The outstanding 2005 Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos is tannic, with tart acids, but impressive levels of extract, mostly cassis, licorice, olive, and spice box characteristics. It requires 3-4 years of cellaring, and should drink well for two decades. As I have written many times in the past, this famous estate, which muddled along in the seventies, eighties, and early nineties, was reborn when its owners, the Deutz-Roederer Champagne enterprise, brought in the super-talented Jacques Granges, and gave him carte blanche to redo the cellars and elevate the level of quality. Since his first vintage, 1997, Delas has become one of the superb purveyors of high quality Rhone wine. I have enormous admiration for what Granges has accomplished. His most recent vintages, 2005 and 2006, have been brilliant and he continues to do a superb job with the white wines Readers should also know that Delas recently purchased 37 acres of vines in Crozes-Hermitage, so they will be augmenting their production from that appellation. The bottled 2005 reds include some interesting efforts from some of the better villages in the south. The Chateauneuf du Papes and Cotes du Rhones were reviewed in issue #173 (October, 2007)Importer: Maison Marques et Domaines, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 587-2000

Offers a structured mix of black cherry, briar, iron, coffee and loam notes, with a long, iron-tinged finish. Has nice length and good tangy grip. Drink now through 2011. 665 cases made. -JM

This limited-production gem (90 cases imported) speaks distinctly of the northern Rhone and the Syrah grape. It starts off with cracked pepper, anise and a hint of hickory smoke, then delivers cassis, hickory and licorice flavors. It’s full-bodied while retaining an elegant structure and finishes long, buffered by soft tannins. Drink now–2020.——J.C.(12/31/2008)—— 90