2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire

Made from 80% very old vine Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, and 10% Syrah, with the Grenache aged for 15-20 months in old foudre and small barrels, and the Syrah and Mourvèdre aged in demi-muids, the 2001 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire sports a profound, complex bouquet of kirsch, roasted herbs, flowers, meat juice, and licorice that just comes soaring from the glass with serious intensity and richness. This is followed by a full bodied, beautifully balanced wine that oozes concentration and extract through the middle, possesses a silky, light texture, and shows fantastic length and structure on the finish. Still very youthful and primary, this needs another 2-4 years in the cellar, and should drink well through 2026.

The Cuvee Centenaire is produced from ancient vine (planted in 1889) Grenache (80% of the blend, along with 8% Syrah and 12% Mourvedre). The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire is superior to the 2000, but slightly behind the 1998. This fabulous wine boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as a provocative perfume of incense, black tea, plums, figs, and kirsch liqueur. As it sits in the glass, this full-bodied, dense 2001 offers up notes of pepper, smoke, and balsam wood. Rich and voluptuous with great length, massive body, and a structured, long, heady, tannic finish, its alcohol must be over 15%, but it is well concealed by the wine’s great concentration. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

(an 80/20 blend of grenache and syrah) Dark red. Incredible nose melds plum, spicecake, woodsmoke, mocha, earth, minerals and dried herbs; this covers all the major Chateauneuf du Pape food groups. Like liquid silk in the mouth, but with powerful underlying spine. A saline, superconcentrated wine that coats every millimeter of the palate with explosively rich, insinuating flavor yet does not come across as extreme or over the top. In fact, this is almost understated today, with a wonderfully long, elegant finish. A wine to chew on as much as to drink.