2003 Condrieu

Stephane Montez told me that his fearsome-looking but good-natured Beauceron (a shepherd/guard dog resembling a cross between a Rottweiler and a Doberman) loves to drink wine, and that the dog consumed a couple of liters from Montez's last picking of 2004 Condrieu Vendange Tardive-with no ill effects. I'm sure the dog would also have enjoyed Montez's superripe 2001 Saint-Joseph Cuvee du Papy, of which Montez said "I had the impression that I was vinifying blueberries. The wine is more like syrah from Australia or California. "Montez told me he was the last to harvest in Saint-Joseph in 2003, because he was married on August 14, the beginning of the harvest, and did not return from his honeymoon until August 28. One disadvantage of the late picking:Montez will not offer a Grandes Places cuvee from the 2003 vintage, as he says the grapes were dried out by the time he harvested.