André Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge 2021

In his excellent “The New French Wine” published last year, Jon Bonné writes, “Jacqueline André has quietly been upholding the extraordinary quality of her family’s domaine in a manner that legitimately earns the word ‘artisan.’”

The 2021 vintage was anything but smooth across France, and the Rhône Valley was no exception. But truly great winemakers show their greatness mostly clearly in difficult vintages, and Jacqueline André’s 2021 results put her in that class. Her 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge is elegant and absolutely delicious wine. Grenache always dominates the fruit in her wine, but in 2021 the distinct aromas of dried rose petals join the usual sweet wild strawberries to produce a refined and elegant glass of wine that is strikingly good.