There ist a reason this appellation is called the "House of the Pope": It is a virtual religious experience. All wines 'arrive alive' in the bottle, waking up when we release the cork. This blend of gracious goodness maybe even more so? It was my first French and also my first blend. Yea verily, I know: Nice way to start! This came as a huge shock to my disciplined, calculate, self-taught education of Vino, one varietal at a time where I was 90% though course Cabernet Sauvignon's. While this can have by rule up to 13 grapes used in the blend, this C-D-P somehow maintains striations of taste, like looking thru unmounted cut jewels in layers, strewn about on many glass shelves of a jeweler's case? The effect is at once transfixing and stunning, especially to my nearly virgin palette. The soft complexity is magnificent and a rapture of flavor mix, blackberry, full mouth feel, sharpness yet softness, unharsh spiciness, total balance. The after taste hangs in mid-air like the slow sparks drifting down in the night sky from a exploded firework, each spark of taste gently burning out in the dark of your mouth. It seems to last for minutes. Three minutes to be exact. I think this scores around 88 on WS or Parker, but it is more memorable and approachable than the certain deliciousness of the highrise 96 pt. Cht. Beaucastel C-D-P I have? Pure magnificence.