Châteauneuf-du-Pape in Full: Power, Patience, and a Corked Reminder
No shortage of intensity with the 2026 kickoff featuring 2005 Châteauneuf, Côte-Rôtie bangers, and 'P2' Champagne
On January 28, Wine Club Miami gathered at the home of incoming president Andrew Cohen to welcome 2026 with a lineup that was anything but youthful and anything but restrained.
The theme centered on the Southern Rhône, anchored by three titans of Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the mythic 2005 vintage. But the evening didn’t stay within bounds. A pair of Côte-Rôties carried us north, and one of Champagne’s most iconic prestige cuvées kicked off the night:
Southern Rhône — Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Clos des Papes 2005
Domaine Vieille Julienne Réserve 2005
Vieux Télégraphe La Crau 2005 (corked)
Northern Rhône — Côte-Rôtie
La Belle Hélène, S. Ogier 2005
Lancement, S. Ogier 2001
Champagne
Dom Pérignon 2005 P2 - purchased during our Trip to France
The evening opened on a high note with Dom Pérignon 2005 Plénitude 2, which we bought at the winery itself in Reims to honor our Club’s anniversary. Since member Wesley couldn’t make the trip, we brought it back to the states to share with him (no man left behind!!) Extended lees aging had transformed it into something both expansive and precise and surprisingly subtle in a powerful way — toasty and honeyed, yet still driven by a vibrant line of acidity. It had freshness, energy, and a sense of completeness that came together slowly in the glass. Seriously chiseled like the Statue of David.
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape trio set the tone early. Clos des Papes 2005 arrived first and made no effort to soften its impact. Paul-Vincent Avril’s benchmark estate produced a wine that, even after two decades, remains formidable and needs lots of time to open...maybe even 24hrs according to Andrew who tasted it the day after and was taken aback by the aromatic intensity. Dense and commanding, it carried layers of black olive, garrigue, and iron, all wrapped in a warmth that never quite recedes. If there is elegance here, it exists on the wine’s own terms.
Domaine Vieille Julienne Réserve 2005 followed in a similarly uncompromising register. The low-intervention approach yields a wine that feels both wild and deliberate — a dark, brooding expression of Grenache that leans fully into its scale. Time has rounded some of its sharper edges, but the core remains powerful and deeply rooted. Its finish lingered with a kind of slow, evolving persistence, unfolding long after the glass was set down. This was 100pts from Jeb Dunnuck but this wasn’t quite perfect to us and still had rough edges.
The third bottle, Vieux Télégraphe La Crau 2005, was the evening’s disappointment — corked. The damp cardboard note cut short what should have been a defining wine of the night. Still, it was met with the respect it deserved: a quiet acknowledgment, and the shared hope of encountering it again under better circumstances.
A shift north brought renewed lift and contrast. Two Côte-Rôties from Ogier showcased Syrah in a different register, less about sheer force, more about nuance and aromatic precision. La Belle Hélène 2005 offered striking perfume: violet, smoked meat, and white pepper layered with clarity and lift. Lancement 2001, with additional years in bottle, leaned further into savory complexity, dried herbs, olive, and a long, resonant finish that captured the room’s attention. Together, they provided a compelling counterpoint to the weight of the south. The group leaned more toward the ‘05 with its soft texture and smooth tannins.
Wine Club Miami’s next chapter is in very good hands.