du Vatican Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve Sixtine, Rhone, France

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The blockbuster 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Sixtine (55% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre from 50- to 105-year-old vines) boasts an inky/purple color as well as a sensational perfume of camphor, graphite, black currants, black cherries, licorice, and smoke. Built like a young Bordeaux with its tannic structure, this full-bodied, intensely flavored wine reveals a meaty character in the mouth. As with most vintages since 1998, the 2007 requires cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2028+. Another famous family name in Chateauneuf du Pape, the Diffontys can trace their origins to the late 17th century. Moreover, they have been producing wines under the Cuvee du Vatican name for over one hundred years (although during that period most of the wine was sold to negociants).Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Sixtine exhibits high tannins and, atypically, some spicy new oak. It exhibits notes of black cherries, chocolate, blackberries, grilled meats, and herbs. This is a backward, muscular Chateauneuf that will require several years of bottle age. It should evolve for 15 or more years. (The 2000 Reserve Sixtine is just now beginning to reveal some secondary adolescent development.)Cuvee du Vatican’s two cuvees of red wine include a traditional cuvee, which is usually a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre and Cinsault, aged in foudre (40%), tank (30%), and used small barrels (30%). The more limited production luxury offering, the Reserve Sixtine (50% Grenache, 28% Syrah, and 22% Mourvedre), is aged 70% in one, two, and three-year-old barrels and 30% in tank. The fruit comes from their three major holdings in La Crau (clay and rocky soils), the Rayas terroir (pure sand), and the Barbe d’Asne (clay soils). Young Jean-Marc Diffonty, who has been doing a fabulous job here for more than a decade, is clearly raising the quality of the wines to a new level that clearly transcends the work his father did in the 1960s and 1970s.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

Inky/dense purple to the rim, the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Sixtine offers up scents of creme de cassis, pain grille, resiny pine forest, roasted herbs, and pepper. Full-bodied, rich, meaty, and deep, it is a structured, masculine, full-bodied Chateauneuf that should be at its peak between 2012-2025. The young Jean-Marc Diffonty offers two different styles of Chateauneuf du Pape. The basic cuvee is a more typical than the Reserve Sixtine, which is a combination of 50% Grenache and the rest various proportions of Syrah and Mourvedre, with the latter two components spending time in barriques. The Reserve Sixtine often needs 4-5 years of bottle age to integrate the wood component and display its Provencal typicity. Having purchased and followed Diffonty’s early bottlings of the Reserve Sixtine, I can say they do become very Provencal in character at about age 5-7. Moreover, in the top vintages, they possess twenty or more years of aging potential.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

The 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Sixtine is a dense ruby/purple-colored wine that is structured and built for the long haul. The wine has notes of Provencal herbs, graphite, creme de cassis, and plenty of black cherries and garrigue. It is a beauty, but an anomaly for 2004 in that it needs 2-4 years of cellaring, and should drink well for up to 15. This is one more estate that has come back strong because of a change in generations with the young, competent Jean-Marc Diffonty replacing his father, one of the grumpy but personality-filled characters of Chateauneuf du Pape. Yet from a winemaking standpoint, the father was inflexible and unwilling to change. Diffonty has lower yields and introduced a new blend, the Reserve Sixtine which is a blend of 50% Grenache and the rest Syrah and Mourvedre, the latter two components spending time in small oak barrels.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

An absolutely classic and brilliant example of the vintage and of Cuvee du Vatican is the 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Sixtine. This wine was fabulous prior to bottling and continues to exhibit a terrific character post-bottling. About 2,000 cases were produced from yields that averaged 17 to 25 hectoliters per hectare. Tipping the scales at 15.7% alcohol, it possesses an inky/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of smoky plums and black currants intermixed with licorice, garrigue, underbrush, and scorched earth. Full-bodied, powerful, concentrated, meaty notes come across like steak au poivre. Dense, chewy, opulent, but structured, this massive wine has beautiful definition and length as well as impressive freshness and delineation. Give it 3-4 years of bottle age and drink it over the following two decades. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173