2012 Chateauneuf du Pape

Brilliant ruby. Potent aromas of fresh red berries, cherry and licorice, with a suave floral overtone. Sweet, sharply focused, concentrated black raspberry and cherry compote flavors tighten up with air and cisplay real energy for their depth and power. A touch of white pepper adds cut to the long, penetrating finish, which lingers with appealing sweetness and gentle, slow-building tannins.

The 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape is jaw-dropping good! Made from 92% Grenache and the rest a mix of permitted varieties, aged all in concrete tank, it boasts fabulous notes of truffles, damp earth, wild herbs and both kirsch and darker berry fruit. Full-bodied, beautifully concentrated and even voluptuous, it covers the mouth with fruit, has sweet tannin and a hard-to-resist personality. Drink this beauty over the coming decade or longer.

Bright ruby. Heady candied cherry and raspberry aromas are lifted by smoky minerals and floral oils, with a spicy note gaining strength in the glass. Silky and seductively perfumed, showing superb cut to its flavors of raspberry liqueur, floral pastilles and blood orange. Silky tannins rise up late in the finish, which is all about intense red fruit. Extremely seductive stuff.