Autard’s 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape La Cote Ronde, which is a blend of 55% Grenache and 45% Syrah that spent 17 months in barrel, offers a masculine, firm and almost austere profile, with notions of chocolate, beef blood, earth and ripe blackberry and currant-styled fruit. Medium-bodied, nicely concentrated and rich, it’s certainly an outstanding wine, yet I question how much pleasure it will actually end up delivering.

This is a relatively modern style of Chateauneuf du Pape, especially the top cuvee called La Cote Ronde, which always seems to show evidence of some of the wine being aged in barriques. The dense 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee La Cote Ronde has a deep ruby/plum color and expansive mouthfeel with good freshness, plenty of spice box, cedar, pepper, and kirsch liqueur notes. The oak seems well-integrated and only a minor influence in the overall style of the wine. This is a stylish, elegant, progressive Chateauneuf du Pape to drink over the next decade. Represented by Russell Herman, Berkeley Heights, NJ; tel. (908) 771-9082. Various American importers.