Maison Tardieu Laurent - Châteauneuf du Pape - Cuvée Spéciale 2007

Full bodied and concentrated, with a long, chewy finish, this wine gets points for being complex as well. It’s plummy yet savory, with touches of braised beef, coffee and black olive.

Joe Czerwinsky
Wine Enthusiast , 92/100 , 2011-10-01

Ardent wine lovers are likely already aware that many terrific wines were made in Châteauneuf du Pape in the 2007 vintage, but here’s one that has yet to be sold out--and it is one of the very best wines of an amazing year. Made entirely from Grenache that was grown on very old vines (roughly 100 years) in the sandy soils near Rayas, this was whole-cluster fermented. That makes very good sense, since there so much ripe fruit in the wine that it could easily counterbalance stem tannins, which lend structure and coherence to the finished wine. The aromas and flavors are remarkably complex and captivating, including notes of red raspberry and cherry and exotic accents of flowers, Asian spices, candied orange peel and cocoa powder. In terms of overall character, the wine shows both masculine elements (gutsy stem tannins) and feminine ones (lifted, intricate aromatics), and the sheer complexity of the wine could keep you keenly focused for every minute until the bottle runs dry. Every so often I encounter a bottle that recharges my awareness that wine can be something unearthly and magical, and this is one of them.

Michael Franz
Winereviewonline.com , 97/100 , 2011-05-31

Wow. Seeing a touch of new and 1 year old oak barrels, the 2007 Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale is 100% Grenache and shows awesome aromatics of cassis and blackberry fruit, garrigue, raw meat, graphite and floral aromas. The purity and precision on the nose are truly remarkable. The palate is full bodied with perfectly ripe, decadent fruit, fresh acidity, a pure, precise texture and a long finish. Very impressive. This stood out in a blind tasting of top wines.

Jeb Dennuck
The Rhone Report , 96/100 , 2010-02-09

Opaque ruby. Highly perfumed bouquet of red and dark berry preserves, flowers, fruit pit and sassafras. Sweet, palate-staining black raspberry and mulberry flavors are framed by velvety tannins and become spicier and more energetic on the back end. Big and gripping but surprisingly graceful wine with very good finishing lift and precision. This saw no new oak.

Josh Raynolds
Stephen Tanzers International wine Cellar , 93/100 , 2010-02-01

Dense, ripe, rich and concentrated; lovely, deep; intense and long.

Anthony Dias Blue
The Tasting Panel , 92/100 , 2009-12-01

This is gorgeous, with wood spice and tobacco notes leading the way for a massive core of black Mission fig and warm currant preserve flavors. This has the opulent fruit of the vintage, but maintains an edgy minerality as well. The long finish ripples with lavender and black tea.

James Molesworth
Wine Spectator , 95/100 , 2009-10-02

A 100% Grenache cuvee from the sandy soils of a 106-year-old, biodynamically farmed La Crau vineyard, and aged in both foudre and tank, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Speciale is amazing. Abundant notes of melted licorice, kirsch liqueur, and flowers is followed by a full-bodied, seamlessly constructed wine with sensational purity, texture, depth, and length.

Wine Advocate , 94-96/100 , 2008-10-30