2017 Chateauneuf du Pape

The 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Imperiale (from vines planted in 1902) is firm and structured to age magnificently. Roses, black tea and red raspberries all appear on the nose and palate, framed by fine-grained tannins. I suspect it will close down shortly, but there is terrific material here, and the wine will drink well for two decades.

The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape is rocking stuff. Blueberries, crushed violets, ground pepper, and crushed stone-like minerality all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, elegant, pure, lengthy wine. It plays in the more fresh, focused, Burgundian style yet has classic Southern Rhône character, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Give it 2-4 years and enjoy over the following 10-15 years. Run today by the young yet obviously talented Stéphane Usseglio, Domaine Raymond Usseglio has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and is undeniably fashioning incredible, world class wines today. They have recently completed work on a new state of the art cellar located on the northern edge of the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and pull from around 45 acres of vines, mostly in the center and northern part of the appellation. They produce a number of cuvées, yet the core is the traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape, based on 80-90% Grenache and the balance Mourvèdre, the La Parte des Anges, based primarily on Mourvèdre, and the Cuvée Imperiale, based on tank-aged old vine Grenache. They have a Cuvée Girard which is basically a tweaked version of the traditional cuvée and introduced their Les Apotres cuvée in 2015 (which I only tasted from barrel, not bottle) which is an amphora-raised blend of all the permitted varieties. As I wrote last year, the bottom line is that this estate is making beautiful wines and deserves more attention in the market today.

Tasted blind. Compressed nose, deep black bramble fruit with furry tannic fuzz on the palate making a harsh, hard texture. However, there is plenty of juicy fruit doing its best to provide balance. (RH)