Clos Des Papes 2015 (750ML)

98 WS / 97 WA / 95 JD / 94-96 VM 

#3 Wine Advocate Outstanding New Releases from the Southern Rhône 2017
#14 Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2017

This has a drop-dead gorgeous core of cassis and raspberry pâte de fruit flavors that holds center stage but still allows notes of Lapsang souchong tea, anise, incense and shiso leaf to chime in. Very long, with a sublime feel through the mineral-tinged finish. So seductive already, but this will cruise in the cellar. Drink now through 2040. From France. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Insider Hot Wine

Bottled in May, the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape is a floral, elegant, unbelievably complex wine. Roses and violets, cherries and stone fruit, cinnamon and allspice and more are carried across the full-bodied yet almost weightless palate, finishing in a swirl of silky tannins and lingering spice. Drink it over the next two decades. - Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate

Tasted on three separate occasions, the 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Paul-Vincent is a classic, elegant, and incredibly complex style of wine reminiscent of a Grand Cru Red Burgundy (Chambolle-Musigny?). Black raspberries, blueberries, incense, pine resin, dried orange and exotic floral notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, ethereally textured 2015 that has moderate tannin, beautiful purity, and a seamless finish. I compared this to an improved 2005 last year when I tasted it from barrel, but I’m not sure that comparison holds today, and I struggle to come up with another similar vintage. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful wine that should be at its best from 2020-2030+. - Jeb Dunnuck (formerly Wine Advocate)

Deep ruby. Hugely aromatic red and dark berry, potpourri and floral scents are underscored by smoky minerality and an exotic suggestion of Asian spices. Sappy, focused and impressively deep yet lively, offering alluringly sweet raspberry, cherry compote and spicecake flavors and a refreshingly bitter touch of blood orange. Puts on weight and spreads out steadily with air, acquiring a succulent herb note that carries through the strikingly long, mineral-laced, gently tannic finish. This beauty is shaping up to be among the standouts of this extremely successful vintage. — Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media