CDP Réserve des Deux Frères, Domaine Pierre Usseglio 2007

The perfect 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres is slightly more evolved and complex than the Mon Aieul, as odd as that seems. Having had it twice out of bottle, this wine (nearly 100% Grenache combined with a few dollops of Syrah) possesses an opaque ruby/purple color as well as a thrilling texture and monumental length (the finish lasts over 60 seconds). It-s a blockbuster, but everything is in perfect balance, and, remarkably, it comes across as the most accessible Reserve des Deux Freres made to date. This wine-s aging is completely different from its sibling-s. Sixty percent is aged in 1, 2, and 3-year-old Burgundy barrels, and the rest in small new oak barrels, but there is not a hint of new oak in the aromatics. The bouquet reveals plenty of blackberry, blueberry, and cassis fruit intertwined with notions of melted licorice, spring flowers, and that classic garrigue note that comes across as the seaweed wrapper used in sushi restaurants, nori. There is a certain smokiness that is probably attributable to the oak, and the wine has incredible depth and richness, as well as a finish that seems endless. This extraordinary Chateauneuf du Pape is another prodigious effort in this historic vintage. It should drink well for two decades or more.

There are 4,000 bottles of the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres (which sports a new label). Another monumental example of Chateauneuf, this 100% Grenache reveals no evidence of makeup. It is about as natural an expression of old vine Grenache as one can find. Gorgeously long, blackberry, cassis, seaweed, licorice, cherry, and lavender scents explode from the glass. In the mouth, the wine is even fuller, richer, and denser than the Mon Aieul, and exhibits more tannin as well as a phenomenal finish that lasts over a minute. This is a prodigious wine of extraordinary singularity and intensity. It should evolve for 30+ years.