2012 Domaine Isabel Ferrando Châteauneuf-du-Pape Colombis
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Tasting notes
Bright violet color. Sexy, spice-accented aromas of fresh dark berries and potpourri, with a mineral element adding vivacity. Offers sweet black raspberry and floral pastille flavors, along with suggestions of cola and white pepper that build on the back half. This juicy, open-knit, gently tannic Châteauneuf finishes with superb clarity and length and an echoing quality.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Colombis (100% Grenache from 70-year-old vines) is an elegant, seamless and medium-bodied example of this cuvee that also saw no destemming and aging in oak tanks. Giving up perfumed kirsch and darker berry fruits, spice-box, toasted bread and cocoa-like aromas and flavors, it’s relatively forward, supple and already approachable. Nevertheless, there’s ample fine tannin here, and this cuvée has a tendency to put on weight and richness in bottle. Give it another year or two and enjoy bottles through 2024.
(100% grenache; vinified with 100% whole clusters): Vivid ruby. Intensely perfumed scents of spicy dark berries and lavender, with zesty mineral and blood orange notes adding complexity. Pliant blackberry and cherry flavors are impressively fresh, becoming deeper and spicier with air. Really shows its stems--in an aromatic and spicy way, not in a tannic sense. This beautifully balanced, pure wine finishes with outstanding clarity and floral persistence.
About the producer

Famille Isabel Ferrando is a leading wine producer in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.