2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Deux Freres

A spectacular wine that seems to be on a relatively fast evolutionary track, the 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Deux Frères sports knockout aromatics of blackberry liqueur, plum, roasted meats, beef blood, and licorice-infused herbs. There’s fantastic complexity and the wine evolves over the evening, gaining freshness, depth and overall richness. Truly stunning on the palate, it is full bodied with a gorgeously smooth, balanced texture, a rocking mid-palate and a very long, exceptional finish that seems to go on and on. This is neither tight nor unyielding and there’s a touch of maturity to the aromas, all leading me to believe that this should be drunk over the next 5 to 8 years.

The limited cuvee 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres, which is aged 40% in tank and 60% in one-, two-, and three-year-old barrels as well as large demi-muids, is essentially the same as Mon Aieul, but additional press wine is added. This beefs the wine up to an even more extraordinarily concentrated character. This is another of the Chateauneuf du Papes of the vintage, a wine of remarkable length and prodigious levels of richness. It is no wimpy wine at 16.5% alcohol, but you would never know that from tasting it. Dense purple to the rim, with a huge nose of scorched earth, blackberry and blueberry liqueur, creme de cassis, roasted meat juices, and a hint of Provencal herbs interwoven with licorice and a touch of balsamic, it is voluptuously textured, with striking body, low acidity, and amazing concentration. This fabulous bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape should drink well for 20+ years. I asked the Usseglios what the most abundant years were over the last decade, and was told they were 2000, followed by 1999, 1998, 2001, 2003, and the smallest crop of all, 2004. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

Deep, saturated ruby-red. Incredibly perfumed nose of mineral-laced blackberry, red plum, macerated cherries, candied licorice, espresso and roasted herbs. Structured and powerful but also lush and utterly seamless, showing dense dark berry, truffle and candied floral flavors that stretch endlessly through the finish. Very fine, almost undetectable tannins add subtle structure and grip to the hugely concentrated flavors.