Tasting Notes
Vinous 93
Bright purple. Room-filling aromas of black and blue fruit liqueur, sandalwood, licorice and candied lavender. Sweet, deeply concentrated and expansive, offering palate-coating blueberry, cherry compote and spicecake flavors and an intense floral pastille quality. Shows striking power on the sappy, penetrating finish, which is firmed by chewy but harmonious tannins. This bruiser weighs in at over 17% alcohol: consider yourself fairly warned.
Robert Parker 91
Winemaker Julien Barrot describes 2011 as a "really solar, ripe vintage," so it’s not surprising that his 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape Pure shows some warm, spiritous notes. "The Grenache was 17.3, so we blended in some Mourvedre and brought it down to 16.99," said Barrot. Yet this full-bodied wine is still largely enjoyable, with notes of roasted meat, leather, black cherries, dark chocolate and licorice all in abundance. Drink up.
Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022