The 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Peur Bleue, which is a blend of 60% Grenache and the rest nearly equal parts Mourvedre and Syrah. This is a pretty amazing wine that shows some unresolved CO2 which no doubt is being utilized to protect the wine. Wines such as this are almost a nightmare to ship from France to foreign countries, but I do give the proprietors credit for trying to make a wine they probably will sell largely in Europe since it will need to be handled more carefully. It is deep purple in color, has superb texture, richness, and certainly is a brilliant example of a non-SO2 wine that may have enough power, structure, and intensity to even survive trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific shipments in less than ideal conditions. The aging potential of these kinds of wines is another gamble, so I won’t make a guess. A decidedly modern take on Chateauneuf du Pape, but wine built for long-term aging is the rule of thumb from this estate tucked away in the very western reaches of Chateauneuf du Pape. I have cellared their Cuvee des Generations as far back as 1978. It’s a wine that does behave more like a Bordeaux than many Chateauneuf du Papes, requiring a good decade of cellaring, and it may be one of the few wines that takes that long to shed some tannin. Of course it sees aging in new oak barrels, as La Gardine was one of the first to use new oak for its Chateauneuf du Pape, and while the wine can be somewhat internationally styled and oaky in its youth, the wood does get absorbed as the wine ages, and after a decade there is no doubt it is a southern Rhone wine with plenty of Provencal typicity in it. At about age 7-8, the aromas of black cherries and other black fruits intermixed with smoky garrigue notes come to the forefront. Importer: Bercut-Vandervoort, Brisbane, CA; tel. (415) 562-1132