Domaine de Marcoux Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022 750ml

This year, Sophie Armenier produced only one cuvée, incorporating the old vines into this blend. However, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape from Domaine de Marcoux reveals a deep, complex bouquet of spices, chocolate, dark wild berries and garrigue complemented by delicate notes of tapenade. Medium to full-bodied, round and concentrated, it's rich without being heavy and framed by a fleshy core of fruit, a sweet, enveloping mid-palate and concludes with a long, saline finish. Considering the challenges of the vintage, particularly the significant downy mildew in the vineyard that affects the yield, this wine is a great success. Kudos! This is a blend of 85% Grenache Noir and the rest a mix of Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault, all matured in a combination of foudres, concrete tanks, barrels and amphorae. (Yohan Castaing)

The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape is a great example of the vintage and has a pretty, perfumed, incredibly Provençal style in its red fruits, savory garrigue, spice, and peppery aromas and flavors. With medium-bodied richness, a balanced, elegant mouthfeel, and ripe tannins, it already offers pleasure today, yet given its balance and the quality of its tannins, it will shine for 10-15 years if well stored. The blend is 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 7% Syrah, and 3% Cinsault, which was vinified all in concrete and brought up almost entirely in concrete tanks. There's no Vieilles Vignes in the vintage due to both hail and tiny yields from the drought, so I suspect this cuvée benefited from the inclusion of some truly great fruit that would normally go into the Vieilles Vignes release. It’s one of the finest classic cuvées I can recall and should be on the no-brainer purchase list. (Jeb Dunnuck)

The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape is a great example of the vintage and has a pretty, perfumed, incredibly Provençal style in its red fruits, savory garrigue, spice, and peppery aromas and flavors. With medium-bodied richness, a balanced, elegant mouthfeel, and ripe tannins, it already offers pleasure today, yet given its balance and the quality of its tannins, it will shine for 10-15 years if well stored. The blend is 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 7% Syrah, and 3% Cinsault; brought up almost entirely in concrete tanks. It’s one of the finest classic cuvées I can recall and should be on the no-brainer purchase list.

Vibrant black cherries, mulberries, peppery herbs, and spice are just some of the nuances in the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape, an utterly classic Châteauneuf du Pape that’s medium to full-bodied, has the vintage’s seamless profile, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. This beautiful, quintessential effort can be enjoyed any time over the coming 15 years or more. The 2020 is a normal blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 7% Syrah, and the rest Cinsault, brought up mostly in concrete tank, but with 20% in tronconique tanks and 5% in old barrels. (Jeb Dunnuck)

Dark, brooding and intensely mineral-driven, with a pleasingly rustic edge to its iron-edge tannins. Authentic and charming, too, showing a core of black fruit merged with notes of graphite, singed thyme and rosemary, baking spices and tobacco, plus a subtle tug of tar. A lavender smoke detail lifts on the formidable finish. Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsaut. Best from 2026 through 2038. 2,500 cases made, 500 cases imported.

Dark, brooding and intensely mineral-driven, with a pleasingly rustic edge to its iron-edge tannins. Authentic and charming, too, showing a core of black fruit merged with notes of graphite, singed thyme and rosemary, baking spices and tobacco, plus a subtle tug of tar. A lavender smoke detail lifts on the formidable finish. Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsaut.

Tasted from tank, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape looks to be another highly successful vintage. It boasts this cuvée’s usual complex florals allied to red raspberries and cherries, but it doesn’t come across quite as concentrated or rich as the 2019 version. Medium to full-bodied, it’s silky in feel, with a sense of charm and easy elegance.