2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Safres

The 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Safres is deeper and richer than the base cuvée and possesses terrific notes of black raspberries, blackberry jam, exotic flower, and orange blossom. Full-bodied, polished, elegant and gorgeously pure on the palate, with fine tannin, it's a killer wine. Made from 95% Grenache (the balance is Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and Vaccarèse), it too has a decade and more of prime drinking. Clos du Caillou, under the helm of the Vacheron family, with Bruno Gaspard as winemaker and Philippe Cambie as consultant, continues to release a bevy of brilliant Côtes du Rhônes and Châteauneuf du Papes. As I wrote last year, the style has shifted slightly towards the more elegant side of the spectrum and apparent with the 2015s, which at times had me wishing for slightly more density and breadth, especially with the top cuvees. Nevertheless, the wines are brilliant and the 2015 vintage as a whole is a more streamlined, elegant vintage. The 2016s appear to be a return to wines with more oomph, density, and depth, and I think are a clear step up.