Wine Advisor
Pierre Usseglio, Chateauneuf Du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2005 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres is a more blockbuster-styled effort that has overflowing notes of black fruits, licorice, roasted meats, truffle and peppery herbs. Made from 100% Grenache that saw time in 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old small barrels and demi-muid, it’s full-bodied, gorgeously concentrated and ripe, with big underlying structure. Just now at the early stages of maturity, it too will have 20-25 years of overall longevity.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The limited production 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres (100% Grenache with considerable press wine is aged in 60% demi-muids and 40% in one- and two-year-old barrels) is certainly one of the Chateauneuf du Papes of the vintage. There are about 6,000 bottles (500 cases) of this wine, which exhibits an opaque blue/purple color and a beautiful nose of blueberry, blackberry, scorched earth, pepper, roasted meats, and smoke. It is full-bodied, viscous, with an inky richness and thickness, but terrific acidity and rather high tannins. I can’t see this wine being ready to drink before another 6-7 years of bottle age, but it should keep for 20+ years. Brothers Jean-Pierre and Thierry Usseglio have once again produced some of the finest Chateauneuf du Papes of the vintage, particularly in 2005. This is no small accomplishment given the fact that their 2003 cuvees were among the very finest wines of that challenging and irregular year. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres, which is aged in one-, two-, and three-year-old small barrels and larger demi-muids, is 100% Grenache in 2005. Dense purple to the rim, the wine displays superb concentration, with notes of creosote, blackberry, coffee, pepper, earth, meats, and smoke. A wine of massive intensity, fabulous purity, and a thick, unctuous texture, the tannins do kick in at the end, so this wine will probably require 5-7 years of bottle age and drink well for close to three decades. It does have the requisite concentration to balance out the wine’s structure. This estate has been on an outrageous run of successful vintages ever since 1998, no small thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the two brothers, Jean-Pierre and Thierry Usseglio. For them 2005 is a very structured, concentrated, powerful vintage that will require significant cellaring. Their 2006s are among the great successes of that vintage, much more charming and up-front than the 2005s, but concentrated. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
About the Producer
Château USSEGLIO is a family business. Its creation dates back to 1948, when grandfather Francis USSEGLIO left Italy to work as a wine worker at CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE. 1949 saw his first harvest come out of the oven. Later, his son Pierre took over the estate and expanded Château Pierre Usseglio. Today it covers 39 hectares, 24 hectares of Châteauneuf-du-Pape red, 1 hectare of Châteauneuf-du-Pape white, 6 hectares of Lillac red, 6 hectares of Côtes du Rhône and 2 hectares of French wines developed by Pierre's two sons. Jean-Pierre and Thierry Usseglio. The estate produces the traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape red wines. Half of the vines in the winery are over 65 years old and the other half are about 40 years old. The yields obtained are very low, around 20 to 25 hectolitres per hectare, depending on the vintage. Harvesting is always done by hand and sorting is selective. The grapes are destemmed and the winemaking process lasts 25 to 30 days, after which the wine is aged 50% in oak barrels for 12 days and 50% in concrete tanks. The result is a powerful, rounded wine with intense aromas of red fruit and spices. The wines of this estate are best consumed over a period of 5 to 10 years, depending on taste and vintage.
