2016 Chateauneuf du Pape la Guigasse

Limpid magenta. Intense, mineral-tinged aromas of ripe red fruits, candied lavender, baking spices and incense show sharp delineation and energetic lift. Palate-staining red and blue fruit preserve flavors are complemented by floral pastille and spicecake qualities that firm up slowly on the back half. Distinctly rich but fresh and structured as well, showing superb finishing clarity, well-knit tannins and lingering floral and mineral notes.

Made from 100% Grenache in the La Guigasse lieu-dit, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Guigasse boasts a deeper ruby/purple color as well as a sensational bouquet of kirsch and black raspberries, spring flowers, rose petals, and exotic spice. This beauty builds on the palate, with terrific concentration, yet it always holds onto the more ethereal, elegant, seamless style of this estate. Owned by importer Peter Weygandt, with the wines made by Baptiste Grangeon (of Domaine Cristia), Chapelle Saint Theodoric focuses on two terroirs (Pignan and Guigasse) of sandy soils. The wines are never destemmed and spend upward of two years in neutral demi-muids. These are classic, elegant, singular wines, and if there’s anything out there coming close to the style perfected by the Reynaud family at Rayas, this is it.