2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Collection Charles Giraud

The utterly profound 2007 Châteauneuf du Pape Collection Charles Giraud (60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre) offers up a smorgasbord of roasted meats, black currants, smoked garrigue, graphite and licorice. Utterly perfect on the palate, with a massive, broad, expansive texture that just won’t quit, it has a stacked mid-palate, loads of sweet fruit and a heavenly finish. Chateauneuf du Pape doesn’t get any better!

Opaque ruby. A captivating bouquet evokes raspberry, boysenberry, incense, olive, seared meat and dried flowers. Deeply concentrated red and dark berry flavors offer liqueur-like intensity, with complicating notes of lavender pastille and smoky minerals. Manages to be both outsized and feminine, showing striking clarity and lift on the finish. This show-stopper is balanced to age but will be irresistible soon after release, like so many 2007s. The blend here is 60% grenache and 40% mourvedre.

Inky purple. Intensely pungent nose offers a kaleidoscopic array of dark berries, flowers and spices, with elements of licorice and dark chocolate adding depth. Creamy mulberry and cherry-cola flavors coat the palate, complicated by sexy floral pastille and fruitcake qualities. Extremely rich wine with great back-end power and finishing sappiness.