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Lastly, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape XXL is pure magic and one of the most singular wines out there. Based on 65% Grenache and the rest Syrah and other varieties, it was only 30% destemmed and brought up all in demi-muids. Where previous vintages of this beauty were almost over the top, the 2019 shows a more elegant, pure, balanced profile as well as incredible aromatics of ripe red and black fruits, herbes de Provence, ground pepper, violets, and other notes of Southern Rhône-like goodness. Incredibly powerful and opulent, it somehow manages to stay perfectly balanced, has a wonderful sense of freshness, silky yet substantial tannins, and an awesome finish. Unfortunately, there are just over 300 cases produced, so it won’t be easy to find, but this ranks with the all-time greats. It deserves 4-5 years of bottle age and should evolve for 30 years if well-stored.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JD

One of the top handful of wines in the vintage, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée De Mon Aïeul is all Grenache, from the different terroirs (one sand, one clay, and one limestone) that was 50% destemmed and aged all in older demi-muids. Reminding me of the 2007 with its incredible perfume of ripe black raspberries, strawberries, flowery incense, peppery and Provençal garrigue, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a round, expansive texture, gorgeous tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. A wine of incredibly purity, precision, and elegance, yet also with power and opulence, this sensational effort is in need of 3-4 years of bottle age and will keep for two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDTypically a standout even amongst the best of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, this monumental bottling is sourced from 75- to 90-year-old Grenache planted in a diversity of pebbly, sandy and clay soils. Fermented partially in whole clusters, it offers black-cherry and raspberry flavors that are herculean in ripeness yet silken and deft, lifted by streaks of salt, crushed stone and smoke. A stunner in youth, the wine will likely improve through 2035 and hold further.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEAll Grenache, all whole cluster, the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul combines hints of menthol and steaminess with big blackberry and raspberry fruit. Full-bodied, creamy and lush, it finishes long and velvety, a tour de force of Grenache.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis has the heady edge of the vintage, with gutsy blackberry, plum and fig compote notes forming the bulk of the wine, while singed juniper, warm stone and tar notes score the finish. Delivers a nice licorice snap at the very end for a finishing kick. Best from 2023 through 2035. 300 cases made, 160 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The lightly hued 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc checks in as 70% Grenache Blanc, 28% Roussanne, and tiny percentages of Bourboulenc and Clairette, brought up in equal parts demi-muid and tank. It has a beautiful bouquet of ripe white peach and melon that shows a touch of spice and hazelnut with air, and it’s medium-bodied, beautifully pure, textured, and balanced on the palate. It’s a stunning white that will shine on the dinner table.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD

The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Vieilles Roussannes is also terrific, with a deep, rich, concentrated style that carries classic Roussanne apple and stone fruits as well as honeyed toast, spice, and subtle floral nuances. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and fabulously well-balanced, it’s going to drink well for 4-5 years, then probably shut down, only to re-emerge in another decade with a more mineral, honeyed, nutty, complex profile.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDBarrel-fermented and matured in 50% new oak, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Vieilles Roussanne boasts layered, nuanced aromas of toasted grain, ripe pear and mouthwatering pineapple. Full-bodied and lush, it finishes long, with a silky texture and sexy vanilla overtones. Like the other white wines at this estate, I’ve lengthened the drinking window, as they appear to age so well.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The flagship from this great estate is the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Boisrenard, which is based on 80% Grenache and small doses of 17 other varieties. This deeply hued beauty offers a stunning bouquet of blackberries, scorched earth, licorice, ground pepper, and sappy garrigue. I always find a Burgundian-like texture on this wine, and the 2020 is no exception – this is one to put into a blind tasting of Grand Cru Red Burgundies and shock your friends. Medium to full-bodied, ultra-pure, with grippy, sappy tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish, it’s pure class all the way. It’s going to need at least 4-6 years of bottle age, but this is a wine you don’t want to miss, and one of the finest wines I’ve tasted from this estate.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDFull and generous on the palate, no lack of fruit or depth here. Powerful and plentiful fine tannins and a great, rising sense of energy and freshness. Impressive, with real finesse and precision - no excess weight, but great surging intensity and freshness. Contains at least 1% of all the 18 possible varieties of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Grapes are grown across a variety of soil types in the lieux-dits Beau Renard, Cabrières and Coteau de l’Ange, vinified mostly in tronconic wooden vats, then aged in oak barrels of various sizes and ages, including 5% new oak. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2037Decanter | 96 DEC

