2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Origines

Located in the northern portion of the AOC, with some vineyards near Beaucastel and Vieille Julienne, this estate was one of the first to use new oak for their red wines. Made by Sebastien Jaume, the 2001 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, and 20% Syrah, completely destemmed, and aged for 16 months in new oak barrels. The oak elevage shows here, but there’s more than enough fruit to handle it, and the wine carries gorgeous aromatics of blackberry and cassis fruits, spice, mineral, and classy oak. Full bodied on the palate and brilliantly put together, with a clean, seamless texture, good acidity, and a brilliantly focused finish where the wine’s structure becomes evident, this shows the best of an unabashedly modern upbringing. Still very young, with some upside, this should easily have another decade of prime drinking.

(grenache with 30% mourvedre and 20% syrah) Deep, bright red. Very ripe aromas of cassis, espresso, smoked meat and animal fur. Lush, fleshy and concentrated; supersweet grenache-dominated flavors of cherry and plum. Creamy but lively and elegant. Finishes long and firm, but turned a tad dry with aeration, showing menthol and herbal elements.