I wandered into my local hangout spot - the Summerhill tasting bar. Yeah, I'll admit to it. I went in this time because I knew this bottle was up for tasting. I loved it. I would drink this now and enjoy it, I would put it away and still enjoy it. I think I spent about 10 minutes just smelling it. So much going on with the nose - bright red fruit and spice . Lots on the palate as well. It brought me back to the times I spent wandering the narrow roads of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I'm definitely going to pick this up for my collection. I'm sure it won't last long in my house.

The 2009 La Bastide Saint Dominique Châteauneuf Du Pape is medium bodied, FRUITY to integrated wine, with nice aromas of yogurty cherry and red currant. It is slightly sweet, with nice balance of acid and refined tannins (decant for 15 to 30 min) and the finish is medium, bit alcoholic at 15.5% and somewhat tangy. This wine should definitely be aged as it is too young and it will do so nicely for more than a decade - try around 2014. My impression: NOTHING SPECIAL to NICE, 87 pts - while looking at the other reviews, I am starting to wonder if I am reviewing the same bottle, but having time to pay attention to the entire bottle (not alone), I must stand by my review. Tasted Aug/11.

If you would like to see wines I recommend and that are still available at the LCBO, please visit this link (listed in my profile):

http://www.winealign.com/wino/dantrcka/recommended-wines-you-can-still-buy