Elyse Le Corbeau Hudson Vineyard Los Carneros Red Wine, 2007

This wine is 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah, "echoing," according to the label, "the great wines of Chateauneuf du Pape." Last year, we enjoyed the 2005 and 2006 Le Corbeau, which seemed to me more like good CDR Villages wines rather than Chateauneuf du Papes. This 2007, though, comes closer to the real thing.

Bright crimson, deeper than most Chateauneufs of comparable age. Raspberries, strawberries, peppercorn and vanilla. Ripe fruit up front, then supple tannins on the mid-palate and a slightly warm (14.4%), deep fruited finish