CDP Hautes Brusquières, Domaine de la Charbonnière 2010

The 2010 vintage is easily the greatest vintage for this estate to date. The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape les Hautes Brusquières Cuvee Speciale is a total blockbuster that sports an inky purple color as well as heavenly notes of dark fruits, roasted herbs, licorice, cured meats and garrigue. Unctuous, ripe, full-bodied, massively concentrated and yet impeccably balanced, it will have 20-25 years of overall longevity.

The sensational 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Hautes Brusquieres Cuvee Speciale explodes from the glass with aromas of roasted Provencal herbs/garrigue, cassis, blackberries, kirsch, loamy earth, and a subtle nuance of spring flowers. Full-bodied with superb definition, massive fruit concentration and a long finish displaying dazzling purity, texture and length, this sensational wine is one of the finest wines Domaine de la Charbonniere has yet produced. It should age gracefully for two decades.

The deep, rich, opaque ruby/purple 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Hautes Brusquieres Cuvee Speciale displays loads of framboise, black raspberries, black cherries, licorice and garrigue. It has layers and layers of fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, a denser core and slightly more acidity and structure than the 2009. This will probably require a few years of cellaring then drink beautifully for 15 more years. (I am just consuming my last bottles of 1998, which is still a beautiful wine at age 14.)