Rabasse Charavin Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne, 2004

I bought this wine at auction for a very good price ($10) two years ago, presumably because other buyers were wary of a seven-year-old Cotes du Rhone Villages. But even at nine years of age, the wine is actually just now beginning to show a beautiful maturity.

Color has turned a bit--from deep crimson to garnet. Some leathery, earthy tones but also dark cherries and black pepper. Acidic grip in the mid-palate that shades into compact peppery Grenache fruit. Reminds me a bit of Bois de Boursan Chateauneuf du Pape. More bottles, more pleasure to come.