CDP Reserve Secrete, Domaine de la Solitude 2001

Easily my favorite in the retrospective, the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape la Reserve Secrete (60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, aged mostly in small barrels) flirts with perfection and is a heavenly Chateauneuf du Pape that I wish every reader could taste. Possessing off-the-hook complexity in its ripe dark fruits, garrigue, tobacco, olive and cigar-laced aromas and flavors, this beauty is full-bodied, gorgeously concentrated and layered, with fine, elegant tannin and a blockbuster finish. Possessing both elegance and power, it's a quintessential Chateauneuf du Pape that's drinking at point!

Absolutely prodigious, and unquestionably one of the vintage's most illustrious wines, is the modern-styled 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape La Reserve Secrete. A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, aged 75% in small oak casks and 25% in tank, an awesome nose of creme de cassis, graphite, kirsch, licorice, and vanilla soars from the glass of this saturated ruby/purple-colored wine. With extravagant richness, a sumptuous texture, and tremendous opulence as well as purity, this stunning, modern-styled Chateauneuf du Pape retains the soul and typicity of Provence as well as Chateauneuf du Pape. One of the vintage's greatest wines, it is a brilliant achievement. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020.