2010 Domaine Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape a la Gloire de Mon Grand-Pere

(all grenache) Bright purple. An exotically perfumed nose evokes dark berries, spicecake and potpourri, with a strong suggestion of garrigue building with air. Offers intense blackberry and bitter cherry flavors that gain sweetness and energy with aeration. Rich but lively, finishing with outstanding clarity and silky, harmonious tannins. (JR)

A 100% Grenache cuvee from the Gardiole lieu-dit is the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape a la Gloire de Mon Grandpere. With 43 separate parcels spread throughout the appellation, the Boiron family can pick and choose the best, but it must be a strategic nightmare to manage all these different parcels. This 2010 (500 cases produced) includes 50% stems and is aged entirely in demi-muids. Close to perfection, it is the finest example of this cuvee I have tasted since its debut in 1998. Drinking it is like drinking pure kirsch liqueur intermixed with notes of crushed spring flowers. Its superb minerality, density, purity and texture build incrementally in the mouth revealing a blockbuster red with superb elegance, precision and purity. The alcohol must surpass 15%. Drink this spectacular Chateauneuf du Pape over the next 12-15 years. I have been following the wines of this estate since 1978, when the parents of Nicolas Boiron produced the wines. Nicolas, one of the tallest vignerons in the village, has been in charge for a number of years, and has unquestionably hit pay dirt over recent vintages. While many top-notch wines have emerged from Bosquet des Papes over the last 25 years, I do not think they have ever had a greater vintage than 2010, which has been followed by some of the finest wines of the vintage in 2011. Consumers should be looking out for this domaine’s wines as the quality has soared even higher than it already was. In 34 years of tastings, every time I go back to a wine region I seemingly know extremely well, there are always surprises, both wonderful and disappointing. My recent tasting at Bosquet des Papes ranks as the most remarkable I conducted on my trip to the southern Rhone Valley. For starters, two sleepers of the vintage are the 2011 and 2010 Cotes du Rhones. The Boirons own nearly ten acres of Cotes du Rhone vineyards situated on the other side of Domaine du Marcoux in the northern part of the appellation. Their vines are separated from the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation by a narrow two-lane road. Both Cotes du Rhones are blends of 80% Grenache, 10% Cinsault and 10% Syrah aged in tank. Bosquet des Papes’s 2011 Chateauneuf du Papes are among the great successes of the vintage. Nicolas Boiron told me something I heard from just about every vigneron and oenologist: 2012 was looking perfect. However, as we all remember, so was 2002 until the historic flood hit on September 8 and 9. On September 24, 2011 approximately three inches of rain fell of Chateauneuf du Pape, which will affect the outcome. No 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape a la Gloire de Mon Grandpere was made. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

Absolutely knockout stuff, the 2010 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape A la Gloire de mon Grand-Père is a blend of 98% Grenache and 2% Cinsault that was aged in a combination of concrete tank, foudre, and demi-muid. Offering up a spectacularly clear, delineated bouquet of black cherries, violets, seaweed wrapper, new leather, and edgy minerality, this beauty hits the palate with a full-bodied, rich, and beautifully focused texture. Classy, elegant, and quite structured, it needs 3-4 years in the cellar, and will shine for 12-15 years.