by Dr. Bob Ouellette
and the Compagnons des Bons Vins

Saturday, November 9, 2002    
Plourde Residence

Comments on ChateauNeuf du Pape '99 

This was not the ‘98 tasting as you see from the scores. Ninety-nine was a good vintage, but it was not on a par with the previous vintage. Nevertheless, we enjoyed this tasting for wines that we all thought were drinkable and ready. This is not a vintage to store away in your cellar. Except for a few wines, they should be enjoyed now and one should not expect the full body wines of ’98.

 The scores tonight were all over the place. This could be attributed to the fact that we had several guests who may not have been as familiar with the wines and scoring. Nevertheless, the final outcome was a surprise to me when all the scores were tabulated. In addition, what was an even greater surprise was the closeness to the Pros*. 

All the wines were a bit less dense in the glass. A good ruby color was noted and for the most part, most of the wines exuded a clean dark berry fruit in the nose. The body was typical of the variety with spice, leather, and tobacco and varied from full to light in some cases. In general, we noticed a good balance in these wines with a couple presenting more tannin than others assuring a greater life span. 

From my readings and tasting, one would be wiser hunting for the 2000 vintage that is now appearing in the market.