2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Fiancee

One of the top Syrah dominated cuvées in any vintage it’s released, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Fiancée (50/50 Grenache and Syrah) is partially destemmed and brought up in a mix of foudre and demi-muids. It has a deep, dense, gamey style as well as a big, rich, full-bodied profile on the palate. This deeply colored effort shows more and more saddle leather and pepper with time in the glass and is a beautiful effort that has one foot in the Northern Rhône and one in the Southern Rhône. The brilliant Julien Barrot has recently completed work on his new cellar located just across from Clos de Pape, inside the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and he continues to make a pure, elegant style of wine from his roughly 32 acres of vines, most of which are on sandy soils. While the estate has produced wine for decades now (although the first commercial vintage was 2003), the first truly breakout vintage was 2005. He’s followed that up with a succession of incredible wines in just about every vintage. Looking at the 2016s, this is another great vintage here, and the wines resemble what was produced in 2010, although with slightly more elegance and approachability. I don’t see the 2017s hitting the heights of the 2005s, 2007s, 2010, or 2016s, but one thing I’ve learned after reviewing these wines since their debut is that they always show better from bottle than barrel. Simply put, life is too short not to drink quantities of Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Julien Barrot!

Produced from a 50-50 blend of Grenache and Syrah (the Grenache coming from 100-year-old vines) and aged in demi-muids, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Fiancee features smoky notes on the nose, hints of black olives and black cherries on the palate and a full-bodied, rich, velvety texture. Creamy and plush, the flavors linger on the finish. With production limited to 1,000 bottles, it may be hard to locate, and note that it isn't produced every vintage.