2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier

Also rock-star stuff, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier gives up plenty of sweet blackberry, sugar cured meats, licorice, toasted spice and butcher shop-like aromas and flavors to go with a full-bodied, sweetly-fruited, fabulously dense and layered palate. As with the Colombis, it’s a big, rich wine that stays fresh and pure. Located in the southern part of the appellation, this impeccably run estate is owned/managed by Isabel Ferrando, who learned winemaking in Gigondas when she worked at Raspail-Ay. Her first vintage in Chateauneuf du Pape was in 2003, and since then, the wines have gone pretty much from strength to strength. Under her Domaine de Saint-Prefert label, she releases five cuvees; two whites and three reds. While this retrospective is focused all on the reds, her two whites are consistently some of my favorites from the region and are well worth seeking out. With regard to the reds cuvees, she makes a classic Chateauneuf du Pape (not reviewed here) that’s a rough blend of 90% Grenache (from 70+-year-old vines) and the balance Syrah and Mourvedre that’s aged in demi-muids and smaller barrels. Her Reserve Auguste Favier, from 60- to 100+-year-old vines, is based largely on Grenache, but incorporates around 15% Cinsault, which gives it a more spicy, elegant profile when compared to the other cuvees. It’s aged in older barrels. Lastly, her top cuvee is certainly the Collection Charles Giraud, and it’s always a rough blend of 60% Grenache (tank) and 40% Mourvedre (demi-muid). It’s consistently one of the most impressive wines in any given vintage. In addition to these three cuvees, she also produces a Grenache-driven cuvee under her Domaine Ferrando label that comes from the La Crau lieu-dit, and is aged in smaller barrels and oak tanks. It’s also worth noting that since 2009, she’s stopped destemming, and the wines show a more spicy, complex profile, but also show slightly less over-the-top richness. In addition, since that time, the wines seem to put on weight (and color) once in bottle, and have consistently performed above their barrel reviews. Starting with the 2011s, these have all put on weight and richness since I tasted them on release. As such, they came in a couple points higher for each cuvee. Moving to the 2010s, this is an incredible vintage for Ferrando and these wines continue to gain depth and richness in bottle. For the most part, these rival the 2007s, yet are more classic and focused in style. Moving to the 2009s, this was the first vintage where Ferrando opted to not de-stem any of the wines. While I had just tasted through Ferrando’s 2004s last year as part of the 10 retrospectives that I’m now doing, I was thrilled to be able to taste back through them again. For the most part, the wines showed consistently with the prior reviews, if not slightly better on this occasion. We finished the tasting with the 2003s, which was Ferrando’s first vintage. These beauties are still going strong today. A Daniel Johnnes Selection, imported by Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

A seriously decadent, thrilling bottle of wine, the 2007 Domaine Saint Préfert Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Auguste Favier continues to drink brilliantly. Showing a massively perfumed bouquet of sweet raspberry, licorice, meat juice, rolled stone, and Asian spice, this blockbuster of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape is full-bodied, awesomely textured, and shows layers of sweet fruit and an overall layered, hedonistic profile. Despite the level of fruit and texture, this stays light and brilliantly balanced. Superb now with a decant, it should continue to shine for 10-15+ years.

(80% grenache and 20% cinsault) Inky ruby. Wild, explosive aromas of blackberry, minerals, incense and smoked meat. At once large-scaled and sappy, with zesty minerality lifting pure cherry and dark berry flavors. A dense, penetrating essence of dark smoky fruit, with excellent definition and finishing energy. Fully enveloped tannins make this approachable today but this is built to age.