2007 Domaine La Barroche Chateauneuf-du-Pape Pure - 750ml

Assuming one can find any of the 500 or so cases that are made, the wine “to die for” is the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Pure. I have a tendency to underrate this wine, as both the 2005, which I find pure perfection, and the nearly equal-in-quality 2006, both put on weight and complexity after a year or two in the bottle, but there is not a whole lot of room to improve in 2007. Coming from the very sandy soils of the lieu-dit in Chateauneuf du Pape known as Grand Pierre, this is 100% Grenache from vines that are about 110 years of age! Aged both in foudre and tank prior to being bottled unfiltered, in its three versions to date, it is undeniably one of the greatest expressions of pure Grenache in the world. An awesome wine with an extraordinary nose of melted licorice, spring flowers, black cherries, and black currants, the wine hits the palate with a full-bodied, thunderous impact but never, ever becomes heavy or ponderous. It is an ethereal, super-concentrated wine of great elegance, precision, and freshness, but with unbelievable concentration and length. RP