2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Imperiale

The 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Imperiale is undeniably one of the big successes in the vintage. A blend of 95% Grenache and 5% other permitted varieties, partially destemmed and aged all in concrete, its deep ruby color is followed by awesome notes of blackberry jam, crushed rocks, graphite, and garrigue. A big, rich, unctuous wine, it has beautiful purity, integrated acidity, building tannin, and a great, great finish. I wouldn’t touch bottles for another 4-5 years, but it’s a tour de force in Grenache I wish every reader could taste! This is an estate readers need to have on their radar as the quality has continued to improve in just about every vintage.

The 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Imperiale is a big, super ripe wine, loaded with plummy, chocolaty fruit. It's almost entirely Grenache from sandy sites, made and aged in concrete. At 16% alcohol by volume, it's full-bodied and the tannins are ripe, creamy and supple, but the alcoholic heat isn't particularly noticeable. Give the bit of green stemminess from some whole-cluster inclusion a year or two in bottle to merge with the rest of the wine and drink it young, before the fruit fades.