Clos des Papes, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2007 1.5l Magnum

 

From Wine Advocate "One of the great vintages from this estate, surpassing even the 1990, 2000, 2001, 2003, and maybe the 2010 (time will tell with this one.)...Full-bodied, intense and beautifully concentrated, with plenty of muscle and depth, it shows the hallmark elegance and purity of the estate, with sensational notes of kirsch liqueur, raspberries, incense, smoked meats and Asian spices"

 

The Avril family farms from 40 hectares of land (almost a hundred acres), the vast majority of which is red. This is one of the few estates to use all the Chateuneuf appellation allowed varietals (18 total). Their typical blend is 65% grenache, 20% mouvedre and about 10% syrah with the remaining 5% rounded out with the other 15 varietals.