Châteauneuf du Pape Red Rhone Blend

I don’t even like Grenache all that much.

Same comments as before but going to add hints of roasted fig and chocolate to the flavors. Still dark strawberry strong. Smooth tannins. Drinkable after nice decant but still young.

Obviously very young. Not much on the nose upon opening, yet this can really be a pop n pour. Lovely raspberry, violet, strawberry?, herbal notes. A strong wine for sure but drinks very easily. Nice finish.

Outstanding wine. On the young side, but I really savored it and geeked out 🤓

On opening:

Very restricted and obviously young. Tight, bitter, stoney aroma in the glass. Not the best time to drink it, but not bad and clearly well made. Not much alcohol showing, even at 15% abv

2+ hours:

Starts to open up with underripe raspberry fruit and herbal aromatics

3rd day:

Fully open with amazing red fruit complexity. Raspberry is still leading with dry notes of current and cranberry. Savory and white pepper, refined acidity and balance.

The 2017 Chateauneufs are insanely good - heavily concentrated and layered with tannins of silk. Make no mistake - these are big, powerful wines with high aging potential. The entry level Ferrand is 90% Grenache from very old vines planted between 1904 and 1920 and brought up in tank. Deep layers of black raspberry, violets, plums, garrigue, and spice. The palate explodes with deliciousness offering fine tannins and long finish. I love this stuff! Will improve even more with time. 2017 vintage on Dec 5, 2019