Mayard Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau de Ma Mere Rouge 2016 (750ML)

94 WA / 93+ JD

Old-vine Grenache from La Crau meets Mourvèdre from Pignan in the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape la Crau de Ma Mere—the most limited of the company's cuvées. Hints of rose petals and black tea accent raspberry and apricot fruit in this full-bodied, richly tannic but velvety wine. Give it a couple of years' cellaring and drink it over the next decade and a half. - Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate

The flagship is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau de Ma Mère. It’s from old vines planted in La Crau and is mostly Grenache aged all in foudre. Plums, blackberries, crushed rocks, peppery herbs and licorice notes all emerge from this ripe, sexy, powerful red. It's a little rough around the edges today, so give it a year or three in bottle, but it's a beautiful wine. Jeb Dunnuck