The exquisite, deep purple-colored 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape boasts an exceptional bouquet of black currants, creosote, kirsch, spring flowers, pepper, and tobacco leaves. It is fabulously rich, expansive, glorious pure, full-bodied, long, and deep. Sweetness from high glycerin and rich fruit nearly conceals some formidable tannins in the finish. This wine should evolve and last for over two decades. Over the last decade, Jean-Paul Daumen, the proprietor, winemaker, and Mr. Everything at Vieille Julienne, has emerged as one of France’s most compelling wine producers. Taking advantage of the ancient vines his family owns in the northern sector of Chateauneuf du Pape, and biodynamically farming the entire vineyard, he has produced extraordinary wines since 1998. Daumen’s winemaking philosophy is remarkably simple – old vines, tiny yields of around 20 hectoliters per hectare, no SO2 during vinification, aging in neutral tanks or wood, and bottling without fining or filtration. The results are wines of extraordinary purity, and naked expressions of terroir as well as the personality of the vintage. I can not recommend these wines highly enough. Sadly, as with most of the world’s most majestic wines, production is relatively limited, and the demand is insatiable.A Christopher Cannan Selection, various American importers, including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300 and Diamond Wine Merchant, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 567-9897

The most masculine and structured of the group, the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape is locked and loaded, with serious concentration, big tannin and no shortage of length on the finish. Coming from a year that featured a cool summer and then scorching temps around harvest, this beauty doles out loads of creme de cassis, licorice, graphite and crushed rock-like minerality, as well as a seamless, perfectly balanced profile. Give it another 2-3 years and drink it through 2025. One of my favorite producers, Vieille Julienne is run by the brilliant Jean-Paul Daumen. Coming all from a cool, mostly sandy terroir located in the northern part of the appellation, these traditionally made wines possess singular characters that have both richness and depth on the palate, as well as notable elegance and freshness. They epitomize this tiny terroir and are more Vieille Julienne than they are Chateauneuf du Pape. For this tasting, we focused on his traditional Chateauneuf (which is now broken up into two cuvees, the Trois Sources and the Hauts Lieux) and his Reserve bottling, which is produced only when this tiny plot of vines offers something unique to say. Looking first at Jean-Paul’s traditional Chateauneuf (made up until 2009), it is always a rough blend of close to 90% Grenache, with smaller components of Syrah, Mourvedre, Counoise and Cinsault. Completely destemmed, it’s aged in older foudre and never sees any new wood. While it comes from a cooler terroir in the northern part of the appellation (and Jean-Paul favors harvesting on the earlier side), it never lacks for richness and is a concentrated, structured effort that benefits from cellar time. Moving to the Reserve bottling, this cuvee comes from a single plot of 100+-year-old vines, planted in what looks like pure beach sand. It’s also slightly more Grenache dominated than the classic cuvee, with the blend containing 90-95% Grenache and the balance Cinsault and Syrah. It too is completely destemmed and aged all in older foudres. First made in 1994, it’s only produced when Jean-Paul feels that the plot has something special to say. Available in the U.S. through Vin Connect Inc., Tel. (415) 857-5740; www.vinconnect.com