2001 Domaine Raymond Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape

The 2001 Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape is auburn red out of the bottle. The nose is vegetal fennel, earthy, and woody with an initially unrecognizable aromatic top note that reveals itself later as cigarette ash. The first taste is full, suprisingly richly sweet with cola and anise. The finish is long though mono-dimensionally cedar-like syrup. Seems like it works reasonably well with Thai food. 88 points.