We have all heard by now the rave reviews of the 2007 vintage in southern Rhone. Robert Parke Jr. declares it the best vintage in this area of his 30 year career. I have been searching for some deals out of Chateauneuf -du-Pape from the 2007 vintage. Now I know that thirty-six bucks does not sound like a deal, but let me tell you that anything under fifty bucks IS a deal from this region. I had this wine with my Thanksgiving meal, and it did not let me down. This wine was a big boy with loads of black pepper and dark fruit on the nose. The wine filled the palate with black pepper, cassis, forest floor notes and hints of mushroom. There was some nice black tea and leather notes on the back end which told me that this wine could sit in your cellar for the next ten years and it will only get better. If you do not have the patience for that, it is a great experience now but if you are in to putting wine away and would like a bargain for your cellar... This is the ticket. 92 points.