The top cuvée at this estate is the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape L'Immortelle, an equal-parts blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, undestemmed and co-fermented in a wooden vat. Whether it's the grape/plot selection or the technique, I couldn't say, but it's a clear step up from the property's other wines, boasting more purity of fruit, greater balance allied to greater intensity, and more length. Blueberries and raspberries join black cherries and plums, all accented by floral notes and hints of garrigue on the nose. The full-bodied palate is ripe and round, supported by plush, velvety tannins and ample concentration, while the finish lingers elegantly, adding touches of licorice, dark chocolate and a fine, silky feel.

Another 30- or possibly even 40-year wine is the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape L’Immortelle. Again, the blend is the same as the 2006 (60% Mourvedre aged in small new oak, and 40% Grenache and Syrah aged in tank). It is black purple in color with notes of smoke, creosote, graphite, blueberry liqueur, blackberries, and coffee; this wine is dense, rich, full-bodied, clearly modern in style, but distinctive and singular. It is a huge, powerful wine with the tannic structure of a Bordeaux first growth. Forget it for 10-15 years and drink it over the following 30 or more. To repeat what I’ve said in the past, this is a top-flight estate making Chateauneuf du Pape for long-term aging, with the top cuvees essentially as ageworthy as most vintages of Bordeaux. The philosophy is modern or progressive depending on your point of view, with a very liberal use of small oak barrels, but once past four or five years in the bottle, I have always found La Gardine’s Chateauneuf du Pape to be very Provencal despite their reliance on abundant new oak.Importer: Shaw-Ross Intl. Importer