Wine Advisor
Marcoux, Chateauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
The 2005 Marcoux Châteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is a rock star that’s up with the top 2-3 wines of the vintage. Perfumed, complex and brilliantly Provencal, with sweet kirsch, pepper, crushed flowers and dried earth, it’s full-bodied, seamless and silky on the palate, with no hard edges and incredible length. Opening up in the glass, drink this heavenly Châteauneuf anytime over the coming decade or more.
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
This bottle of 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes holds its cards slightly close to its vest and offers a firm, concentrated, youthful feel in its darker fruits, scorched earth, licorice and mineral-laced bouquet. Full-bodied, structured and concentrated, yet with the seamless texture this cuvee always possesses, it should hit full maturity in another 2-3 years and keep for a decade or more after that.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Marcoux’s stunningly rich Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is always one of the appellation’s top ten or twelve wines. Aged almost entirely in tank, the wine carries a remarkably high alcohol in 2005 (16.7%), which is even higher than the 2003 (16.3%). The overall impression is one of incredible purity and freshness, so here’s where alcohol percentage numbers, and especially a high one such as this, have to be discounted. The wine has a dense ruby/purple color and a beautiful nose of flowers, sweet licorice, blackberry and raspberry liqueur as well as kirsch and black truffle. This wine comes totally from three parcels from La Crau, Gallimardes, and Esquirons, and has a tendency to age fabulously well for 15 or more years. This is a great wine for the vintage, and certainly one of the most accomplished efforts. Given the freshness, acidity, tannin, and power of the wine, it will be drinkable young but certainly last. As I have written in the past, for well over a decade this has been a totally bio-dynamically farmed estate. One of my favorite estates and reference points for Chateauneuf du Pape is that of Sophie and Catherine Armenier. Chateauneuf du Pape, which has made such an extraordinary qualitative renaissance over the last ten to fifteen years, is one of the appellations of France that has an unusual number of women running the show and producing superb wines, and Domaine de Marcoux is certainly one of them. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This is very, very classy. A broody nose of tar tinged black fruits, revealing a more graphite edge with aeration in the glass. Touch of sweaty-saddle adding another dimension after five minutes. The palate is medium-bodied, beautifully proportioned, concentrated but not over-bearing. Crisp, stunning delineation and bewitching poise, the long, smoky finish is to die for. Not cheap though. Tasted November 2006. Drinking 2014-2030.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Utterly profound, the dense ruby/purple-tinged 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (16.7% natural alcohol) is a blockbuster. Full-bodied with great intensity, superb richness, and tremendous floral, truffle, meaty, raspberry, and blackberry-scented aromas, this wine, which comes from three well-known parcels in Chateauneuf du Pape (La Crau, Gallimards, and Esquirons) exhibits high tannin and good acidity, but the massive fruit and richness from these old vines dominate the wine’s personality. Although it is tasting profound at present, shrewd buyers will give it 4-5 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following two decades. This brilliant estate in the northern sector of Chateauneuf du Pape is admirably run by Sophie and Catherine Armenier. They continue to fine tune the wines produced at this biodynamically farmed vineyard, and their white Chateauneuf du Pape is now one of the three or four finest of the appellation. Sadly, they only make about 4,000 bottles of this blend of 66% Roussanne and 34% Bourboulenc. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565
About the Producer
Chateau Marco has 17.5 hectares of vineyards that are biodynamically cultivated. The average age of the vines is 50 years, and some of the older vines are even more than 100 years old. These old vines grow on 2.3 hectares of gravel land and are the raw material for the production of Domaine de Marcoux Vieille Vignes. Marco Winery operates according to the traditional method. After the grapes are harvested, the grapes are individually destemmed, sorted and then fermented in stainless steel tanks for 3 weeks. Among them, the malo-lactic fermentation process also takes place in the tank. After that, the wine is aged for 16 to 18 months in stainless steel tanks or large oak barrels. Chateau Marco produces 3 Châteauneuf du Pape reds and 2 white Châteauneufs, as well as some Cotes du Rhone wines. Château de Pape Marco is a blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 5% Syrah and a few other varieties. The Domaine de Marcoux Ephemere is made from 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah, and is a semi-new wine made by sisters Catherine and Sophie. The origin of this wine was purchased in 2002, and the first vintage was 2003. Made from 100% Grenache, Marco Old Vine Special Wine is one of the top wines in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region. It has an amazing style and is extremely enticing, with a pure and wonderful fruity aroma. This wine is expensive and hard to get in the market.
