2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Alexis Establet

The top cuvee of the estate, Grand Tinel’s 2005 Châteauneuf du Pape Alexis Establet is made from 100% Grenache that’s aged in a combination of new and used foudre, and concrete tanks. Ripe, sexy and supple, with medium to full-bodied richness and depth on the palate, it has beautiful kirsch, orange rind, licorice, forest floor and underbrush qualities on the nose. Drinking at point, with a great texture, it should continue to dish out loads of pleasure over the coming 4-6 years.

100% Grenache. 100% destemmed. Fermentation in tronconic tanks. 12 months in new and old oak foudres and concrete tanks. 19,995 bottles produced. Mid to light ruby. A bit of decay and lots of gas on this. Not really a sophisticated wine with marked greenness on the finish. Really very odd indeed. (JR)

Rich, full bodied and heady, the 2005 Domaine du Grand Tinel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Alexis Establet is a stunning wine that's forward and surprisingly accessible for the vintage. Raspberry and black cherry fruit is backed up by underbrush, garrigue, black pepper and licorice aromas and this has nice complexity and walks the line between coming across as a modern styled wine with really ripe fruit and a more traditional, garrigue laced example. The palate shows rich, sweet fruit, nice texture and balance with the finish possessing plenty of depth and length. All in all, an outstanding bottle of wine that's reasonably priced. This firmed up on the second day and picked up a more mineral driven bouquet.