On Tuesday, April 16, the Sons of Bacchus (SOBs for short) convened for a tasting of Chateauneuf du Papes, 10 years or older. The preferences among the twelve tasters were widely variable, so there were no clear consensuses as to the best wines in each of four flights. But for the record, here are my favorites, and several, but not all, tasters concurred.

2003 Domaine de Cristia, "Renaissance" - This appeared twice in separate flights. In the first flight, it was my favorite. It had a deep ruby color and aromas of roses, violets and toffee, with notes of baked chocolate and a lip smacking finish. In the second flight, it came in second, with notes of truffles, dried cherries and an elegant sweet-dry finish. Again, a touch of toffee emerged. Overall, I thought this was the best wine(s) of the tasting, although others had their favorites. 19+/20 points.

1998 Chateau La Gardine - This showed a deep garnet color and scents of dried cherrries and orange peel. Medium full-bodied, it showed considerable elegance and a penetrating stony "mas" character. Interestingly, the 1999 vintage from this property also showed well, coming in second in the fourth flight, but not quite as complex as the 1998. 19/20 points.

2001 Domaine Bois de Bousan "Cuvee des Felix" - This had a brilliant ruby/garnet color and a perfumed nose and pretty, well textured mature flavors, with notes of orange peel and leather. 18.5+/20 points.

There was one ringer, a 2007 Domaine la Barroche (less than ten years old, the theme being CdP ten years or older). I picked it out as being younger than the others. It seemed sultry, smoky, ripe, almost sweet. Some tasters liked it very much. I wonder it it will age as well as some of the others.

The rest of the wines ranged from fair to very good. There was one flight of three wines which showed one with petrol, one over the hill and one with dried fruits. I would have liked to give each a ranking of 3, but couldn't.

Next Week's Blog: A Guide to Walla Walla Spring Release Weekend

The May issue of the Review of Washington Wines will go on line Monday, April 29, a few days ahead of Spring Release Weekend to help subscribers visiting Walla Walla May 3-5 plan ahead. The Blog will comprise a listing of recommended wineries to visit.