Châteauneuf-du-Pape Chante le Merle Vieilles Vignes 2020

From 80-year-old vines, mainly in Mont Redon, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Chante le Merle Vieilles Vignes was made using only whole bunches. As a result, it's spicy, stemmy and herbal at first, with peppery, minty notes adding nuance to the deep fruit flavors of black cherries and blackberries. Full-bodied, rich and salty-stemmy on the long finish, this is a terrific-looking effort.

The old vine cuvée from this great estate is the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Chante Le Merle Vieilles Vignes, which is mostly Grenache with 7% each of Syrah and Mourvedre. This cuvée comes from the Barbe d'Asne, Les Brusquieres, Mont Redon, and Pignan (the northern part) lieux-dits and is not destemmed and spends 15 months in 60% foudre, the rest in older demi-muids. It’s always the most classic release, and the 2020 offers a quintessential Châteauneuf du Pape nose of ripe red fruits (framboise, cherries) intermixed with dried garrigue, peppery, herbes de Provence, and loamy earth. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has lots of tannins, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, terrific balance, and one heck of a finish. It was even better on Day 2, which bodes well for its ageability. I would hide bottles for 3-5 years and enjoy over the following decade or more.

Rounded, generous Grenache fruit, blackberry skin tannins, a touch of sucrosité, but overall more about the dry, intense palate and brusque tannins which are a little fibrous, but this should have some interesting character in time. A new cuvée from 70-80-year-old vines in lieu-dit Pignan, fermented in concrete, aged in foudres. 4,800 bottles made.