WTN: A twenty-year-old Chateauneuf du Pape

This wine was brought by our friends as their contribution to dinner.

Light ruby red fading to an orangey brown edge. A luscious earthy plum nose with overtones of spices and old leather. A seamlessly balanced midpalate of silky tannins, dark fruit especially purple plums, with notes of spices and anise, and a nice juicy acidity. A long luxurious finish of dark fruit and acidity.

With food: We had this with a warm beet salad and a marinated grilled ribeye steak. The beets brought out the earthiness in the wine and the steak gave the wine a burst of juicy, luscious fruit.

Wine: 1989 Chateauneuf du Pape Domaine Mathieu 14% abv

One of the best CdPs I have ever enjoyed.

Sounds good. And a pretty low profile domaine?

Sounds good. And a pretty low profile domaine?

It was very good. Not big, just a nice balanced food-friendly wine that had aged very nicely. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the fruit was still showing in the wine. It may have been somewhat past peak, but it still was showing very nicely.