Domaine Saint Préfert Chateauneuf du Pape Réserve Auguste Favier 2009

Complex aromatics of garrigue, lavender, kirsch, raspberry and earth soar from the surprisingly evolved 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier. Made from an interesting blend of 82% Grenache, 15% old vine Cinsault and 3% Syrah, half aged in cement tank and half in 600-liter, two- to three-year-old demi-muids, this wine reveals no hard edges in its medium to full-bodied texture. It cuts a broad, creamy swath across the palate, and should offer remarkable drinking when released in 2011.

Packed with silky, layered raspberry, boysenberry and fig fruit that pumps from start to finish. Notes of spice, tobacco and mineral fill the background. Long, superfine finish picks up some tarry grip. Drink now through 2026.

A wine for patient connoisseurs and long-term cellaring is the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier. A blend of 85% Grenache and 15% old vine Cinsault, half is aged in cement tanks, and the rest in 2- to 3-year-old 600-liter demi-muids. This inky/blue/purple-tinged 2007 offers up aromas of graphite, camphor, incense, blueberries, and black fruits. Full-bodied, young and unevolved, with massive depth, great concentration, and super purity, texture, and length, it requires 2-4 years of cellaring, and should easily age for two decades or more.

Dark purple. Stunning bouquet of dark cherry, cassis, anise and garrigue, picking up fresh flowers and minerals with air. Chewy tannins frame lush dark fruit and licorice flavors, with cracked pepper and espresso notes emerging on the close. Pretty serious stuff, and not for early drinking.

Jam-packed with hedonistic layers of crushed plum, warm fig and macerated blackberry and boysenberry fruit, all inflected with notes of pepper, tobacco, sweet tapenade and smoked apple wood. The long, flattering finish has a creamy mouthfeel. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2025.

Dense purple-colored, the grapy, young and unevolved but promising 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier has a stunning nose of creme de cassis and raspberry liqueur intermixed with ground pepper, roasted Provencal herbs in addition to spice box and graphite. Full-bodied with terrific fruit intensity, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel that stains the palate, and plenty of acidity and tannin, this is built for the long haul. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.

Vivid ruby. Intensely perfumed scents of red berry preserves, potpourri, Asian spices and white pepper. Potent raspberry and cherry flavors are given cut by tangy acidity and pick up a deeper cherry pit quality with aeration. Impressively pure, accen... Stephen Tanzers IWC. A Proprietary Blend wine from Rhone in France. 2009 Saint-Prefert, Domaine de Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier 750ml