2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Classique

The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape is a powerful, dense, inky/ruby/purple-hued, quintessential example of Provencal winemaking with lots of graphite, black currant, kirsch, licorice, and herbs de Provence/bouquet garni notes, tremendous density as well as a supple richness, good precision and overall freshness. Enjoy it over the next 10-15 years. One of the most passionately run estates in all of Chateauneuf du Pape is Domaine Saint-Prefert, which is located in the southern sector of the appellation. Isabel Ferrando, who had been in the banking business, fell in love with wines from this region and ended up buying an estate with her husband. She now owns 55 acres, and has followed a blockbuster showing of her 2003s with a succession of brilliant wines through 2011. In addition to her three distinctive cuvees of Chateauneuf du Pape, she also produces a wine called Colombis, a 100% Grenache Chateauneuf du Pape sold under her own name. She also produces one of the finest dry whites of the appellation, a Special Vieilles Vignes cuvee of old vine Clairette. All in all, this estate is at the top of its game. In his brilliant book on Chateauneuf du Pape, Harry Karis got it right when he called Isabel Ferrando’s wines “semi-modern.” Certainly all the St. Prefert Grenache is aged in tank (old fashioned for sure), and the Mourvedre (a dominant component of the Charles Giraud cuvee) spends time in demi-muids. The Colombis is given a slightly different treatment as it is aged in truncated cone-shaped oak vats or foudres. Isabel Ferrando’s 2011 white wine offerings include a basic Chateauneuf du Pape blanc and what is one of the two or three candidates for the 2011 white wine of the appellation, her old vine cuvee of Clairette. A Daniel Johnnes Selection, imported by Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300