Andrew Jefford: Saturated dense black-red. Sweet, warm, amply ripe, almost-plush nose; dense, rich, dramatic flavors. Another wine that plays the Grenache card very forcefully, with a huge harvest of sweet, rich, wonderfully textured fruits; the aftertaste is sweet and sumptuous. Splendid concentration, force, power, and sweet charm. This wine is a little bit raw at this stage, but I’m confident of something wonderfully beguiling with time. 16.5

Simon Larkin : A more brooding aroma, with dusky deep fruit on show allied to notes of garrigue. There is that curranty character suggesting this was harvested on the cusp of surmaturité. A rich, broad style, with a heady nature to the fruit; this loses precision on the palate. An assertive, bold style of Châteauneuf—it does capture those baked-fruit notes and noticeable garrigue, but this is an overt, exuberant interpretation that struggles to captivate. 13

John Livingstone-Learmonth: Good sheen in its dark red; lurking menthol notes in the ripe, liqueur-style setting of the nose; just avoids excess droopiness. The palate also bears laden dark fruit, with an oily, sweet charge, a note of sweet Indian tea, at its heart. The vintage freshness has been suppressed in favor of the design of the maker; the tannins are largely supple. A touch contrived when the vintage is so strong on natural bounty and purity. 2016 to 2027/29. 16