A very dense, slightly reductive nose of blackcurrant, black olive, violets and a touch of blueberry. More nuances developing in the glass: hints of mulberry and damson. The palate is medium-bodied, powerful and supremely well focused. Excellent delineation, but very compact with blackberry, a touch of cassis and bilberry on the finish. Great potential. Drink 2012-2025. Tasted March 2008

Deep ruby with a bright rim. A spicy, intensely floral bouquet of raspberry, blackberry, incense and violet, with a smoky mineral overtone. Sweet red berry flavors are given a firm edge by notes of bitter cherry and cracked pepper, and a suave floral quality gains strength with air. Finishes lively, focused and subtly sweet, with strong echoes of smoke and flowers.

The more closed, dark ruby/purple-colored 2007 Cote Rotie La Mordoree exhibits tart acidity as well as a cooler, greener mouthfeel. Notions of bay leaf, green olives, black cherries, incense, and licorice are found in this pure, rich 2007. While outstanding, it is less impressive than the 2006, but it, too, should evolve for 15+ years. (Not yet released) While Michel Chapoutier produces some of the world’s greatest wines from single parcels of old vines spread throughout the northern and southern Rhone (see my ecstatic reviews of his 2007 and 2006 Chateauneuf du Papes in issue #179), he also has an impressive portfolio of value-priced wines that are often over-looked when this impressive producer is discussed. Following are some top-notch picks that all sell for exceptionally fair prices. Chapoutier has not achieved as great as success in Cornas as he has in the other northern Rhone appellations, although his Cornas wines get better with each vintage. There are four extraordinary single vineyard white wines, all of which are among the greatest dry white wines of the world. While all of them can be drunk young, they are meant for extended cellaring. Made from very small yields, they represent the essence of a varietal as well as a vineyard site. As the following notes demonstrate, 2006 was one of the greatest vintages for white wines at Chapoutier. The single vineyard selection parcellaire red wines range in production from 500 to nearly 1,000 cases. 2007 is a very good vintage for these selections, but 2006 has an edge. It is reminiscent of 1996 because of the wines’ freshness and acid levels, but Chapoutier’s 2006s are even more concentrated than his 1996s. Chapoutier’s four 2006 cuvees of single vineyard Hermitage are exquisite. Most of the yields were between 10 and 20 hectoliters per hectare, and the wines are extravagantly rich. The 2006 and 2007 luxury cuvees of Chateauneuf du Pape Croix des Bois and Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac were reviewed in issue #179. They are all astounding wines, especially in 2007 Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

Less blue and rather paler than St-Joseph Rouge, Les Granits. Fragrant, delicate and bone dry. Very classical Côte Rôtie. Lifted, eloquent, languid and elegant. Bit of a Virginia Woolf, all in all. (JR)