keeping that entrenching swift arriving summer from hastily settling in. El Nino—por favor, time to step up!
This past Easter my family had the pleasure to again invade my son Paolo’s wine cellar. Since he’s moved all of his tasty collection to the Wine Vault of the Desert in Palm Desert—where everyone’s wine is kept cool, safe and calm, we’ve had some quick access enjoying some real vintage extravagances.
So we had the pick of fabulous Bordeaux, marvelous Pinot Noir, and zinfully delicious Zinfandel. But since we were celebrating the most amazing happening in history: the bodily Resurrection of the Messiah, the cornerstone event that delineates Christianity from any other religion, we decided to open a magnum of the 2003 “Prestige” Roger Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It brings to mind some sort of “Roman Catholic-type wine”—so there you go. And, t’was so delightful in the beautiful cool of the day.
This wine, we write as CDP, is one of the most popular and famed wines of the world. And it’s not new to this column where I continually stuff wine history down your throat. We remember in 1308, Pope Clement V, former Archbishop of Bordeaux, (obviously already a vino lover) had had it with the politics of Rome and relocated the papacy to the town of Avignon. He and subsequent “Avignon Popes” did much to establish vineyards close to the banks of the Rhône.
The short story is that 13 pristine varieties of grapes—those including some your favorites like Grenache, Syrah, Mouvèdre , Cinsault, Rousanne, Counoise, and others were selected, grown, and blended to produce a wine for the ages, a grand sturdy red that stands with the best on earth.
As to recent wine history, we remember the unfortunate heat wave in 2003 that hit Europe, and especially in the south of France, where over 14,000 people died as a result of heat related injuries. As it was the hottest year on record since the 1500s, no one really knew what the effect would be on the vineyards in the south of France.
For those vineyards with no well-established root system—well, they suffered greatly and withered. Fortunately for the CDP vineyards, whose vines were figuratively unveiled in the ancient of days, most assuredly survived the torrid summer of 2003.
A lot of people said it was a sub-par year: too hot, too ripe, too tannic. And, to some extent, this is true. There is nothing too subtle or delicate about most 2003s. But the area is no stranger to heat and dryness and this vintage also managed to produce some extraordinary wines; when and where acidity could be kept high to balance the fruit and tannin, the wines were brilliant, stunning even.
Released around 2006, the 2003 “Prestige” Roger Sabon CDP would show itself to be a world class wine. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate wrote: “Broad, expansive, rich, and impressively endowed, the dark ruby/purple-colored 2003 Prestige is dense, chewy, and meaty with high levels of alcohol, hints of roasted meats, kirsch liqueur, herbes de Provence, crème de cassis, and melted licorice. It is a broad, mouthfilling Chateauneuf du Pape that is classic and substantial.”
Wine Spectator said, “Chateauneuf du Pape 2003 is an exciting vintage with some explosive wines that rank among the best of the recent run of superb years.” Expect high quality wines, with lots of muscle and layers of plush fruit.”
Indeed, Wine Spectator gave the Prestige 95 points stating, “Dense raspberry, plum, licorice, tar and bacon notes are supported by thick, muscular tannins in this concentrated, showy red. A bit of a brute now (though floral and mineral hints chime in too), so cellar. If you do, you’ll have a classic example of the vintage.”
Spectator was right on: Cellared for 13 years, the wine poured ethereal. Still deep purple in the glass with shades of brick red at the edges, the wine had shed its dense muscular quality and become a luscious elegant quaff that paired perfectly with the Easter ham and trimmings. It’s also a wine that gave pause—that vino epiphany moment, where we well contemplated the day and realized wine is truly God’s gift to man and constant proof that He loves us and loves to see us happy.
This wine would be a sudden surprise to all Bordeaux and Burgundy lovers who require a cup of savory body, finesse, and elegance at the table.
We can find all styles of CDP at our local markets. Young CDP these days are ready to drink and go wonderfully with hearty meals. But if you have the opportunity (and patience!) to put a bottle or two (or three!) away for a while, as with a great Bordeaux or Burgundy, at holiday festivities, you will enjoy what Isaiah wrote; “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”
Attention: For you wine enthusiasts who do age their wine and wish to store it at the Wine Vault of the Desert during the hot months ahead, please feel free to call my friends Ralph or Jack. They will be more than happy to show you around the facilities and make the best offer whether you have two or two hundred cases to secure. (760) 345-3000
Rick is the valley’s somm-about-town conducting and entertaining at wine events, restaurants and tastings. Contact winespectrum@aol.com
