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CDP Cuvée Mon Aieul, Domaine Pierre Usseglio 2003

Tasting Notes

One of the vintage’s most profound wines, the 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul has a dense purple color as well as a glorious nose of blackberries, licorice, smoke, and some roasted meats and dried herbs. Amazingly opulent, even voluptuous, with extraordinary purity, a huge tactile impression on the palate, but not heavy by any means, this is a stunning Chateauneuf du Pape from ancient vines made with 95% Grenache and the rest Cinsault and Syrah. Production is about 8,000 bottles, and the wine is bottled after spending its entire life in epoxy-lined tanks, so what one gets is the essence of the three separate terroirs it comes from – Les Serres, Guigasse, and La Crau. Anticipated maturity: now-2020+.

I asked the Usseglios what the most abundant years were over the last decade, and was told they were 2000, followed by 1999, 1998, 2001, 2003, and the smallest crop of all, 2004.

97
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (163), February 2006

Deep, layered and rich, the 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de mon Aieul is comprised almost all of Grenache and always comes from three lieux-dits: La Crau, Guigasse and Les Serres. Aged all in tank and showing none of the negative traits of the vintage, it has a rich, meaty bouquet of semi-mature red and black fruits, wild herbs, melted licorice, dusty minerality and roasted beef. Full-bodied, gorgeously pure and seamless, with solid underlying structure and a core of sweet fruit, it is a brilliant wine. I don't see any upside to holding bottles, yet given the balance, richness and mid-palate depth, it should continue to hold for another 5-8 years and certainly drink nicely well past that.

97
Jeb Dunnuck, RobertParker.com (207), June 2013

....have drunk 3 bottles of 2003 Mon Aieul from the Usseglio brothers in the last week...one of the most extraordinary CNDPs I have ever tasted…

Robert Parker, Mark Squires' Bulletin Board, December 2005

The spectacular 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul, a worthy successor to the great wines made in 2001, 2000, 1999, and 1998, is a blend of 95% Grenache and tiny dosages of Cinsault and Syrah. Sadly, there are only 8,000 bottles of this wine, which is aged completely in epoxy lined tanks before being bottled without filtration. It generally comes from three old vine lieux-dits called Les Serres, Guigasse, and La Crau. The fabulous 2003 boasts a dense purple color as well as a glorious nose of blueberries, blackberries, cassis, roasted meats, licorice, and spice box. The color of midnight oil with a texture to match, this is an awesome, chewy, low acid offering with amazing concentration, huge glycerin, and a stunning finish that lasts over a minute. It should drink well for 15-20 years.

One cannot say enough about the extraordinary qualitative revolution that has quietly taken place at this well-known domaine north of the village of Chateauneuf du Pape. While father Pierre is still on the premises, providing a wealth of historical information about the vineyards, his two sons, Jean-Pierre and Thierry, have introduced two extra-special cuvees, pushing this estate into the top echelon of Chateauneuf du Pape producers. This domaine is notorious for incredibly low yields (in 2003 yields were 25-28 hectoliters per hectare) as well as traditional winemaking. They now have a small, 1-hectare plot of vin de pays planted with Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante, and Merlot.

96/98
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (156), December 2004
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.