2017 Chateauneuf du Pape La Dame Voyageuse

A rich and attractively ripe nose with very juicy, attractive berry flavors. This has a super rich feel and delivers such impressive depth and length of fine, supple and gently grainy tannin on the palate. There’s a lot to like here. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

More Grenache-dominated, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse is billed as the early drinker from this estate. Nevertheless, the quality certainly doesn't lag the top cuvée by much. The 2017 checks in as a blend of 90% Grenache, 4% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, and the balance a mix of permitted varieties, brought up largely in very old barrels. Its deep ruby/purple color gives way to an incredibly sexy, voluptuous wine that's loaded with notions of black raspberries, wild strawberries, ground herbs, pepper, and hints of chocolate. Broad, expansive, silky, and seamless on the palate, this brilliant wine has more upfront appeal than the more concentrated La Reine Des Bois, yet I wouldn't put it past this to age just as long.

The 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape La Dame Voyageuse boasts scents of leather, black cherries and dusty earth. It's not as concentrated as the Reine des Bois, but it's still full-bodied, with a generous, welcoming feel and a silky finish. Drink it over the next 6-7 years.