Wine Advocate # 145 - Feb 2003
Score : 90
Guigal's 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape (85% Grenache) is a sweet, aromatic effort displaying notes of kirsch liqueur, Havana tobacco, cedar, dried Provencal herbs, and hints of pepper as well as balsam wood. This lightly tannic, delicious Chateauneuf can be enjoyed now and over the next 10-12 years. Drink: 2003 - 2015. Robert Parker.
Wine Spectator - Nov 30, 2002
Score : 93 - Top 100 : 2002, Rank: 1
Distinctive Châteauneuf, with plenty of wild mushrooms, wet earth, game and leather. This is not a fruit bomb; it has chewy tannins. But underneath is wonderful sweet fruit, as well as a subtle mineral caress. Something special. Best from 2005 through 2015. 13,330 cases made. Highly Recommended. Per-Henrik Mansson.
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar - Jan/Feb '02
Score : 89
Red-ruby. Aromas of pruneau, licorice and spicecake, with a suggestion of caramel. Sweet and supple; voluminous and aromatic. But less complex in the middle palate than the Gigondas. Finishes with substantial, slightly tarry tannins that seem a tad dry after the bottling. Stephen Tanzer.