This month Robert Parker released his latest tasting notes on Châteauneuf du Pape 1998 – a year he describes as “one of the top two vintages of the 1990s for the Southern Rhône”. The rerating saw more than half of the wines downgraded, with Fortia CNDP seeing the greatest fall, down 15 points to 75 (“on the verge of collapse”). Three former 100-pointers lost their perfect scores – Marcoux CNDP Vieilles Vignes, Roger Sabon CNDP Secret des Sabon, and Cailloux CNDP Centenaire – whilst Beaucastel CNDP Hommage J Perrin, and Pegau CNDP Capo managed to hang on to theirs.
On average, scores moved down by 1.8 points. This is perhaps unsurprising given that "the sweet spot for drinking Châteauneuf du Papes is usually the first 5-6 years after the vintage." Beyond this, they tend to enter what Parker calls “an adolescent, awkward, and sometimes dormant stage, only to re-emerge around year 10-12”. Twelve years on, Parker’s scores suggest that the greater number have passed their best before date. “The best of them will continue to hold on to life (but rarely improving) beyond 15-20 years. It is only the exceptional Châteauneuf du Papes that will evolve for 20-25+ years, and those are indeed a rarity.”
Still, a handful of 98s received improved scores and appear to have reached their peak, including Janasse CNDP Vieilles Vignes (RP97 up from 96) – “This wine is just entering its plateau of maturity, where it should last for another 10-15 years.” At around £900 per case, the wine may well be worth a look.
The table below shows all of the wines that Parker rerated, with the addition of Vieux Telegraphe CNDP (previously unrated).
All scores from erobertparker.com
