Domaine de La Vieille Julienne : Réservé 2016

Intense, featuring warmed fig, blackberry and black currant compote flavors that spill forth, harnessed just in time by licorice snap, worn leather and roasted alder accents. Garrigue elements are inlaid throughout. Shows power and depth, with cut and drive to match. Very serious. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2022 through 2040. 250 cases made, 50 cases imported.

Very deep, inky purple in colour, with a very powerful nose with fruit screeching out of the glass, almost Port-like. It's not heavy, still retaining real lightness of touch and fine tannins, but it is very concentrated, very long and almost painfully intense at this stage, showing flavours of violets, liquorice and a touch of tar. It will age well, but will be hard to keep your hands off of it. A lightning strike of a wine.

Lurid ruby. Expansive, mineral-accented red and blue fruit preserve, incense and potpourri aromas are complemented by exotic spice and smoky mineral flourishes. Sweet and seamless, showing superb depth to the vivid boysenberry, black raspberry and spicecake flavors, which are supported by a firm spine of juicy acidity. Finishes extremely long and broad, with harmonious tannins lending shape to juicy, alluring sweet red berry preserve and candied lavender notes.

The color is deep purple-blue, almost opaque. The wine is off the charts. There is a beautiful purity of fruit. The mélange of fruits ranges from black to deep red. The wine coats the palate, yet it’s also light on its feet. The finish is seamless, lingering for close to 60 seconds. This is another contender for wine of the vintage, and that really says something, considering how many stunning wines were produced this year. The wine is usually made from 90% Grenache, 5% Syrah, and 5% Mourvèdre. Only 250 cases of this stunner were produced. So if this sounds like your thing, run—don’t walk—to the store and grab a few bottles.

A modern-day legend in the making is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve from Jean-Paul Daumen, one of the greatest young wines I’ve ever tasted. This Grenache-dominated effort was brought up all in foudre and tastes like the essence of this incredible terroir located on the northern edge of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Deep purple-colored, with an intoxicating bouquet of black raspberries, crushed herbs, black licorice, spring flowers, and spice, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, multi-dimensional texture, a huge mid-palate, and a finish that goes on for over a minute. Not far off the style of Les Trois Sources, yet with another level of concentration, it has a certain accessibility yet won’t be at its best for another 4-5 years, but it will keep for another two decades or more.