2018 Chapelle St. Theodoric, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Le Grand Pin

The 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Grand Pin, tasted from barrel, explodes with floral and tea-like notes allied to red raspberries and strawberries. Full-bodied, but with an amazing lithe, delicate, silky structure, it looks to be another huge success for this pure Grenache cuvée.

Deep, vivid red. An expansive bouquet evokes ripe red fruit, potpourri, garrigue and smoky minerals, and an exotic spice quality builds in the glass. Shows impressive depth as well as energy, offering sappy raspberry, bitter cherry, botanical herb and spicecake flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Finishes appealingly sweet, gently tannic and impressively long, leaving behind mineral, candied lavender and raspberry notes.

100% Grenache. Aged for 24 months in old oak. Cask sample. Tasted blind. Opulent black fruit with a candied edge and sweet spice too. Plenty of tannic grip on the palate leaves the finish astringent, but perhaps this is just a matter for time to resolve. Lingering peppery notes. (RH)