Domaine de la Mordorée Red Rhone Blend Lirac Cuvée de la Reine des Bois 2003

Inky ruby. The nose offers a highly complex, wild array of dark berry and floral scents, along with anise, herbs and smoky minerals. Utterly stains the palate with deep black and blue fruit flavors complemented by strong notes of lavender pastille and tobacco. Tannins come up with air but the fruit seems to suck them up. Finishes with a strong wallop of luscious blueberry and mocha and outstanding persistence. This looks to be one of the best wines of this superb vintage.

Not surprisingly, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape La Reine des Bois is another prodigious offering from this estate. A blend of 80% Grenache and the rest equal parts Mourvedre, Syrah, Counoise, and Vacarrese, it was aged 50% in stainless steel tanks and 50% in small oak barrels. The result is an inky/blue/purple-colored wine displaying a formidable nose of graphite, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, licorice, and violets. Full-bodied with exquisite depth, impressive purity, and a multilayered, sumptuous finish with moderate tannin, its purity, freshness, vibrancy, and precision are exceptional. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age and drink it over the following two decades.

The purple-colored 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reine des Bois is loaded. Although still primary and backward, it reveals an extraordinary depth of juicy blackberry and cassis fruit interwoven with notes of roasted herbs, meat juices, camphor, and a touch of licorice. The wine boasts great depth, a superb texture, and a full-bodied richness nicely framed by high yet velvety tannins and fresh acidity. The vintage's remarkable aromatic complexity and freshness are apparent in this big, substantial, authoritative wine. It will need 3-4 years of cellaring, and should keep for 20-25 years.

The 2009 Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois (made from an identical blend with an identical upbringing) is also one of the most impressive efforts of the vintage. However, Christophe Delorme and his brother, Fabrice, have fashioned so many great Reine des Bois, it is difficult to say if it will turn out better than the 2007, 2006, 2005, 2001, 2000 or 1998. Among the most concentrated Châteauneufs of the vintage, it boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as copious aromas of blueberries, blackberries, melted licorice and spring flowers. This full-bodied offering reveals rich, pure fruit notes, a multidimensional mouthfeel and extraordinary elegance and freshness. It is a tour de force achievement that requires 2-4 years of bottle age; it should last for 15-20+ years. Bravo!

Stunning in its combination of density, purity and elegance. There's plenty of dark fig, cassis, pastis and crushed plum fruit, along with melted licorice, ganache and black tea notes. But the texture is supple, the tannins silky and the finish long and beguiling. Harnesses the precociousness of the vintage with true depth and length. Best from 2010 through 2030. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.

Sadly, Mordoree owns only ten acres in Chateauneuf du Pape, so production is limited. However, the wines are consistently brilliant. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois, a blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, and the rest Syrah, Vaccarese, and Cinsault, was 100% destemmed, and was aged in tank (one-third) and a combination of new, 1, 2, and 3-year old French barrels (two-thirds). At 15.5% alcohol, this is no wimpish wine. It is full-bodied and elegant, with a dense purple color, a big, chewy richness, tremendous purity, and notes of smoke, creosote, black raspberries, cassis, and cherries. Deep and opulent with noticeably high tannin in the finish, this large-scaled, substantial Chateauneuf should hit its peak in 4andndash;6 years, and last for two decades.

2003 was a challenging vintage for Chateauneuf du Pape, but the 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape de la Reine des Bois (70% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, and the rest equal parts Cinsault, Counoise, Syrah, and Vaccarese) is extraordinary. I had wondered if the culling out of a special lot for the La Plume du Peintre would have any impact on the Cuvee de la Reine des Bois, but it has not. This is stunning Chateauneuf du Pape with an inky ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of blackberries, camphor, licorice, spice box, and violets. The wine is full-bodied, rich and layered, and similar in style to the 2001. Itandrsquo;s a beauty, and should drink well for 15 or more years.