An amazing effort, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape eclipses what I wrote about it last year. Every time I went back to it, the wine revealed more nuances as well as greater depth. Full-bodied and powerful, it exhibits a compelling bouquet of creme de cassis, ground pepper, incense, seaweed, garrigue, and licorice. The knock-out aromatics are followed by a wine with colossal richness, a multilayered texture, no sense of heaviness, an incredibly deep, penetrating palate feel, and a finish that goes on for 50+ seconds. Philippe Bravay is one of the most modest and serious Chateauneuf du Pape vignerons, and it is a thrill to see him hit a home run in this vintage. For statisticians, it is made from 80- to 85+-year-old vines from two of the great sectors of Chateauneuf du Pape, La Gardiole and Cabrieres. It is composed of 90% Grenache and the rest Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault. Moreover, it is the quintessential traditional Chateauneuf du Pape aged 12-14 months in tank before being bottled without filtration. The dense purple-colored 2007 will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age, and last for 20-25 years. Bravo!

Ruby-red. Offers an exotic bouquet of fresh red berries, apricot, dark chocolate and potpourri. Very ripe in the mouth, with palate-coating red and dark berry liqueur, licorice and floral pastille flavors. Velvety tannins add shape to this big boy, which is a bit of a monolith right now. I prefer the elegance of the 2006 today but there's a lot going on here.