A medium-bodied red with cherries, raspberries, cedar and baking spices on the nose. Fine tannins with a velvety texture at the center. Well-rounded with volume and a textured finish. Drink or hold.

Dark and ripe, with black plum and wild berry laced up by grippy, graphite-edged tannins. Firmly structured and solid, grounded by iron bolts, this needs time to unfurl. Gains warmth from subtle warm spice and singed alder notes. Drink now through 2027. 500 cases made.??–KB??Region: France / Southern Rh?ne / Cairanne Select to Add

Forward and heady, with nice range to the sappy cherry and raspberry puree flavors, which are infused with red tea, chalky mineral, cinnamon and clove notes. Builds in power toward the finish, with crushed iron and a beam of acidity bringing freshness. Drink now through 2030. 500 cases made, 250 cases imported.??–AN??Region: France / Southern Rh?ne / Cairanne Select to Add

The black-colored 1996 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Cairanne Old Vines is impressive. Produced from 100% old vine Grenache, and aged 15 months in 100% new oak casks, this wine reveals little evidence of wood! It exhibits a gorgeous, exotic nose of blackberries intermixed with Asian spices, smoked olives, roasted meats, and pure cherry jam. Rich, unctuously-textured, thick, and full-bodied, this opulent wine displays none of the tell-tale pain grille, vanillin of new oak casks - that's how rich and concentrated it is. This low acid, spectacularly-layered wine is undoubtedly one of the finest Cairannes I have ever tasted. It should drink well for 10-15 years. Importers: Bacchus Importers, tel. (410) 633-0400, Stacole Imports, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998-0029; Martin Scott Wines Ltd., Little Neck, NY; Ventures in Wine, Daly City, CA; Atlantic Importing Co., Newton, MA; Fine Vines, Maywood, IL and all the importers representing the selections of French broker, Patrick Lesec (Paris fax # 011 33 1 44 70 62 93)

The black-colored 1996 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Cairanne Old Vines is impressive. Produced from 100% old vine Grenache, and aged 15 months in 100% new oak casks, this wine reveals little evidence of wood! It exhibits a gorgeous, exotic nose of blackberries intermixed with Asian spices, smoked olives, roasted meats, and pure cherry jam. Rich, unctuously-textured, thick, and full-bodied, this opulent wine displays none of the tell-tale pain grille, vanillin of new oak casks - that's how rich and concentrated it is. This low acid, spectacularly-layered wine is undoubtedly one of the finest Cairannes I have ever tasted. It should drink well for 10-15 years. Importers: Bacchus Importers, tel. (410) 633-0400, Stacole Imports, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998-0029; Martin Scott Wines Ltd., Little Neck, NY; Ventures in Wine, Daly City, CA; Atlantic Importing Co., Newton, MA; Fine Vines, Maywood, IL and all the importers representing the selections of French broker, Patrick Lesec (Paris fax # 011 33 1 44 70 62 93)