($165; a 70/30 blend of grenache and mourvedre) Dark purple. Hypnotic bouquet of red and dark berry compote, flowers and spices, with notes of smoky garrigue and cola gaining power with air. Manages to be both dense and energetic, offering sweet raspberry and boysenberry flavors underscored by candied flowers and herbs. The finish refuses to let up, repeating the sweet berry and floral notes with great authority. (North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA)

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70% Grenache, 30% MourvèdreSweet and round. Very polished and sophisticated, mineral and ripe, but no over-the-top alcohol. Pretty smart – though awfully expensive!

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The 2007 Le Clos du Caillou Reserve is a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, and 20% Syrah, with the Grenache aged in concrete tanks and the other components aged in both demi-muids and small barrels. This wine will probably not be as long-lived as the utterly perfect 2001, but it is a wine of considerable substance, richness, and appeal. Dense purple to the rim, this is an ethereal beauty of purity and substantial power, allied together in a wine offering up notes of licorice, incense, acacia flowers, black raspberry and black currant notes. It is full-bodied, deep, and for this particular cuvee, surprisingly accessible due to the sweetness of the tannins and the high levels of glycerin and rich fruit. This wine is irresistible already, although it will certainly develop more nuances aromatically over the next 4-5 years and evolve for at least two decades. This is sensational stuff and a great effort.

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