The first year for the new label, the 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Les Gallimardes is an outstanding effort that has a classic, mature feel. Garrigue, spiced berry fruits, dried flowers and subtle minerality all emerge from the glass and it has medium to full-bodied richness, plenty of fruit and a great finish. It has more fruit and richness than most wines in the vintage, and is drinking great today. Enjoy it over the coming couple of years. One of my favorite estates in the Southern Rhone, Domaine Giraud is run by the brother/sister pair Marie and Francois Giraud, with Marie making the wines and Francois managing the vineyards. Created in 1974 by Pierre and Mireille Giraud, it wasn’t until 1998 that they bottled their first release (both a traditional Chateauneuf and a Cuvee Les Gallimardes). While some estates have a difficult transition from generation to generation, in this case, Pierre let Marie make the wines in 2001, and after tasting the results, quickly gave her full rein. In addition, Philippe Cambie lends his consulting advice here. The style certainly leans toward the hedonistic end of the spectrum, but the wines always have beautiful purity and classy, balanced profiles. For this tasting, we started with their Les Gallimardes cuvee and finished with the Les Grenache de Pierre. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted. In addition to superb reds, they made a rock-solid white. Starting with the Les Gallimardes cuvee, this bottling comes all from the Les Galimardes lieu-dit that’s located in the southern, warmer portion of the appellation. The soils here are mostly rolled pebbles, and the vines are over 100 years in age. The wine is almost all Grenache (roughly 10% Syrah), completely destemmed (as of 1999) and has the Grenache aged all in tank and the Syrah all in smaller barrels. It’s always a rich, sexy and full-throttle effort, yet to me, it offers thrilling Chateauneuf du Pape character and is easily one of my favorite wines. Compared to the Les Grenache de Pierre release, the Les Gallimardes is more exuberant, overflowing and hedonistic. In addition, they implemented a stricter selection for this cuvee in 2005 and moved to using only their older vines. I think it shows, as current releases have additional depth, concentration and purity. Moving to their Grenaches de Pierre releases (which translates to “Grenache of their Grandfather”), this cuvee comes from 100-year-old vines planted in the sandy soils of the La Crau and Pignan lieux-dits. It’s made from 100% Grenache and aged almost completely in concrete tank. It’s always slightly more polished than the Les Gallimardes release and has beautiful complexity and purity, while not skimping on the textured or depth of fruit that’s present in all of Marie’s wines. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565

Things are beefed up in the 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Gallimardes as there are more earth and smoked game, kirsch liqueur notes intermixed with the telltale raspberry, licorice, and cedar. It is full-bodied, opulent, but quite powerful for a 2004 and, because of its accessibility, best drunk over the next 10–12 years. The renowned wine consultant for the region, Philippe Cambie, consults at Giraud, and of course this usually symbolizes a commitment by the ownership to high quality given Cambie’s extraordinary track record (the Michel Rolland of southern Rhone?). The style at Giraud seems to be one sandwiched between the traditional wines and those that are clearly modern. There is plenty of fruit and always a touch of new oak used for any of the Syrah or Mourvedre components, but the oxidative Grenache is kept in large foudres or tanks.Importer: Parliament Importing Co., Atlantic City, NJ; tel. (609) 348-1100