2012 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier
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Tasting notes
Opaque ruby. An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes red fruit preserves, smoky Indian spices and incense, with a suave floral element gaining power with air. Fleshy, seamless and deep in the mouth, offering intense black raspberry and cherry liqueur flavors braced and lifted by juicy acidity. The spicy note comes back slowly as the wine opens in the glass. Smooth tannins arrive late on the sweet, strikingly long finish, which leaves floral pastille and anise notes behind.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
Deeper and more concentrated, with medium to full-bodied richness and depth, the 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier (70% Grenache, 10% Cinsault, 5% Syrah and the rest Mourvedre) has fabulous purity in its blackberry, currants, black licorice, roasted herbs and assorted meatiness. Possessing ultra-fine tannin and building underlying structure, it will benefit from 2-3 years in the cellar and evolve gracefully through 2027.
Opaque ruby. Lively and precise on the nose, displaying scents of redcurrant, cherry liqueur and dried flowers, along with a spicy topnote. Juicy and focused, with impressive depth and sweetness to its red fruit and lavender pastille flavors. Shows a refreshingly bitter nuance on the youthfully tannic finish, which lingers with impressive vibrancy and persistence. There will be no Charles Giraud bottling in this vintage because of a short crop, so all of the fruit that would have been designated for that wine was diverted here and into the "regular" Chateauneuf.
About the producer
Famille Isabel Ferrando is a leading wine producer in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.