Andrew Jefford: Saturated black-red; heading for midnight. And yet again it comes: that great warm wind from the south, laden with citrus blossom and wild herbs. If you want to smell what van Gogh saw and what van Gogh painted, put your nose into a glass of this. It truly does beggar belief. And the palate? Are you ready? You have to love Grenache to enjoy this one; it is the sweetness of Grenache personified. But if you do, I’m sure you’re not often going to taste Grenache with this level of extract and tannin and matter clinging to it. Quite why this is possible in Châteauneuf and not possible elsewhere, I don’t know... but it is. It’s generosity and grandeur combined. Hugely authoritative and commanding. Honestly, not easy to drink; best to put it into the “meditation wine” category. Others might disagree, but I would drink this sooner rather than later, because I feel that, with time, the alcohol bone will begin to protrude above the southern flesh; but right now, it is arrestingly good. 18

Simon Larkin : Baked fruits on the nose, admirable ripeness and hints of garrigue. The palate is ripe but with poise; the freshness underscores the generosity perfectly. Thankfully, I have hit on a wine like this in a flight of extremes. This is ripe, bold, and assertive, but there is a certain finesse. Those elements of spice and garrigue come through, allied to a generous, brooding dark fruit. The alcoholic warmth is there but well veiled. I like the sense of precision on show here—this wine is head and shoulders above the pack just on account of that poise. 2010 seems a vintage where excesses were too easily achieved. Not so here, thankfully. 18.5

John Livingstone-Learmonth: Dark-tinted robe; tarry first air, a bouquet with a rosemary-herbs presence but a little indistinct; has a baked undernote, a menthol and black-raisin pairing also. Has a compact shape, is closely channeled for now. The palate has a tar, grainy immediate surge, is young and still close to its raising, holds black-cherry fruiting, with a dive-in of oak tannin at the end, which is a touch dry. Sound elements to pull it into more open, varied waters over time. A little mysterious, and all the better for that. From 2016 to 2026/29. 16