Slightly better more elegant more complex and even richer (as hard as that is to believe) is the 2009 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Le Ponnant. Elegant black cherry black raspberry and licorice notes are intermixed with stunning voluptuous texture outstanding purity and balance in this classic full-throttle wine which has loads of personality. Drink it over the next several years. Stephane Vedeau one of the young energetic Turks of Chateauneuf du Pape has emerged from the woodwork to produce stunning wines in 2007 as well as 2008 and 2009. Something about him reminds me of the obsessive-compulsive St.-Emilion proprietor Francois Mitjaville. This is a seriously talented winemaker who is quickly emerging as a star of the southern Rhone.