The 1997 Chateauneuf du Pape offers up an exotic nose of sausage, pepper, licorice, garrigue, and cherries. In the mouth, there is good fruit, medium body, and an evolved, soft, cedary, smoky, spicy style. The wine is ripe, but slightly diluted. Drink it over the next 4-5 years. Proprietor Jean-Claude Mestre fashions traditional, old style Chateauneuf du Papes that have much in common with the wines of Pegau and Henri Bonneau. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173