2006 Chateauneuf du Pape

Dark ruby. Invitingly perfumed nose displays fresh strawberry and raspberry, along with smoky garrigue and a suave cinnamon quality. Deeper cherry and bitter chocolate on the palate, with chewy grip and good finishing sweetness. I suspect that this will be pretty attractive young.

Cask sample. 50% Grenache, 25% Roussanne, 20% Clairette, 5% Bourboulenc. Lots of pear-like fermentation aromas. Dry, very fresh, slightly grainy, tight and long. Quite grippy at the end.  (JH)

The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape demonstrates the vintage’s spicy, earthy, peppery, roasted Provencal herb side. With plenty of root vegetables along with fig and currant fruit, the wine is dark garnet, relatively evolved, and best drunk over the next 5-6 years. ||This has been one of the most reliable estates in Chateauneuf du Pape for well over two decades. The Gonnet brothers and their family, working in their cellars in Bedarrides, just next door to Vieux Telegraphe, produce two estate cuvees and a negociant wine. The general practice is to age the Syrah and Mourvedre components in small barrels and the Grenache in tank before blending. Wine Advocate.October, 2008