The finest selection from Chateauneuf du Pape I have yet tasted from Delas is the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Haute Pierre. Made from around 80% Grenache with the rest Syrah and Mourvedre, the wine is outstanding, dense ruby/purple with notes of black currant, black cherry, smoke, tobacco leaf, and licorice. The wine is full-bodied and has superb intensity, beautiful purity, and a long, heady finish. It is still young and slightly unevolved, but it should age nicely for 10-15 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. Importer: Maison Marques et Domaines, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 587-2000

Shows some funk on the nose, but there's a solid core of ripe, pure blackberry and black currant fruit, with sweet spice, tar and warm licorice notes. Long, well-rounded finish. Drink now through 2023. 850 cases imported. -JM