2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Quartz

Moving to the tiny production 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Quartz, which is mostly Grenache with around 25% or so of Syrah, it has a rich, full-bodied, dense, and almost backward style to go with powerful black fruits, ground pepper, and violet aromas and flavors. I love its purity of fruit, and it builds nicely with time in the glass, showing more mid-palate depth as well as ripe tannins. It’s a stunning bottle of wine, but patience will be required. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades. The 2019s from Le Clos du Caillou showed brilliantly, and this is clearly a great vintage for the estate, with the wines equaling what was produced in 2016, 2010, 2007, 2005, and 2001. These are silky, elegant, yet also concentrated wines across the board, and despite the multitude of cuvées, they all have singular, distinct personalities. These are brilliant wines readers will love to have in their cellars.

Deep magenta. Heady, finely detailed aromas of mineral-tinged red/blue fruit preserves, incense and garrigue are complemented by a suave floral topnote. Alluringly sweet and seamless on the palate, offering impressively concentrated raspberry, boysenberry, spicecake and candied licorice flavors braced by a core of juicy acidity. Finishes with outstanding clarity, polished tannins and floral-driven persistence, leaving an exotic hint of five-spice powder behind.