Now the flagship of this estate, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape is 75% Grenache and the rest Cinsault, Mourvedre, and a little Syrah. Sporting a deep ruby/purple hue, it offers a beautiful array of black raspberry and darker cherry fruit as well as lots of graphite, chalky minerality, Provençal garrigue, and spice. Beautiful on the palate as well, this medium to full-bodied effort has a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, rock-solid underlying structure and concentration, building tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It needs to be forgotten for 2-4 years (although it certainly offers incredible pleasure even today) and will keep for two decades. Tasted twice.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThis cuvée replaces the three historical red cuvées of the domaine (Classique, Auguste Favier and Charles Giraud). Quite introverted for now, seems to have everything required but needs time to knit together. Freshness, energy, fine and plentiful tannins with good acidity. While the alcohol is warming it is balanced. Could be very good in time, hard to judge now, but early signs are good and I’d like to see this again in bottle. From the galets roulés of lieu-dit Les Serres, fermented in concrete and then aged in concrete, old oak and amphora. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2036Decanter | 95 DECApproachable out of the gate, with gorgeous red fruit, wild strawberry, licorice root, dusty earth and lavender flavors joined by floral highlights. Beautifully textured and silky on the palate, with mineral intensity building on the palate, imparting nice persistence and length. A polished yet honest, characteristic wine. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2032. 3,300 cases made, 1,007 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSIsabel Ferrando informed me during my visit that she planned to eliminate the Reserve Auguste Favier and Collection Charles Giraud bottlings, folding those lots and the "tradition" Saint-Prefert Châteauneuf into a single, combined wine under the Famille Isabel Ferrando label. The resulting blend she showed as the 2020 Famille Isabel Ferrando Chateauneuf du Pape is a fine effort, with layers of cola-like spice and hints of garrigue layered against a lush backdrop of cherries and raspberries. Medium to full-bodied and almost creamy in texture, it finishes long, silky and mouthwatering.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RP

I was absolutely blown away by the 2020 Hermitage Domaine Des Tourettes Blanc, a rich, powerful expression of Marsanne (there’s 10% Roussanne as well) from the L’Ermite, le Sabot, and La Tourette lieux-dits, brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Revealing a vivid gold hue, it just about jumps out of the glass with its exotic nose of honeyed quince, acacia flowers, buttered pears, chalky minerality, spice, and licorice. The purity is off the charts, and it has full-bodied richness, a deep, plush, opulent mouthfeel, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. It’s the finest vintage of this cuvée to date, and readers who love the richer, powerful style of Hermitage should do their best to snatch bottles up. I suspect the acidity is moderate, but it holds onto a riveting sense of freshness and has this liqueur of rock-like sensation on the finish, and it will stand toe to toe with anything out there. I would enjoy bottles over the coming 4-6 years or so and then, at that point, do my best to hold off until 2032 or after. Predicting drink windows for great Hermitage Blanc can be tricky, but this is worth buying multiple bottles and drinking in its youth, then taking a chance with a few in the cellar. There are roughly 400 cases made in each vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDVery striking nose of toasted almonds and pistachio nuts that’s still full of youthful energy, even if the stone-fruit character (mostly mirabelle) is discreet. So much underplayed power and beautiful candied-orange character on the ample yet precisely delineated palate. Then comes the stony finish that doesn’t want to stop. 100% from the marsanne grape. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThis is a very pure and restrained version, featuring white peach, yellow apple, quinine, honeysuckle and verbena notes stretching out together through a finish that sports a light kiss of brioche at the very end. Approachable now, with charm and elegance. Marsanne and Roussanne. Drink now through 2030. 475 cases made, 16 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSA bit lighter, fresher and easier to drink in the short term than the massive 2019, the 2020 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes Blanc should still prove capable of lasting 20 years in a cool cellar. It’s medium to full-bodied, full of notes of ripe melon and pear, with a long, citrusy and briny finish that shows a less pronounced bitterness than the previous vintage. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe Maison Delas Frères’ 2020 Hermitage Blanc “Domaine des Tourettes” is a ripe wine in the style of this vintage, coming in at 14.5 percent octane. The white grapes for this bottling grow in the lieux à dits of l’Ermite, le Sabot and la Tourette on the hill of Hermitage. The cépages is ninety percent marsanne and ten percent roussanne, with the wine barrel-fermented and aged for nine months in cask prior to bottling, with the casks a combination of new, one or two years of age. The wine offers up a deep and complex nose of white peach, fresh pineapple, almond, a beautifully complex base of soil tones, acacia blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a great core of fruit, good framing acids, fine mineral drive and grip and a long, well-balanced and impressively precise finish that carries its alcohol beautifully and only shows a whisper of backend heat. This is a lovely bottle of Hermitage Blanc in the making. (Drink between 2026 - 2050)John Gilman | 93 JG

