This one is obviously young, and my first impression was indeed that it needed time to open up. Still, I had heard good things about the Costco CdP and couldn't help but opening the bottle. The nose greeted me with red cherry, cranberry, water logged wood and spicy black pepper. The palette was flat, again showing its youth, and completely devoid of fruit. I set the glass aside as I cooked dinner, periodically taking a sip to see how it was coming along. With a little time the palette finally began to round out. Cranberry, tart cherry began mingling with graphite, dry earth and black pepper. The opportunity for this wine to evolve further is definitely there, but I'm torn between wanting to believe in the wine and also thinking it's just a bargain CdP. It's unlikely you'd cellar this $18 bottle of wine, which it would would certainly benefit from, but you could also do much worse for the price.
This one is obviously young, and my first impression was indeed that it needed time to open up. Still, I had heard good things about the Costco CdP and couldn't help but opening the bottle. The nose greeted me with red cherry, cranberry, water logged wood and spicy black pepper. The palette was flat, again showing its youth, and completely devoid of fruit. I set the glass aside as I cooked dinner, periodically taking a sip to see how it was coming along. With a little time the palette finally began to round out. Cranberry, tart cherry began mingling with graphite, dry earth and black pepper. The opportunity for this wine to evolve further is definitely there, but I'm torn between wanting to believe in the wine and also thinking it's just a bargain CdP. It's unlikely you'd cellar this $18 bottle of wine, which it would would certainly benefit from, but you could also do much worse for the price.
Jul 14th, 2017
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, Rhône, France
