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On another level, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Grand Vin Blanc is a deeper, richer white that still stays incredibly focused, pure, and balanced. White peach, toasted brioche, spice, honeysuckle, and more stone fruits define the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has just about flawless balance, a gorgeous texture, and the depth, balance, and class to evolve for 15 years in cold cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe oak is present and integrated but not excessive and it doesn’t rub out the fine definition and terroir expression. Long and straight, this is bold but drinkable, with a good sense of fluidity and freshness to the wine, but enough salt and extract to age well. The wines from Nalys are improving quickly, which is not surprising given the quality of the terroir: Bois Sénéchaux, la Crau and Grand Pierre. Fermented and aged in a variety of sizes of oak barrel, including 18% new oak.Decanter | 95 DECWith a higher proportion of Roussanne than the Saintes Pierres bottling, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Grand Vin Blanc should drink well through 2030 or so. Scents of toasted grain, roasted cashews, grilled pineapple and pear emerge on the nose of this medium to full-bodied effort. Open, lush and long, it’s a fine example of this appellation, whose white wines are steadily gaining in quality. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSleek, spicy and dense, with an inviting display of ripe, juicy pear and warm apple interwoven with dried thyme and garrigue that add a nice savory detail, with a kiss of meringue on the lush palate. Shows a salty beam of flinty minerality that cuts through the richness and concentration. Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Picpoul and Picardan. Drink now through 2028. 600 cases made, 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Quite possibly the finest white in the appellation, the 2020 Saint Joseph Les Granits Blanc is all Marsanne from what I would consider the best terroir in the appellation, the south-facing slopes of the Saint Joseph lieu-dit just south of Tournon. White currants, honeyed peach, celery seed, spice, and a wonderful sense of minerality define the bouquet, and it’s full-bodied, pure, seamless, and just a heavenly white you could easily put in a lineup of Hermitage Blanc. Drink bottles any time over the coming 10-15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA relatively brisk and fresh style of Les Granits this year, with an upright mineral spine. The acidity is spot-on, giving the wine edge and length. Oak is well-judged and doesn’t occlude the fruit. A little less fat and ripeness than some recent years, but it has a good sense of intensity if not generosity - you really feel the granite in the granular, slightly serrated mouthfeel. A return to a more classic, measured style. (Drink between 2022-2028)Decanter | 94 DECThe 2020 Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc is again one of the top white wines from the appellation. Sourced from the lieu-dit Saint-Joseph, it’s barrel fermented and aged, yet the oak is understated. The wine offers up hints of toasted grain, pear, melon and citrus on the nose, then delivers a palate that’s medium to full-bodied, plump and round, balanced, focused and long. Treat it like a baby Hermitage and drink it young, or put it aside for a decade or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 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

One of the gems in the vintage is the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Barbe Rac, a 100% Grenache that was destemmed and brought up all in concrete tanks. Darker berries, ground pepper, graphite, and savory garrigue are just some of its nuances, and this beauty is full-bodied, has a layered, seamless mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and an awesome finish. It’s a brilliant bottle of wine that readers will love. It deserves 3-4 years of bottle age and will shine over the following two decades. Bravo.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDA seductive 100% grenache with cherries, mixed berries, licorice and sweet spices on the nose. Full body with creamy tannins. Round and velvety with a caressing touch of strawberries and raspberries at the center. It has volume and texture with a succulent and precise long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSThere’s an appealing high-toned spice over the very ripe blackberry fruit here, like star anise. Very rounded and generous, but with some good intensity and freshness at its core. Concentrated and ripe but with good acidity. The alcohol is warming on the finish, but it’s not overly unbalanced. A fruity and immediate style of Barbe Rac.Decanter | 93 DEC

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

At the moment, the 2020 Gigondas Hominis Fides looks to be the standout of the three single vineyards, although all three are beautiful wines in the making. It certainly offers the most power and concentration, with lots of ground pepper, Provençal garrigue, violets, and loamy soils notes, as well as a darker cassis and berry-driven core of fruit. It builds beautifully on the palate, with ample structure, incredible balance, and a great, great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-100 JDRipe, figgy blackberry fruit, with a touch of menthol. Full-bodied, rich and generous palate, quite potent and powerful. Dense, thick tannic base and the alcohol is high. Grenache planted sometime around 1902 on Miocene calcareous sand, in a single vineyard. No destemming, 12 months maturation in French oak barriques: 30% new, 30% one-year-old, 30% two-year-old. Unfiltered. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2038Decanter | 94 DEC

I was blown away by the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvee Chaupin, a 100% Grenache release that comes almost exclusively from the Chaupin lieu-dit in the northern part of the appellation. It’s never as inky-hued or powerful as the Vieilles Vignes but always screams Grenache with its sexy, ripe, seamless, and remarkably elegant style. The 2020 offers a translucent ruby/purple hue as well as incredible aromatics of blackberries, black raspberries, peppery garrigue, herbes de Provence, and flowers, and it opens up nicely with time in the glass. Full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, it has silky tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. I finished my note with "a Grenache lover’s dream." This is up with the finest vintages produced and will evolve for 15+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDFull-bodied, generous in fruit and glycerol. The tannins and acidity seem to meld together into a single vertebral column. The alcohol is present, lending sweetness rather than heat. Remarkably elegant for a wine of these dimensions, with great, rising, upright flavours and structure. This is a very special wine with a long finish. Parcels of Grenache planted on lieux-dits Chapouin, La Janasse and La Crau, the oldest planted in 1912. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2038Decanter | 98 DECAll Grenache, with about 20% to 30% whole bunches, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Chaupin is slightly herbal and stemmy on the nose, but those elements are balanced by wonderful black cherry and blackberry fruit. Full-bodied, concentrated yet silky, with a long, briny finish, this is another strong 2020 from the Sabon family.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPRipe but very focused, with a streamlined feel to the mix of raspberry, red currant and bitter cherry fruit flavors. Reveals a racy apple wood note coursing underneath, while licorice, black tea and graphite fill in through the finish. Best from 2023 through 2038. 1,500 cases made, 504 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

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

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

The 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina is a strong candidate to be wine of the vintage. A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre, it combines scents of black truffles and black cherries with hints of cedar and vanilla (the Mourvèdre is aged in new oak, the Grenache in concrete). It’s full-bodied and concentrated, supple and almost creamy in feel, then long and velvety on the finish. Bravo.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPPossibly the wine of the vintage (at least at this early stage), the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape Deus-Ex Machina is a 60/40 split of Grenache and Mourvedre, with the Grenache brought up in foudre and the Mourvedre in demi-muids. Its vivid ruby/purple hue is followed by rock star notes of kirsch, blackberries, cured meats, woodsmoke, and dried flowers. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it’s an incredible effort in this challenging vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96+ JD

There’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