Domaine Saint Prefert Chateauneuf-du-Pape Collection Charles Giraud 2003
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Wine Spectator
Exotic flavors of anise, licorice and blackberry confiture—along with cocoa, floral and tar notes. Dense, but plush and silky for the vintage, with a raspberry ganache-loaded finish that won't quit. A real beauty. Drink now through 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One can’t speak highly enough of the efforts by proprietress Isabel Ferrando, who has resurrected this well-known estate in Chateauneuf du Pape. This is a beautifully made wine that merits serious attention. The deep purple color of the 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Collection Charles Giraud is even better than the Auguste Favier, with a few extra layers built in. It is not as intensely Provencal aromatically or flavor-wise, but the pepper, the kirsch liqueur, and the creme de cassis are all there, the wine strikingly concentrated, full-bodied, layered, and voluptuously textured with a blockbuster finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
A supremely powerful special cuvée that shows intense, rich, sweet fruit over layers of dark, brooding tannins. Black fruit, dried figs and quince flavors combine with spice and pepper and wood tastes to produce a huge, long-lasting wine. Imported by Daniel Johnnes Wines.
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Isabel Ferrando bought the Domaine Saint Prefert and vinified for the first time in 2003. The estate is situated on the south side of the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape atop gravel and pebble soils.
Domaine Saint Prefert produces wines epitomizing the Provencal region. Herbs such as garrigue, thyme and rosemary abound. Grenache is expressed in notes of candied fruit, chocolate and roasted coffee.
Isabel Ferrando farms organically. She expanded her holdings and built a new state-of-the-art winery in 2009. Isabel's mentality is to never stop improving: "The substantial work done in the vineyards over the past eight years brings us ever closer to the level of quality that I seek. Progress is ahead of us."
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
A long and narrow valley producing flavorful red, white, and rosé wines, the Rhône is bisected by the river of the same name and split into two distinct sub-regions—north and south. While a handful of grape varieties span the entire length of the Rhône valley, there are significant differences between the two zones in climate and geography as well as the style and quantity of Rhône wines produced. The Northern Rhône, with its continental climate and steep hillside vineyards, is responsible for a mere 5% or less of the greater region’s total output. The Southern Rhône has a much more Mediterranean climate, the aggressive, chilly Mistral wind and plentiful fragrant wild herbs known collectively as ‘garrigue.’
In the Northern Rhône, the only permitted red variety is Syrah, which in the appellations of St.-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas and Côte-Rôtie, it produces velvety black-fruit driven, savory, peppery red wines often with telltale notes of olive, game and smoke. Full-bodied, perfumed whites are made from Viognier in Condrieu and Château-Grillet, while elsewhere only Marsanne and Roussanne are used, with the former providing body and texture and the latter lending nervy acidity. The wines of the Southern Rhône are typically blends, with the reds often based on Grenache and balanced by Syrah, Mourvèdre, and an assortment of other varieties. All three northern white varieties are used here, as well as Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourbelenc and more. The best known sub-regions of the Southern Rhône are the reliable, wallet-friendly Côtes du Rhône and the esteemed Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Others include Gigondas, Vacqueyras and the rosé-only appellation Tavel.