2019 Domaine Raymond Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Imperiale
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Tasting notes
From a parcel of vines planted in 1902—about 95% Grenache, with a few other varieties interplanted—the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Imperiale doesn't appear to measure up to the prodigious efforts in prior (or successive) vintages. It has intricate herbal nuances and scents of cranberries on the nose, and while the fruit is more cherry-like on the palate, it remains a bit tight and ungenerous. Perhaps I just caught this at a difficult stage in its evolution, as the long finish is reassuringly supple and silky. I suspect time will show that I've underrated it, but I can just report on my findings from that day of blind-tasting.
Critic scores
Alistair Cooper MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
Saturated magenta. Highly perfumed raspberry and cherry liqueur, exotic spice, incense and potpourri aromas are complicated by hints of musky herbs and smoky minerals. Juicy, seamless and energetic on the palate, offering pliant red berry, cherry cola, allspice and lavender flavors that show superb definition and back-end lift. Polished, even tannins lend grip to a strikingly long, penetrating finish that echoes the floral and mineral notes. These vines were reportedly planted in 1901 and 1902.
Tasted blind. Powerful youthful bready nose. Dense palate with some good underlying freshness – the tannins are currently tight and chalky and pretty drying, but there is fruit to see this resolve over the years. (AC)
About the producer
Domaine Raymond Usseglio is one of the leading producers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, producing a number of different red and white cuvées from the appellation. The domaine’s most famous wine is their Châteauneuf-du-Pape Impériale, which comes exclusively from vines that are over 100 years old.