The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Sixtine exhibits high tannins and, atypically, some spicy new oak. It exhibits notes of black cherries, chocolate, blackberries, grilled meats, and herbs. This is a backward, muscular Chateauneuf that will require several years of bottle age. It should evolve for 15 or more years. (The 2000 Reserve Sixtine is just now beginning to reveal some secondary adolescent development.)Cuvee du Vatican’s two cuvees of red wine include a traditional cuvee, which is usually a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre and Cinsault, aged in foudre (40%), tank (30%), and used small barrels (30%). The more limited production luxury offering, the Reserve Sixtine (50% Grenache, 28% Syrah, and 22% Mourvedre), is aged 70% in one, two, and three-year-old barrels and 30% in tank. The fruit comes from their three major holdings in La Crau (clay and rocky soils), the Rayas terroir (pure sand), and the Barbe d’Asne (clay soils). Young Jean-Marc Diffonty, who has been doing a fabulous job here for more than a decade, is clearly raising the quality of the wines to a new level that clearly transcends the work his father did in the 1960s and 1970s.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173