2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire

The flagship 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire comes from very old Grenache vines (planted in 1889) located in the northern part of the appellation. It includes a touch of younger vine Mourvèdre and Syrah and is brought up mostly in tank. It offers more black fruits, smoked earth, licorice and meaty, beefy notes to go with a full-bodied, concentrated, layered style on the palate. Possessing terrific complexity, a layered, multidimensional texture, ripe tannin and a great finish, it’s not in the same league as previous great vintages (1990, 1998, and to a lesser extent the 2001, 2005 and 2010) of this cuvée, yet it's still a terrific wine. This beauty is going to last for two decades. André Brunel continues to keep this estate in the top echelon of estates in Chateauneuf du Pape. While I wasn’t able to taste any of his 2016s, his 2015s show the elegant side to the vintage, which is also one of the hallmark characteristics of the wines of the estate. The Cuvee Centenaire hasn’t been produced since 2010 (I don’t believe a 2012 was produced) and while the 2015 isn’t one of the truly great vintages for the cuvee, it’s certainly in the top handful of wines in the vintage.