Explosively floral aromas of raspberry and wild strawberry complicated by mineral and lavender notes. Concentrated and deep, with sweet but nicely focused red fruit and bitter cherry flavors accompanied by exotic smoked meat and black walnut tones. An impressively rich, powerful wine, offering serious palate coverage and a long, very sweet finish.

There was no Reserve des Deux Frères made in 2004, so the 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul received all of the top grapes. Still youthful and lively, with less density and depth than the '03, it offers classic notes of garrigue, mushrooms, olives, dried spice, kirsch and blackberry. Full-bodied and concentrated, especially in the vintage, it has plenty of sweet fruit, fine tannin and a great finish. There's a lot of similarities here to the '99, and I expect it will evolve similarly.