Complex aromas of sweet tobacco, chocolate, cedar and plums. Undertones of blackcurrants and dark chocolate. Dense and tight with a beautifully and tightly knit palate, yet this shows so much intensity and length. Love the wet-earth and berry character on...
Just a gem of a Côtes Du Rhône that shows both the vintage and the producer perfectly, the 2020 Côtes Du Rhône Le Poutet reveals a medium ruby hue as well as a great perfume of sweet ripe strawberry fruits intermixed with sappy flowers, pepper, violets, a...
The 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape ratchets up the intensity from the Coudelet, adding more pronounced Mourvèdre-derived notes of truffle and tree bark to go with ripe black cherries and plums, crushed stone and hints of dark chocolate. Full-bodied in the mouth...
The 2019 Côtes Du Rhône will be a no-brainer purchase. This Syrah-heavy red has lots of blackberry, bouquet garni, and peppery notes in a ripe, full-bodied, textured style. It’s well worth buying and drinking over the coming 5-7 years.
A blend of four varieties, 30% each of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre, with 10% Cinsault, the 2023 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel should easily be an outstanding wine, and readers could do far worse than to have a case of this in the cellar. Black...
I was able to taste multiple components of the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape, all of which rated between 93-96 points. It has the purity, medium to full-bodied richness, and ripe, yet still fresh and lively style of the vintage and brings plenty of mid-palate ...
The 1983 Beaucastel had never been one of my favorite vintages for this wine, but it has begun to finally turn the corner and soften up and is now looking very promising indeed. I have had this wine four or five times in the last couple of years, and it h...
A terrific vintage for this wine, which was bottled just a couple of weeks prior to my late June visit, the 2021 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel is a blend of 30% each Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, plus 10% Cinsault. From a vineyard just outside t...
A blend of 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 10% Cinsault, the 2022 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel exhales a delicate, perfumed bouquet of black cherries, spices, violets and spring flowers. It’s medium to full-bodied, enveloping and laye...
Tasted out of multiple barrels, the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape looks to be a ripe, sexy wine with gorgeous red and blue fruit as well as notes of graphite, smoked meat, and violets. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has rock-solid underl...