Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape 2006

IWC: Foudre #1 ("the fine one," according to Avril): Bright red. Intense strawberry and raspberry on the nose, with subtle garrigue and minerals adding complexity. Silky red fruit flavors show seductive spice and floral pastille qualities. Finishes with great persistence. Foudre #2 ("the tannic one"): Ruby-red. Bright red fruit aromas, with a deep undercurrent of licorice adding seriousness. The palate shows very spicy bitter cherry and dark berry liqueur flavors, chewy tannic grip and a long, vibrant finish. If this is Avril's idea of tannic in 2006, the final wine should be a supple beauty. Foudre #3 ("the concentrated one," from 80-year-old vines cropped at15 hl/ha): Inky ruby. Rich cherry and cassis aromas, with a deep tapenade quality adding complexity. Sappy, sweet and packing major dark berry punch, this clocks in at 16.5% alcohol, but there's no obvious heat. An approximate blend: "I hate doing this, but why not," said Avril, who doesn't believe that on-the-spot blends are accurate reflections of what winds up in the bottle. But this was his idea, not mine! Dark ruby. Powerful kirsch and blackcurrant aromas, with exotic licorice and fresh floral character expanding with air. Pliant dark berry and bitter cherry flavors carry through the long, sappy finish. A balanced, sweet powerhouse from this vantage point, with the concentration to age for at least a decade or two. 94-97 ponits

Lobenberg: Dunkles Rubinrot. Klassische, gut strukturierte Nase mit feiner Frucht, viel Kirsche neben floralen Noten wie Brombeere. Im Mund satte, super polierte Tannine, weich und reif, dabei nicht fett sondern strukturiert mit schöner, präsenter Säure, zum Glück überhaupt kein Blockbuster. Herrliche Frische mit satter Frucht, wieder Kirsche im Mund, über allem die große Harmonie von Clos des Papes, ein Finessewein mit guter Länge. Ziemlich perfekt.

Parker: The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape (15.2% alcohol, with essentially the same technical statistics as the 2005) is a completely different animal in terms of tasting. Opulent, full-bodied, and lush, it tastes as if someone had blended 65% of the 2003 with 35% of the 2005, and 2006 was the result. Deep ruby/purple-colored, with a sweet nose of framboise, raspberries, garrigue, spice box, and earth, the wine is gorgeously concentrated, with low acidity, and very ripe but high tannins. The overall impression is one of opulence, generosity, and a sexy, hedonistic style of Chateauneuf du Pape that puts it among the very finest of the vintage. Nevertheless, I still suspect 2-3 years of bottle age will be essential, and this wine will keep for 25 or more years. This remains one of the irrefutable reference point estates for traditional Chateauneuf du Pape. The wine is always aged in a battery of foudres in the air-conditioned and humidified cellars. Vincent Avril told me that yields have been very low since 2003 at Clos des Papes, with 24 hectoliters per hectare in 2003 and 21 hectoliters per hectare in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Alcohols have consistently been above 15%, with the highest in 2003, and lower but still above 15% in 2004, 2005 and 2006. This estate has produced one of the great Chateauneuf du Papes of the 2006 vintage, and to my taste, it is a sexier, more hedonistic, and compete wine than even the 2005. 98/100