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CDP Cuvee Imperiale 2012

Usseglio, Raymond

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Units Size Case size GBP Price: Quantities Buy
6 150cl Magnum Case 6 £350 per Case Case [Add to shopping basket]
Tasting Notes

Opaque ruby. Potent smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of red and dark berry liqueur, cola, incense and candied lavender, with a hint of star anise emerging slowly. Suave, deeply pitched black raspberry and blueberry flavors show excellent concentration and clarity, with notes of spicecake and succulent appearing on the back half. Deftly blends power and vivacity and finishes with harmonious tannins and outstanding length.

Score: 94

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2019-2030 01 April 2015

My favorite of the lineup, and one of the top Châteauneufs in the vintage, the 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Imperiale is 95% Grenache (5% other varieties) that comes from 100-year-old vines and the pure sand soils of the Piallon (near Rayas) and Girardette (near Charbonnière) lieux-dits. It offers awesome black and blue fruits, violets, licorice and crushed rock-like minerality in its full-bodied, balanced, pure and elegant profile. Impressively concentrated, inky colored and with sweet tannin, it’s capable of evolving for 12-15 years or more.

Score: 95

Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2015-2027 01 October 2014

A field blend of close to 95% Grenache (from 100+-year-old vines) that’s aged all in concrete, the 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Imperiale is one of the stars in the vintage. Offering up gorgeous Grenache character, with ripe blackberry, kirsch, licorice, old pepper and earth, it is a full-bodied, rich and voluptuously textured effort that possesses fantastic purity, loads of fruit and grippy tannin. It should be reasonably approachable on release, yet benefit from a handful of years in the cellar.

Score: 93 - 95

Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2016-2027 01 October 2013