The classic garrigue smells of roasted herbs, loamy soil notes, and pepper are present in the dark ruby/purple-tinged 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape. Quite broad, spicy, with excellent texture and purity, this wine tastes like the essence of Provence and smells as if you’re walking through one of the local open-air marketplaces. Drink it over the next 7-8 years as it’s on a relatively fast evolutionary track. Ever since the late 1990s, this fine estate run by the Versino brothers has done everything right, turning out classic but elegant wines from Chateauneuf du Pape that texturally often seem to have more in common with fine Burgundies than southern Rhone wines. Importer: J & R Selections, Mt. Pleasant, MI; tel. (517) 772-3695 and Louis/Dressner, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191