La Gardine’s limited production cuvee, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Peur Bleu (50% Grenache and the rest equal parts Mourvedre and Syrah), is a small-production wine of about 250-300 cases, made without any sulfur. This makes the wine extremely vulnerable to bad storage or transportation problems, and is particularly susceptible to heat, although they do bottle it with a very elevated level of CO2 for some degree of protection. This is a wine I would recommend buying and drinking within the appellation of Chateauneuf du Pape unless you are absolutely positive of its provenance. Inky blue/purple, with a stunning nose of creosote, acacia flowers, charcoal, and blueberry and blackberry fruit, the wine is very full-bodied, dense, and like the Cuvee des Generations, excruciatingly tannic and needs plenty of aging. If it were perfectly stored and never hit any heat whatsoever, I suspect this wine could evolve for 20 or more years. All four 2007s are outstanding wines.Importer: Shaw-Ross, Miramar, FL; tel. (954) 430-5036.

La Gardine’s limited production cuvee, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Peur Bleu (50% Grenache and the rest equal parts Mourvedre and Syrah), is a small-production wine of about 250-300 cases, made without any sulfur. This makes the wine extremely vulnerable to bad storage or transportation problems, and is particularly susceptible to heat, although they do bottle it with a very elevated level of CO2 for some degree of protection. This is a wine I would recommend buying and drinking within the appellation of Chateauneuf du Pape unless you are absolutely positive of its provenance. Inky blue/purple, with a stunning nose of creosote, acacia flowers, charcoal, and blueberry and blackberry fruit, the wine is very full-bodied, dense, and like the Cuvee des Generations, excruciatingly tannic and needs plenty of aging. If it were perfectly stored and never hit any heat whatsoever, I suspect this wine could evolve for 20 or more years. All four 2007s are outstanding wines. Importer: Shaw-Ross, Miramar, FL; tel. (954) 430-5036.