The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cornelia Constanza is 100% Grenache from 80+-year-old vines in the La Crau sector of Chateauneuf du Pape. A very Rayas-like wine, with loads of kirsch liqueur, balsam wood, licorice and lavender, this deep ruby wine exhibits copious quantities of black raspberry and kirsch liqueur notes and delivers a sexy, opulent, full-bodied mouthfeel, some hefty glycerin (I'm sure the alcohol must be 15% plus) and a long, heady finish. This is stunning Chateauneuf du Pape that comes in every bit as strong as the 2009 from Domaine de la Solitude and slightly less intense and flamboyant than their magnificent 2007. Drink it over the next 15+ years.
One of the most significant estates in Chateauneuf du Pape and one of the earliest to estate-bottle, the Lancon family has been producing these wines for many, many decades. They have 75 acres, with most of it situated in the widely renowned rocky plateau in the eastern part of the sector know as La Crau, the hottest, earliest-maturing sector of the appellation. The Lancons don't believe in showing barrel or tank samples, so everything I tasted was already in bottle, and no 2011 reds were tasted. The 2010 vintage is another strong one for them, keeping their track record of hitting home runs for much of the last decade intact.
Importer: Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900