2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Arioso
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Tasting notes
Glistening ruby-red. Extremely sexy, spice-accented aromas of ripe red berries, incense and potpourri, along with a potent, smoky mineral element that adds vivacious lift. Offers sweet, palate-staining raspberry, cherry pastry, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that show remarkable definition and back-end thrust. Displays a compelling blend of richness and energy and finishes with outstanding clarity and almost undetectable, silky tannins that sneak in slowly.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
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The 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Arioso is a killer wine. This cuvée is always 100% Grenache sourced from the sandy soils of the Pignan lieu-dit, which is certainly one of the great terroirs of the appellation. Sensational notes of cassis, violets, crushed rocks, and spring flowers all flow to a deep, layered, seamless 2016 that has the purity and elegance of the vintage as well as fabulous depth and richness. Elegance and purity are the buzzwords here, but it packs ample texture and concentration. It's going to benefit from short-term cellaring and be very long lived. Burgundy-based Mounir Saouma continues to make exotic, singular wines from his cellar located north of Orange. The estate likes to include lots of press wine, keep wine on skins for years, and bottle unfined and unfiltered.