Rhone Reds

wines

I’ve drunk over a case of the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvée Chaupin from my cellar, and this was easily one of the finest bottles (it was from magnum) I’ve ever had. Made from close to 100% Grenache and brought up in foudre, it’s a crazy good, monumental beauty that offers loads of ripe blackberries, black raspberries, crushed flowers and garrigue aromas and flavors. Concentrated, layered and unctuous, with a to-die-for texture, no hard edges and a huge finish, this beauty is still youthful and is just now starting to show hints of maturity. When it’s this good, I can’t recommend waiting, but I’ve no doubt this will continue to offer this level of quality for at least another decade.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPAbsolutely stunning, the 2007 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chaupin is packed with pure, clean and fresh aromas of assorted dark fruits, blackberry, lavender, flowers and spice. On the palate, it’s full bodied with beautifully sweet fruit ripe, fine grained tannins, perfect balance and a finish that simply won’t quite. This has the fruit to drink well young but the structure to age for 20 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDOpaque ruby. Spicy raspberry and cherry aromas are complicated by garrigue and Asian spices. Sweet, focused red fruit flavors are given spine by zesty minerality and pick up an exotic floral quality with air. Expands nicely on the finish, leaving behind sweet lavender pastille and raspberry notes.Vinous Media | 94 VMPlush and fleshy, with crushed plum, dark currant and boysenberry notes backed by alluring sweet spice, licorice root and espresso hints. Muscular but well-rounded on the lengthy finish, with the spice notes flittering on. Best from 2010 through 2024. 1,732 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

More closed than when I tasted it earlier this year, the 2010 Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis is an incredible effort that’s made from 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier. Coming from the estate’s top sites and aged 38 months in new oak, it has no problem standing beside the top three single-vineyard releases. Crème de cassis, vanilla bean, smoked meats and licorice all flow to a full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, structured Cote Rotie that needs another 5-6 years of bottle age, but will keep for 2-3 decades.Robert Parker | 99 RPRock-solid, offering dark currant and blackberry paste flavors that race along, thanks to well-embedded graphite and charcoal notes. The finish lets warm fruitcake, plum skin and singed juniper details fill in, with plenty of grip. Mouthwatering acidity and a long echo of sweet tapenade keep this racy and defined. Best from 2015 through 2035. 2,200 cases made, 300 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSGlass-staining ruby. Potent raspberry, floral pastille and Asian spice scents are complicated by suggestions of mocha, licorice and pipe tobacco. Silky and expansive on the palate, offering sweet red fruit liqueur and cherry-vanilla flavors lifted and sharpened by juicy acidity. Finishes broad, seamless and extremely long, with slow-building tannins adding shape and grip. This expressive wine drinks very well now but has the concentration and structure to age.Vinous Media | 94 VM

The undisputed star of the cellar this vintage (at least at this stage), the 2020 Cote Rotie La Landonne is not only unbelievably complex on the nose—with an awesome stew of vegetal-herbal nuances blended with cassis and smoked meat—but full-bodied, concentrated, velvety-textured and remarkably long and tannic. Patience will be required.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98-100 RPI think the clear star of the show in 2020, at least at this point, is the 2020 Côte Rôtie La Landonne, a 100% Syrah that wasn’t destemmed and is still resting in new barrel. It has insanely good aromatics of ripe black fruits, woodsmoke, espresso, cured meats, and graphite that bring incredible intensity as well as purity and freshness. Full-bodied on the palate, it’s dense, pure, concentrated, and structured. It’s more in the style of the 2018 than the more tannic, structured 2019.Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JD