2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Lieu dit Pignan

The 2015 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Lieu Dit Pignan is 100% Grenache from a lieu-dit that lies just next to Rayas, in the centre of the appellation. It’s a classic, structured 2015 that offers beautiful notes of blackberries, plums, liquorice and roasted garrigue. Full-bodied, concentrated and structured, with enough tannin to warrant short-term cellaring, it’s going to have 15-20 years of overall longevity. It’s unquestionably one of the top wines in the vintage.

The 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Lieu Dit Pignan is 100% Grenache from a lieu-dit that lies just next to Rayas, in the center of the appellation. It's a classic, structured 2015 that offers beautiful notes of blackberries, plums, licorice and roasted garrigue. Full-bodied, concentrated and structured, with enough tannin to warrant short-term cellaring, it's going to have 15-20 years of overall longevity. It’s unquestionably one of the top wines in the vintage. Pierre Henri Morel is no longer employed at Chapoutier, which is where these wines are made, but that hasn’t affected the quality and these continue to deliver the goods. In addition to the superb Châteauneuf du Papes, the lineup has some killer values from the Côtes du Rhône, Gigondas and Vacqueyras.

The 100% Grenache 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Lieu Dit Pignan comes from a site renowned for its sandy soils and is matured in used 600-liter demi-muids. It reveals a beguiling nose of baking spices, dusty earth, garrigue and red raspberries. This full-bodied, plush wine is also amazingly fresh, with almost painful concentration and intensity that powers through the mocha and caramel-tinged finish. Ideally, give it a few years in the cellar and drink it over the next decade.