2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee

Kicking off a series of wines that I consider to be as good as it gets, the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve incorporates slightly more Grenache than normal and checks in at over 16% alcohol; certainly you’d never know it by tasting it however, and it’s perfectly balanced. Still inky purple in color, it possesses beautiful freshness and focus, with killer notes of blackcurrants, liquid violets, licorice, crushed rock and cured meats all soaring from the glass. As with the ’09 and ’06, it has off-the-charts concentration, thrilling mid-palate depth and serious structure. Give it another handful of years and it will be one of the longest lived Chateauneufs out there. One of my favorite producers, Vieille Julienne is run by the brilliant Jean-Paul Daumen. Coming all from a cool, mostly sandy terroir located in the northern part of the appellation, these traditionally made wines possess singular characters that have both richness and depth on the palate, as well as notable elegance and freshness. They epitomize this tiny terroir and are more Vieille Julienne than they are Chateauneuf du Pape. For this tasting, we focused on his traditional Chateauneuf (which is now broken up into two cuvees, the Trois Sources and the Hauts Lieux) and his Reserve bottling, which is produced only when this tiny plot of vines offers something unique to say. Looking first at Jean-Paul’s traditional Chateauneuf (made up until 2009), it is always a rough blend of close to 90% Grenache, with smaller components of Syrah, Mourvedre, Counoise and Cinsault. Completely destemmed, it’s aged in older foudre and never sees any new wood. While it comes from a cooler terroir in the northern part of the appellation (and Jean-Paul favors harvesting on the earlier side), it never lacks for richness and is a concentrated, structured effort that benefits from cellar time. Moving to the Reserve bottling, this cuvee comes from a single plot of 100+-year-old vines, planted in what looks like pure beach sand. It’s also slightly more Grenache dominated than the classic cuvee, with the blend containing 90-95% Grenache and the balance Cinsault and Syrah. It too is completely destemmed and aged all in older foudres. First made in 1994, it’s only produced when Jean-Paul feels that the plot has something special to say. Available in the U.S. through Vin Connect Inc., Tel. (415) 857-5740; www.vinconnect.com

Inky violet. Extremely fragrant bouquet offers a potent mix of dark berries, kirsch, licorice and pungent herbs, with a strong mineral undercurrent. Deep, impressively concentrated cassis and candied cherry flavors are framed by big, velvety tannins, picking up mocha and black cardamom on the finish. Boasts great sweetness but no overripe character. Pretty stunning stuff.

The 2005 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve is easily the wine of the trip and is one of the most impressive, massive and concentrated Chateauneufs I've ever had and is so damn good it's hard to stop thinking about it. Stunning, massive and concentrated with a backwards but knockout nose of black cherry, graphite and earth. Full bodied, amazingly powerful but also pure and precise. This wine is loaded from the front all the way to the back with amazing fruit, balance and structure. Transferring this note from my notebook into the computer has my mouth watering.