A top cuvee from Corcia is his Andre Eleazar, which is also a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre and Cinsault, but in this case all from 90- to 100+-year-old vines. This wine is also aged in 100% barrels, but they are one to two years of age. The 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Andre Eleazar is a sleeper of the vintage. Deep ruby/plum/purple with sweet notes of black cherries, plums, currants, and earth, the wine is medium to full-bodied, has moderately high tannin, good richness, and plenty of freshness and depth. This is a seriously endowed Chateauneuf du Pape that should age nicely for 10-15 years.
These are the personal selections of Burgundy wine broker Alain Corcia. All of the wines are blends from top estates put together by Corcia, an accomplished taster as well as blender, and then aged either in foudres or in smaller barriques and bottled with very little clarification. Since he has a distribution system that directly imports from him without any middle men, prices are modest.
An Alain Corcia Selection, various American importers, including Premier Wines, CA; tel. (510) 237-6284, and Calvert Woodley Wines, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-4400