The 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Tradition reveals great fruit and a dark ruby color in a masculine, palate-saturating style, with notes of meat, black fruits, licorice, earth, and roasted herbs. The wine is dense, moderately high in tannin, full-bodied, and should be at its best between 2010 and 2020+. Tasting at Janasse is fun. It is a large estate of 195 acres with 45 of them situated in Chateauneuf du Pape. Even if you weren’t obsessed with their fabulous Chateauneuf du Papes, they have a portfolio of brilliant wines from Cotes du Rhone as well as a vin de pays. Young proprietor Christophe Sabon, working with his wife and father, continues to fine-tune his winemaking skills. He is already brilliant at reds and shows increasing confidence in the quality of his white wine cuvees. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565

The 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape has a deep black/purple color and a sweet nose of charcoal, black cherries, raspberry, and some Provencal herbs and pepper. In the mouth it’s tannic and clearly a vin de garde with refreshing acidity, real vibrancy, but surprising power and length. As Christophe Sabon said, “It’s a wine that comes across as feminine because of the high acids and low pH, but then the finished alcohol is close to fifteen percent!” Give this wine 3-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following fifteen as it will be extremely long-lived. Over the last decade Domaine de la Janasse has become one of the half dozen or so finest estates in Chateauneuf du Pape. However, they also produce an impressive range of Cotes du Rhones. This was also one of the few dozen or so estates that had exceptional success in 2003, a challenging vintage but, for those who did it right, some monumental wines. Proprietor Christophe Sabon compares 2004 with 1999, but with slightly more fruit and power.Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565

Dark spice and plum, chocolate hints. Rich and full of life. Spicy, stewed meaty plum fruit. Excellent weight, balance and length.