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2003 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes

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RATINGS

98The Wine Advocate

Possibly the wine of the vintage... drop-dead gorgeous bouquet of spice-laden red and black fruits, licorice, graphite and mineral to go with a seamless, full-bodied and decadently-styled palate. Seriously rich and voluptuous...

97Robert M. Parker Jr.

One of the vintage’s most compelling wines. Offers aromas of creme de cassis, creosote, and flowers along with immense concentration, body, and tannin. The finish is reminiscent of a first-growth Bordeaux...

96Wine Spectator

Georgeous raspberry ganache and spice aromas give way to richly layered but silky notes of boysenberry, blackberry, mocha, mineral and tar. Long, pure beam of fruit resonates through the finish.

96Wine Enthusiast

...beautifully structured wine, almost charming at first, and then packing an intense mouthful of fresh, balanced and dangerously delicious fruit. There is a touch of new wood, but the fruit is the star of this great wine.

96Jeb Dunnuck

...packed with raspberry liqueur, plums, graphite and licorice notes and with air, subtle spice and garrigue aromas start to show up. Full bodied with fantastic levels of fruit...impeccably balanced, seamless and long with gobs of underlying structure and fine grained, ripe tannins on the monster finish.

95Stephen Tanzer

Lush and hefty but suave..

REGION

France, Rhône Valley, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the appellation, is a large area of nearly 8,000 vineyard acres centered around the picturesque town of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Located in southeastern France just north of the Avignon hills, the name of the appellation means “new castle of the pope” and it is a reference to the 14th century, when the Popes of Avignon built summer homes in the Southern Rhone Valley. Today the appellation is one of the most renowned in France and its terroir is known for layers of small pebbles, called “galets.” The stones in the soil are thought to help store heat and keep the soil warm, which helps ripen the grapes. The stones also help keep the soil from drying out in hot summer months. In 1923 Châteauneuf-du-Pape was a leader in establishing the idea that AOC wines in France should be made only with specified grapes, and the appellation allowed 13 grape varieties to be used. Since then the rules have been slightly modified to include several more allowable grapes. Red and white wines are produced, though in practice about 97% of all Châteauneuf –du-Papes are reds made with a blend of Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Counoise, Mourvedre, Muscardine, Syrah and Vaccarese. The red wines of this appellation are prized for being big, rich, spicy and full-bodied. White wines of the appellation are made with Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Picpoul and Picardin. Whites are floral, fruity and relatively full-bodied.