A candidate for the wine of the vintage, and one of the few wines to hit this level of quality in the vintage, the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres is a selection of 100% Grenache that was raised 60% in demi-muids and 40% in two- to three-year-old barrels. Possessing a slightly darker color than the Mon Aieul and a bigger, richer wine, it offers incredible notes of cassis, black currants, smoked herbs and leather in a full-bodied, voluptuous, ripe yet seamless package. It will hold for a decade, yet it’s a thrill ride today. - Jeb Dunnuck

Not shy with its prominent mocha and coffee aromatics, this is dark and rich, with warm fig sauce, bittersweet cocoa, mesquite and crushed blackberry fruit flavors that pump through the muscular finish, where grip clamps down a bit. More power than guile. Best from 2010 through 2028. – JM