2016 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape les Hauts Lieux

A true “wow” wine, the deep, concentrated 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Hauts-Lieux (there's 20% Mourvèdre) offers awesome notes of blackcurrants, smoked meats, graphite, crushed rocks, and licorice. Extraordinarily concentrated, perfectly balanced, structured, and long, it's another sensational wine from this estate. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will cruise for 15-20 after that. Vieille Julienne’s Jean-Paul Daumen is unquestionably one of the most talented winemakers in all of France. Since taking over the domaine in 1990, the estate has gone from strength to strength, and the list of truly extraordinary wines from this small terroir located on the northern edge of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is mind-boggling. And there are no secrets; Jean-Paul focuses first and foremost on his vineyards, which are all farmed organically and sustainably, minuscule yields, no SO2 during vinification, aging in neutral foudres and tank, and bottling unfined and unfiltered. The result is a naked, raw expression of this magical terroir and old vines. Speaking about the 2016 vintage, Jean-Paul called it an enormous vintage, comparing it to 2001 yet with a style all its own, and commented that the wines were powerful yet also delicate. I can’t disagree, and the Châteauneuf-du-Papes across the board are monumental wines. You don’t have to splurge for the Reserve cuvée either, since the Les Trois Sources and Haut-Lieux releases are both extraordinary wines. I’ve also included the Daumen releases here, which can be thought of as super-negociant wines where Jean-Paul is directly involved with all aspects of the vineyards and winemaking. In short, there are few wines I’d rather have on my table than those from Jean-Paul Daumen!

Limpid violet. Powerful, mineral-accented aromas of ripe red and blue fruits are complicated by incense, Asian spice and pungent floral accents. Broad and fleshy on the palate, offering sappy, densely packed black raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors that show alluring sweetness and an exotic touch of five-spice powder. Finishes extremely long and smooth, displaying slow-building, harmonious tannins, a touch of spiciness and resonating red fruit and floral character.