2015 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau

Brilliant straw-gold. Mineral-laced citrus and orchard fruit aromas show excellent clarity and a suave floral overtone. Minerally and delineated on the palate, which displays sharply focused pear, tangerine and honeysuckle flavors that turn fleshier with air. Concentrated yet light on its feet. A vibrant mineral note drives the impressively long, floral finish.

While I’ve always loved the white from the Brunier brothers, the 2015 Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc is the finest example of this cuvée I can remember tasting. It’s light gold color is followed by an impeccably balanced, ultra-pure, seamless white that has complex notes of white flowers, hazelnuts, just crushed rocks and citrus blossom. This beauty doesn’t hit you over the head with fruit or sweetness, yet grows on you with time in the glass. You can drink it today, as well as cellar it for two decades.

(partially fermented in cement tanks, then finished and aged in oak barrels of varying size, 15% of them new; 70% malo): Brilliant straw. Lively scents of pear and lemon curd pick up smoky mineral and tarragon accents as the wine opens up. Silky and seamless on the palate, offering nervy orchard fruit and citrus fruit flavors energized by juicy acidity and a gingery nuance. Shows impressive power and intensity on the penetrating finish, which leaves behind notes of bitter pear skin and dusty minerals.