Tasting like a profound Chateauneuf du Pape, the 2005 Cotes du Rhone La Bosse (from ancient Grenache vines planted directly in front of the winery) was cropped at 10 hectoliters per hectare. The good news is it’s an outrageous, full-bodied, pedal-to-the-metal wine that ultimately achieved 16% natural alcohol. The bad news is there are only 4,000 bottles. It is a formidably endowed, truly legendary Cotes du Rhone made in the style of some of the old Fonsalettes (i.e., 1978, 1985, 1989, 1990). This monster wine should age effortlessly for 20-25 years. If you can find any, it’s a must purchase. Over the last decade, Jean-Paul Daumen, the proprietor, winemaker, and Mr. Everything at Vieille Julienne, has emerged as one of France’s most compelling wine producers. Taking advantage of the ancient vines his family owns in the northern sector of Chateauneuf du Pape, and biodynamically farming the entire vineyard, he has produced extraordinary wines since 1998. Daumen’s winemaking philosophy is remarkably simple – old vines, tiny yields of around 20 hectoliters per hectare, no SO2 during vinification, aging in neutral tanks or wood, and bottling without fining or filtration. The results are wines of extraordinary purity, and naked expressions of terroir as well as the personality of the vintage. I can not recommend these wines highly enough. Sadly, as with most of the world’s most majestic wines, production is relatively limited, and the demand is insatiable.A Christopher Cannan Selection, various American importers, including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300 and Diamond Wine Merchant, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 567-9897
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