Jean-Francois Fauque, Winemaker

We tasted hundreds with dozens making the cut. But of all the glorious red wine bargains from the monumental 2007 vintage in the southern Rhone Valley, this was The One.

We noticed something early on, cellar hopping from Lirac to Menerbes. There was a bevy of rich wines with gorgeous primary fruit intensity, but the wines that most turned our heads had something else: great density and vitality, with an almost chewy texture. Little by little, we picked up small clues, all of which were verified by Chateauneuf oenologist Xavier Vignon in a two-hour conversation this spring. The secret to the chewiness was a healthy splash of the fabulously aromatic, low pH Mourvedre, a variety that in 2007 seamlessly melted into luscious Grenache, creating a rare and monumental form of Rhone Valley fireworks.

When we visited Jean-Francois Fauque at Domaine St. Pierre, we discovered the new superstar of the appellation, with a series of Vacqueyras bottlings that brought raves from Robert Parker. The scintillating 2007 Vacqueyras (more on this before the New Year!) was the wine of the cellar, so deep, rich and ripe, a huge mouthful of old-vine Grenache (the top rated Vacqueyras of the vintage in the Wine Advocate at 91-94 points). But there was another wine from 2007, made from a blend of old-vine Grenache and that mystery Mourvedre, that took the house down.

The 2007 Domaine St. Pierre Plan de Dieu is The One. Deep purple/black in color, with tremendously concentrated purple and red fruit, a touch of garrigue, but also with that special something else that defines Mourvedre: excellent vibrancy and nerve in the finish, offering perfect counterpoint to all of that old-vine opulence.

When we left the cellar and took the 4×4 up to the vineyard, that purple beauty in the glass began to make sense. The perch was perfect for that incredibly long, drawn-out growing season with the clear blue skies of day and the late season crisp evenings. The galet roules moonscape was Chateauneuf-like, and the steady mistral was ideal for keeping grapes in perfect hygiene. In 2007, the Grenache came in with a measure of physiological ripeness not seen in 30 years, and the 30% dose of Mourvedre did the rest.