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Walls: Domaine de la Mordorée’s La Plume du Peintre; then and now

Decanter's Rhône expert reflects on Châteauneuf-du-Pape's stylistic evolution via the prism of one of the region's leading names, Domaine de la Mordorée.

Like all insufferable dads, the other day I was lecturing my son about the music I grew up with, so I played him some early jungle over breakfast.

In retrospect, some of it sounds like a drum kit falling down the stairs, but a few tracks, despite their radical style, have stood the test of time.

It’s not just music that goes through different styles and fashions, wines do too. Take Châteauneuf for example. In the late 1990s and early 2000s it went through its ‘modern’ period, characterised by extreme ripeness and new oak.

Today, this style couldn’t be less fashionable, with winemakers instead seeking freshness and balance.

At the time, one of the wines associated with that extreme style was Domaine de la Mordorée’s La Plume du Peintre. I recently had the chance to revisit the 2003 and 2005, and compare with the 2019 and 2022. I was keen to see how they looked 20-plus years on.

Are we right to deride that style today, or were winemakers actually onto something?


Scroll down to see Matt Walls’ notes and scores for 10 Domaine de la Mordorée La Plume du Peintre wines



Domaine de la Mordorée La Plume du Peintre


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