A sleeper of the vintage is undeniably the 2005 Cotes du Rhone St.-Esprit, a blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache. This is a blacker-styled Cotes du Rhone with plenty of blueberry, blackberry, tar, and chocolatey notes in a medium to full-bodied, ripe, deliciously fruity and pure style. It should drink nicely for 5-6 years. This firm, which has done such terrific work for the last decade under the ownership of the Louis Roederer Champagne firm and the management of the brilliant administrator Jacques Grange, has forged a noteworthy reputation for their selections from the northern Rhone. As I have written in the past, their southern Rhone selections have lagged behind in quality, but that seems to be changing dramatically, as evidenced by the following three cuvees, the best southern Rhone cuvees I have tasted from Delas in the ten-plus years I have been visiting them.Importer: Maison Marques et Domaines, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 587-2000

Supple and silky, with delicious blackberry, mocha, spice and mineral notes that ripple through the fleshy finish. Drink now. 25,000 cases made. -JM