Wine of the Week

Anyone who has ever fallen for the wild, scrubby landscape around the Provencal town of Orange and its Roman amphitheater would surely feel the same about the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, where gnarled vines grow in vineyards covered with white stones the size of ostrich eggs. Unlike the northern Rhone, where the best reds are primarily Syrah, Chateauneuf takes pride in blending as many as 13 traditional grape varietals for the heady wines it wrests from this hardscrabble setting.

The Perrin brothers of Chateau de Beaucastel have an impressive track record of making lush, long-lived Chateauneufs that find their way onto top restaurant wine lists. This one is gorgeous. Intense and deeply colored; it seduces you from the first sip with its deep, plummy fruit, its taste of earth and spice. This is a southern Rhone without any of the region’s rustic qualities, one that really is worthy of a pope’s table.

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About $50. Available at Beverage Warehouse in Marina del Rey, (310) 306-2822; Topline Wine and Spirits in Glendale, (818) 500-9670; Greenblatt’s Deli and Fine Wine in West Hollywood, (323) 656-0606; Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, (949) 650-8463; Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454; and Woodland Hills Wine Co. in Woodland Hills, (818) 222-1111. If you can’t find this wine, have your local store call the distributor, Henry Wine Group, (800) 669-9429.