The 2021 Ventoux Terrasses Blanc is a gorgeous, clean, up-front, and delicious white that’s ideal for drinking over the coming summer months. Ripe lime, chalky mineral, mint, and some garrigue notes all define the nose, and it’s pure and clean on the palate, with wonderful fruit.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JD

I loved the 2021 Lirac Blanc, one of those whites that truly over-delivers. Beautiful notes of pear, white flowers, citrus, and some salty, mineral-like nuances define this beauty, and it’s medium-bodied, with terrific balance, integrated acidity, and a great, great finish. Bravo. Drink this over the coming 2-4 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThere’s a touch of oak on the nose and palate that helps to frame the tangy citrus notes, and lends a touch of spice, but it’s far from overwhelming. Full-bodied, classically Lirac in its breadth on the palate. Ends on a nip of grapefruit bitterness. Good acidity. Also contains Marsanne, Viognier and Piquepoul.Decanter | 92 DECBrimming with stone-fruit aromas with a touch of mango, this is a rich but very clean and crisp dry white from the Southern Rhone. Good concentration and a touch of positive tannin help it carry the generous body and 14.5% alcohol. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS

All Clairette Rose, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Chapelle Blanc is brilliant stuff, offering a clean, crisp, yet still concentrated style in its orange blossom, honeyed citrus, toasted spices, and chalky minerality. It’s medium to full-bodied, has a fresh, focused mouthfeel, beautifully integrated acidity, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD

Tasted on multiple occasions, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is flat-out great. A blend of 70% Clairette and 30% Roussanne brought up in a mix of foudre and smaller concrete vessels, its medium gold hue is followed by a sensational perfume of stone fruits, dried pineapple, white flowers, and crushed stone. This carries to a medium to full-bodied white with an elegant, layered mouthfeel, perfectly integrated acidity, and a great finish. It’s approachable today yet will benefit from a year or two of bottle age and keep for well over a decade. If you get a chance, don’t miss this! There are a tiny 250 cases made.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThis is a very powerful white Châteauneuf – textural and driving, with intensity and freshness. The oak is mostly present in texture and shape. It’s very ripe but not overdone; the alcohol is in balance and the driving acidity will propel it forward; it’s a savoury, saline style that will age well. Grown in lieu-dit Les Serres, mostly galets roulés with sand. Fermented in foudre, demi-muid and concrete eggs; aged in foudre and concrete egg for six months.Decanter | 96 DECThis youthful white Chateauneuf manages to be rich and creamy, but also lively with stacks of candied fruit aromas and a touch of waxiness on the full-bodied palate. Wonderful purity at the very silky finish that’s simultaneously expansive and precise. A cuvee based on clairette with a small amount of roussanne from organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSVinified in foudres, large barrels and concrete tanks and matured for six months in wooden tanks (50%) and egg-shaped concrete tanks (50%), Ferrando’s 2023 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc evokes aromas of spring flowers, herbs, spices, ripe orchard fruits and jasmine. Medium to full-bodied, charming and delicate, it’s enveloping and crystalline with bright acids and an ethereal finish enhanced by vertical energy. This blend of 70% Clairette and 30% Roussanne is one of the finest classic white wines of the appellation. Vinified with no malolactic fermentation to preserve freshness and finesse.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPBottled in January 2024, the 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is an expressive white. As usual, the malolactic fermentation was blocked to preserve the wine’s freshness. Vivid spring blossom, lime flesh, ripe pear, quince and flintstone nuances are front and center. Closing with good persistence on the sapid finale, the 2023 will provide plenty of pleasure soon after release.Vinous Media | 93 VMFragrant and bright, with notes of honeysuckle blossoms, lemon pulp and yellow apple driven by a succulent, mouthwatering acidity that cuts through. Salty, yeasty notes add savory richness to the supple palate, with well-integrated elements of acacia marking the firm, dry finish. There’s good precision, freshness, focus and length. Clairette and Roussanne. Drink now through 2028. 700 cases made, 200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS