Coudoulet de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône 2001: The opening wine starts off a little medicinal but soon sorts itself out, revealing ripe and slightly roasted fruit, with a tinge of balsamic character to it, although nothing too fleshy or overdone on the palate. Dark, characterful, spicy, with liquorice tar and rose petals. Dry but fleshy palate, well textured but also well composed, exuberant in terms of flavour, with a rich spicy character, again a touch balsamic, but with none of the overly sweet character that can go with it. Rather it is composed and savoury, rich but not flabby, the substance kept in place by ripe, velvety tannins and decent acidity. Cracking wine for the money. A touch hot in the finish, but still lovely to drink. Ready now - but no rush here. 17.5/20

Lucien Barrot Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: This wine has a mature hue, tawny orange at the rim, and a weird nose, hot and baked fruit, very medicinal, with a dirty, mousey element. The palate is disjointed, acrid, tinny, with little fruit showing. I can't for a second imagine this is typical so, perhaps being kind, I will write this bottle off as flawed. No score.

Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes 2001: A good colour here, still a lot of good red pigment at the core, although it does have a rather dusty, mahogany hue as well. The nose has a bright, well defined, crunchy style, although the fruit character itself is half-pruney, half-gamey. A nice composition on the palate, fresh in terms of structure, and with at best a moderate, stony-lean weight. More pruney-gamey fruit, although it is not overpowering or over the top, and it has a nice well-framed texture behind it. Some heat in the finish though, although with some appealing lightly chewy tannins alongside. A nice wine within the confines of the style. 15.5+/20

Chateau la Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: This wine has a rich and deep hue, still with plenty of admirable red pigment. Deep quality of fruit on the nose, although I feel I can sense the burn of alcohol here, along with the aromas of macerated cherries, smoke and leather which all have some appeal. Lots of texture on entry, with a firm, hard outer shell, a touch raw perhaps, with a solid backbone of alcohol leading into some heat in the finish. There is a lot of texture and substance though, quite polished, it is even a touch stony and firm at times, although there is a more chewy tannic substance in the finish. Good length but that heat shows again. Some good points here though, especially those cherry and cinnamon elements, and during moments on the palate where the substance of the wine seems to rein in the heat. Nevertheless, I don't rate this wine as highly as I did four years ago. 16+/20

Domaine la Roquète Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: This wine from the Brunier stable has a dark, glossy hue and a matt-maturing rim, rich and attractive. The nose has a great vibrancy, powerful roasted cherry fruit, fresh yet intense, slightly confit, sweet yet vibrant, tinged with charcoal, game, black pepper and bay leaf. It is rich but also fresh, vivacious and well defined. A fresh palate, nicely textured, with powerful richness and vibrancy, framed by very forceful, incisive acidity. Certainly very modern, well-fruited, creamy but only lightly so with an appealing, supple style and substantial, textured mouthfeel towards the end. Gamey, very flavoursome, complex, with touch of heat in the finish though. But a really good length. Overall, this is fine. 17/20

Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: A very darkly coloured wine, good red but maturing pigment at the rim, a much darker hue at the core, and a little murky with a fine suspended sediment. It takes an hour or so to open up, then providing aromas of warm, slightly fuzzy but nicely poised Grenache fruit, dark and slightly organic and meaty, savoury rather than sweet. Scorched earth nose. Prunes too, and I sense this might go a bit orangey soon. Not overtly cooked/baked though. A good weight on entry, substantial with the depth and texture of warm fruit, but in no way jammy or unbalanced. Nice mostly savoury fruit profile like the nose, balanced midpalate with soft, chewy tannins, although it does show a coarser character and some heat in the finish. Medium-bodied at best - but that's not a problem! All the same, drinking well now, although the finish is a bit stark. 16/20

Bosquets des Papes Châteauneuf du Pape Chante le Merle 2001: This wine has the appearance of early maturity. The nose starts off all exuberant and fruit-filled before it then becomes denser, more concentrated, perhaps slightly confit in terms of fruit character, slightly feral too, but on the whole it is cleanly lined. The palate is dark and very slightly sweet with a rich and sweet texture. A very polished, pure style, not bright or lifted, rather dark and dense instead, and with a harsher structure from midpalate onwards. The finish is hot and harsh, with tinges of coffee and roasted raspberry, toffee too. In the finish it is harder, with bitter chocolate and spice behind the heat. It may come better with time, but I'm not sure. It might just fall apart. A difficult one to judge the future, but right now it behaves in a rather awkward fashion. 15.5+?/20

Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Etienne Gonnet 2001: Like one or two other wines this has a very light sediment, and in terms of colour it has a very dark hue, a dusty-tawny shade, cut through with red. Dark sooty fruit on the nose, the aromas suggestive of stewed-pruney fruit although without the sweetness, just the dark bitterness, like dark chocolate, followed up by intense smoky and gamey mulberry, with juniper berry, charcoal, liquorice and a little touch of mint alongside the fruit The palate is smooth, creamy, with a composed entry, quickly showing a bitter chocolate and firm structure. Not a fat wine, substantial though, well framed, upright and with a grippy character with lots of tannic substance, although it seems well composed overall. A touch hard in the finish, but it subsides gently, with a ripe, polished feel to the tannins. It needs time to develop a greater harmony. Despite my description of the aromas I like this, a wine with a very good style, although it will not have universal appeal thanks to that smoothly applied oak and finish. 17.5+/20

Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Chaupin 2001: Although it takes an hour or so to open up, this wine eventually does show some character. The colour is dark and also very mature, with a treacly hue. There is leanly expressed pruney fruit on the nose, with notes of dry toffee and Brazil nuts. Nice supple texture on entry, rich and rather spicy, with roasted fruit elements framed well by the bright character, surprisingly lively and with a good texture despite all that roasted-baked fruit on the nose. Good substance, and plenty of tannic grip. The style here becomes overwhelmingly roasted-baked, but there is an appealing structure rather than a fat softness. Nevertheless, for my palate I find the flavour a bit overdone, and there is some hot and disjointed alcohol towards the finish. A shame. Can these features come good with time? 15.5+?/20

Clos des Papes Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: A richly coloured wine, but like a number of other wines in this tasting showing a definite browning-tawny hue towards the rim. Last time I tasted this I found it monolithic and withdrawn, although with a huge presence. This time it certainly seems more expressive, with some cooked fruit character evident on the nose. slightly high-toned in style, with a hot and smoky sideline. Fat and big on the palate, showing plenty of depth but also a raw structure through the middle, a brutal-bitter tannic structure backed up by firm and spiky acidity, and these meld with an increasingly sour-stewed layer of fruit through the finish. The finish bares all these cooked characteristics all too plainly. This is brutal and still young and tight to my palate, but with time it should settle down and integrate more. Right now though I find it a little hot and disjointed in the finish, and I'm not sure that will ever come good. And will it ever develop a fresher fruit profile? I doubt it, and for that reason a lower score than my last tasting. 15+?/20

Domaine Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: This wine starts off in a very awkward fashion, lean and medicinal, but also rather volatile and disjointed. Fortunately I have experienced wines like this before - 2001 Suduiraut and, perhaps more pertinently, 1995 Beaucastel - where such phases are fleeting and short-lived. Indeed, even here, with some time in the glass the volatility subsides, and the fruit rounds out. It never shows too much, always clearly a wine closed down, but it shows structure and determination. The nose is primary, with smoky- gamey cherry fruit, the palate substantial but with a sense of balance, the moderate texture weighing up nicely against the ripe tannin and plentiful grip. This is a wine for the cellar, for sure. Admittedly a rather speculative score as wines like this are difficult to place with any accuracy. But it should certainly be good given time. 17.5-18.5+?/20

Chateau de Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: A great and obviously maturing hue here, red tones towards the rim but with a dark, dusty, treacly-tawny hue at the core. A lovely nose, obviously ripe but not overly warm or soft. The nose has elements of liquorice, and then is more gamey although with a firm and well-framed character. Dark and curranty and smoky fruit, with a ripe, roasted-but-not-sweet raspberry element too. The palate is supple but very rich, structured, with a good ripe and upright tannic backbone with plenty of firm acids too. Almost elegant in terms of its dancing presence on the palate, but it reveals more substance and depth towards the finish. A great wine, with a punchy, albeit slightly warm finish, which just sings potential. A different class (and something of a different style) to many of the other wines here. This is excellent, and given time it could be one of the greatest Beaucastels ever. 19+/20