This was a real treat, on sale in St Paul where I was visiting Clay and Inge. Picked this up to drink on our trip to the far north lake country. So, on the first night, it was a bit disjointed (of course it had been shaken up on our 4 hour drive, some of it over bumpy roads). I could tell the plum and black cherry fruit was there but it was overwhelmed by the acid and alcohol. So, as if to confirm Charles's argument (the guy from Lynch Bages in Bordeaux), tasted it 24 hours later with no gas preservation or vacuum pumping and it was wonderful. Drinking from plastic cups, so nose wasn't great. But on the palate a masterpiece of silky balance, with toasted black cherry, blueberry, white pepper and a damn-near Pomerol like roundness. The acid is now in perfect balance with fruit. Maybe a touch of licorice and with air, black raspberry. And a very long finish carried by the acid and alcohol. Tannin soft and drinking great right now, but should help it last for another 5-10 years. Unmistakably a syrah-grenache blend but the grenache gives it the Pomerol roundness. I'd give it 93.
Parker in Oct 2009:
93 points. The 4,400-case blend of 80% Grenache and the rest Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape boasts a dense plum/purple color as well as a wonderfully sweet nose of fresh black truffles, incense, blue and black fruits, roasted herbs, and earth. The wine is full-bodied and pure with fresh acids, silky tannins, and a voluptuous mouthfeel. Drink this beauty over the next 10-12 years.
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