Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Ouest, Domaine Santa Duc

Striking nose of the ripest strawberries with delicate notes of dried flowers and spice. In spite of the tremendous richness and structure this remains delicate and refined. Super-long finish in which the mineral and licorice characters are beautifully interwoven. A pure grenache from 100-year-old vines growing on sandy soil. 75% whole bunch. Matured only in clay amphora.

Tasted from amphora, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau Ouest boasts a wonderful aroma that's a hybrid between cherries, purple raspberries and cassis. Full-bodied and rich, it nevertheless shares the same silky texture and almost airy feel that's become the house signature, finishing with incredible length. These 85-year-old Grenache vines on sandy soils often turn out the most compelling wine in the cellar. - Joe Czerwinski

Brilliant violet. Highly perfumed aromas of ripe red berries, Asian spices, garrigue and incense expand with air and pick up a smoky mineral aspect. Palate-caressing, appealingly sweet Chambord, cherry cola and spicecake flavors are joined by an exotic floral pastille quality that gains strength on the back half. Juicy, focused and energetic in style, showing superb finishing clarity and smooth tannins that sneak in slowly. - Josh Raynolds

Full ruby. Ripe and expansive on the nose, displaying powerful dark berry, lavender and garrigue scents along with hints of cola and woodsmoke. Smooth and weighty on the palate, offering plush, sweet black currant and cherry flavors sharpened by a snap of cracked pepper. Becomes livelier with air and finishes very long and gently tannic, leaving a suggestion of candied flowers behind. - Josh Raynolds

Full-bodied, yet silky-airy-lacy in texture, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau Ouest is a marvel of elegance and finesse. Wonderfully detailed notes of ripe cherries, dried spices, rose petals and back tea expand on the palate, revealing great intensity, complexity and length. - Joe Czerwinski

(made from 80-year-old vines and raised in clay amphoras for 18 months) Lurid ruby. Powerful cherry and raspberry liqueur aromas are complicated by intense floral and Indian spice nuances. Sappy, sweet and broad on entry, then tighter in the midpalate, offering juicy, densely packed red and blue flavors that turn sweeter and more energetic on the back half. Shows a suave lavender pastille quality on the impressively persistent finish, which is given shape by smooth, harmonious tannins. - Josh Raynolds

My top pick from the outstanding lineup of Santa Duc's 2015 Châteauneufs was the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau Ouest, of which only 200 cases were produced. This pure Grenache offers sumptuous aromas of violets and roses to go along with cherries and licorice. It's full-bodied, intense, deep and long, with tannins that properly support the wine's complexities rather than overwhelming them. - Joe Czerwinski

En anelse reduceret til at begynde med, den åbner landligt og stramt, men det blæser hurtigt væk, og det rene, saftige grenache-udtryk vinder, og vinen bliver let og feminin og elegant i udtrykket. Årgangen taler, men også den nye stil.

Limpid violet. Fragrant, smoke-accented aromas of ripe red fruits, licorice and candied flowers are defined and lifted by a mineral nuance. Silky and seamless on the palate, offering concentrated raspberry and mulberry flavors that become sweeter and more lively with air. Shows an impressively graceful character for its heft and finishes with strong spicy thrust and velvety tannins that come in late. - Josh Raynolds