2017 Chateauneuf du Pape

The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape is a classic blend of close to equal parts Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, with a splash of Cinsault. Revealing a deep, saturated purple color as well as powerful notes of macerated cherries, blackberries, ground herbs, and chocolate, it's one of the richer, more opulent and powerful vintages of this cuvée in the past decade. Rich, full-bodied, and ripe, give it 2-4 years of bottle age. Château La Nerthe continues to fashion a classic, concentrated, fresher and more structured style of wine that needs bottle age to show at their best. I suspect all these scores will turn out to be too conservative in another 5-6 years.

The 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape features gentle herb shadings, ripe stone fruit and berry flavors, and a long, clean finish. It's full-bodied but somewhat delicate and silky in feel. I'd opt for drinking this blend of 35% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre and 5% Cinsault over the next 7-8 years.