The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Herve seems to have more tannin than its siblings. Its dense plum/purple color is follwed by notes of creosote, blueberries, black currants, charcoal, lavender, and earth, and prominent silky tannins, good acids, and a sweet, ripe, pure personality. It will benefit from 1-2 years of bottle age, and should drink well for 12-15 years. Beaune resident Alain Corcia also has a portfolio of Burgundy wines, but some of his finest work is done in the Rhone Valley where his sympathies and passions seem to rise above his feelings for his Burgundy selections. His 2007 Rhone Valley portfolio includes the finest wines he has put together in the history of his firm. Corcia is a dedicated family man and labels all of his Collection Alain Corcia Chateauneuf du Papes after his family members. He also fashions a selection of the finest two barrels which he calls the Creme de la Creme. Each of the following wines represents about 200-250 cases, with the total Chateauneuf du Pape production around 1,500 cases. Corcia’s three children are represented by the Herve, Raphael, and Julie cuvees. While these wines are all similar in style, they do have minor differences.An Alain Corcia Selection, various American importers, including Premier Wine, CA; tel. (510) 237-6284, Calvert-Woodley Wines, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-4400, and Behind The Cellar Door Imports, Bloomfield Hills, MI; tel. (248) 925-6639

The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Herve seems to have more tannin than its siblings. Its dense plum/purple color is follwed by notes of creosote, blueberries, black currants, charcoal, lavender, and earth, and prominent silky tannins, good acids, and a sweet, ripe, pure personality. It will benefit from 1-2 years of bottle age, and should drink well for 12-15 years. Beaune resident Alain Corcia also has a portfolio of Burgundy wines, but some of his finest work is done in the Rhone Valley where his sympathies and passions seem to rise above his feelings for his Burgundy selections. His 2007 Rhone Valley portfolio includes the finest wines he has put together in the history of his firm. Corcia is a dedicated family man and labels all of his Collection Alain Corcia Chateauneuf du Papes after his family members. He also fashions a selection of the finest two barrels which he calls the Creme de la Creme. Each of the following wines represents about 200-250 cases, with the total Chateauneuf du Pape production around 1,500 cases. Corcia’s three children are represented by the Herve, Raphael, and Julie cuvees. While these wines are all similar in style, they do have minor differences. An Alain Corcia Selection, various American importers, including Premier Wine, CA; tel. (510) 237-6284, Calvert-Woodley Wines, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-4400, and Behind The Cellar Door Imports, Bloomfield Hills, MI; tel. (248) 925-6639

While cut from the same mold as the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Julie, the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Herve is slightly fuller with deeper fruit. All of these wines are aged in small old barrels prior to bottling. Ebullient Burgundian wine broker, Alain Corcia, who does some of his best work in the Rhone Valley, offers a solid selection of Cotes du Rhones and Chateauneuf du Papes that are both good values and very fine wines. Corcia’s Chateauneuf du Pape cuvees are strong in both 2006 and 2007. These are selections he makes from several well-known estates on the plateau of Chateauneuf du Pape that undergo slightly different blendings and upbringings. All named after family members, they are more similar than dissimilar. An Alain Corcia Selection, various American importers, including Premier Wines, CA; tel. (510) 237-6284, Calvert-Woodley Wines, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-4400 and Behind the Cellar Door Imports, PHONE: 248.925.6639 ? FAX: 248.203.6993

A tannic, tough-textured effort is the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Herve. Medium ruby-hued with notes of crushed rocks, sweet cherries, leafy vegetables, spice, and beef stock, this is a medium-bodied, tightly-knit, firmly-structured Chateauneuf that requires several years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2022. Burgundy wine broker Alain Corcia ventures into the southern Rhone to purchase wine which he then raises in old oak foudres and smaller barriques, and bottles them under assorted names. Some of the cuvees see 30% new oak, but Corcia’s overall philosophy is to keep the wood as a background element to the fruit, which is dominated by Grenache (60-70%) with the rest Syrah and occasionally Mourvedre. The 2006s are charming efforts displaying the vintage’s up-front, forward fruit, but not the structure, weight, or density of the 2005s.An Alain Corcia Selection, various American importers, including Premier Wines, CA; tel. (510) 237-6284, and Calvert Woodley Wines, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-4400

The 2004 Cuvee Herve is a completely different take on Chateauneuf du Pape. This shows more of the pine forest, resiny notes that come from certain sectors of Chateauneuf du Pape, with plenty of dark black currant and raspberry fruit and oodles of pepper and incense-like smells. It is an exotic, aromatic style of Chateauneuf du Pape, and the 2004 is impressively endowed. For this vintage, drink it over the next decade. These are the personal selections of Burgundy wine broker Alain Corcia. All of the wines are blends from top estates put together by Corcia, an accomplished taster as well as blender, and then aged either in foudres or in smaller barriques and bottled with very little clarification. Since he has a distribution system that directly imports from him without any middle men, prices are modest. An Alain Corcia Selection, various American importers, including Premier Wines, CA; tel. (510) 237-6284, and Calvert Woodley Wines, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-4400