2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Roussanne V V

Buttery, fleshy, and a very solid backup of apricot and peach melba. Lengthy and succulent and substantial. Such tremendous concentration on the finish, but without being too forceful and headbanging. Delightful to drink now, but could age for decades, on previous form. (RH)

The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is all Roussanne and comes from a three-hectare parcel of vines planted in 1901. It offers a heavenly bouquet of white currants, white flowers, honeysuckle, and toasted bread that opens up beautifully with time in the glass. Rich, full-bodied, powerful and concentrated, it stays perfectly balanced on the palate and has that rare sense of richness paired with freshness that’s the hallmark of truly great wines. One of the reference point estate in the Rhône Valley, as well as the entire wine world, is that of the Perrin Family’s Château de Beaucastel. Located in the northern, cooler part of the appellation, the estate covers roughly 100 hectares of vines from which they produce a red and white Côtes Du Rhône (from vines just outside the appellation), two Châteauneuf du Pape whites, and two Châteauneuf du Pape reds. Looking at the Châteauneuf du Papes, both whites are Roussanne dominated, with the Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc being roughly 80+% Roussanne, and the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes cuvée being 100% Roussanne. The Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is one of the greatest whites made in the world in just about every vintage and while it drinks beautifully young (a recent bottle of the 2014 was off the charts) it also has the capacity to evolve for decades. As to the reds, the classic cuvée comes all from vines around the estate and is unique for its high Mourvèdre content, with the blend normally in the realm of 35% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, and the rest Syrah, Counoise, and other permitted varieties. Aging occurs in a mix of barrels and foudre. The flagship Hommage A Jacques Perrin cuvée comes primarily from a single parcel of 90+-year-old Mourvèdre vines located just behind the estate. Raised in foudre, it’s a powerful, singular, exotic expression of this variety, and there’s no one out there that does it better.

The 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes combines luxurious richness—honeyed pineapple lushness—with clean, vibrant zest and brine notes to make for an interesting juxtaposition in its youth that demands time in the cellar to meld together into a harmonious whole. In one of the mysteries of the wine world, it will then stay on that plateau of decadent maturity for a decade or more.