98 Robert Parker
The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee, which I tasted from several foudres, is essentially equivalent in quality, but it has not yet been bottled. If I understood Paul Feraud correctly, he tends to prefer the 2009, but says Laurence prefers the 2010. In any event, this is one of those “pick’em” dilemmas. The 2010 is a fabulous wine of exceptional intensity, tremendous flavor authority and full-bodied power. It is slightly more reserved than the more flamboyant 2009, but of course it is still in foudre. Very rich with lots of Provencal herb, smoky, meaty, kirsch, black currant and blackberry notes, it is a stunningly viscous, thick and rich effort with a slightly more vibrant finish. This magnificent Chateauneuf du Pape should age for three decades or more based on how well the 1989 and 1990 are maturing. This 2010 should be bottled early next year, and released in Fall, 2013.
97 Wine Spectator
Tasting Note: Intense, with the tarry, bittersweet cocoa-fueled grip of the vintage running through a well-endowed core of crushed plum, blackberry paste and braised fig. The muscular finish picks up notes of brick dust, pepper, warm chestnut leaf and smoldering charcoal. A throwback profile, with a hyperripe core of fruit—and it works. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and others. Best from 2015 through 2035. –James Molesworth