2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes

The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Des Cadettes has more elegance and purity, showing notes of black raspberries, spice box, dried flowers, and ample rocky minerality. It's medium to full-bodied, has fine tannins, a classic, balanced, elegant texture, and a great finish, with its oak providing only a subtle nuance. Give bottles a few years, and it will keep for a decade. The blend is 47% Grenache, 29% Syrah, and the rest Mourvèdre, brought up in 40% new barrels. Château La Nerthe continues to fashion a classic, concentrated, fresher and more structured style of wine that needs bottle age to show at their best. I suspect all these scores will turn out to be too conservative in another 5-6 years.

Darker in color and in flavor profile than the regular bottling, la Nerthe's 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes is 47% Grenache, 29% Syrah and 24% Mourvèdre, aged in a mix of foudres (60%) and new barriques (40%). Pungent, earthy and cedary up front, it adds notes of dark fruit (plums, black cherries), dried spices and cocoa as it evolves. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it finishes long and plush.