1 | Wine | Rhone, 86 or higher, 2010

"Abundant amounts of red and black fruits intermixed with hints of tobacco leaf, earthy soil, pepper and spice. This supple-textured, delicious red is exactly what one expects of a very good Cotes du Rhone."-Robert Parker

"The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape is a traditional blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Syrah and the rest Mourvedre and Cinsault from 50-year-old vines aged in a combination of concrete tanks, old wood foudres and small old barrels. It displays notes of charcuterie, roasted meats, garrigue, kirsch and black currants along with a full-bodied, seriously endowed, super-concentrated mouthfeel that builds like a skyscraper in the mouth. This cuvee possesses remarkable density and richness as well as the potential to last 20 years." -Robert Parker

"The 2010 Cotes du Rhone Reserve is outstanding. Dense purple, with notes of roasted meats, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice and lavender, this wine is just terrific. Medium to full-bodied, rich and certainly far deeper and more concentrated than one has any reason to expect from a wine that sells for $15 (the taste is more like one for $35 to $50), this is a winner that will drink well for 4-5 years."

"The American importer produces a slightly different blend called Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Girard, and the 2009 and 2010 are essentially identical in quality. The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Girard reveals slightly more meatiness and garrigue notes than the 2009, but the two wines are similar in every other aspect. Full-bodied, rich and pure, it, like the 2009, will evolve over the next 10-15 years." -Robert Parker

"The wine offers abundant amounts of red and black fruits. ...intermixed with hints of tobacco leaf, earthy soil, pepper and spice. This supple-textured, delicious red is exactly what one expects of a very good Cotes du Rhone." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"Very fleshy and succulent, with dark fig and linzer torte flavors that show anise and blackberry hints. Ample toasted spice and singed alder notes fill in on the finish, and this has a lovely silky feel despite its weight."

"Two outstanding values from the Rhone include the basic, delicious 2010 Cotes du Rhone. It offers lots of black cherry fruit intermixed with garrigue, earth, lavender and pepper notes. Medium-bodied and surprisingly elegant with a supple texture, it is composed of generic Cotes du Rhone blended with declassified parcels owned by Saint-Gayan in both Sablet and Seguret. It should be consumed over the next 2-3 years." -Robert Parker

"Potentially outstanding, the 2010 Cotes du Rhone-Villages comes primarily from Grand Prebois as well as other vineyards in St.-Gervais, especially the Syrah component...it exhibits a dense ruby/purple hue along with deep blackberry and black cherry fruit intertwined with notions of licorice, garrigue and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity, freshness and precision." -Robert Parker

"The reasonably priced 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape is a slightly downsized version of the Secrets de Pignan. There is more Syrah in the blend and perhaps that is the reason for its spectrum of darker fruits than the Pignan. There is a lot to like here with copious floral notes intermixed with black currant and black cherry fruit as well as hints of sandy soils and balsam wood. Full, rich and very natural tasting, this beauty can be drunk now and over the next decade."

"Black currant, spring flower, licorice and crushed rock aromas jump from the glass of this dense ruby/purple-colored, full-bodied, beautifully pure, textured and dense Lirac. It should drink well for at least a decade."-Robert Parker