Mestre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 18 (1.5)

Christophe Mestre makes a single red Châteauneuf du Pape each year, vinfiying the different grapes separately and carefully combining them to come up with each year’s vintage.  We have been buying there for five years now, and have watched him consistently craft delicious wine from the varied elements each vintage offers. The 2018 rouge is about 40% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre, 25% Grenache, and 5% Cinsault, raised for a total of 18 months, half in cement vats and half in large foudres. 

It is delicious. There is plum, licorice, and maybe a touch of chocolate in the nose. In the mouth, the wine is rich and round, with plenty of support and no feeling of heat. The finish is plenty long. Its peak drinking window will arrive in the fourth or fifth year after the vintage, but it will likely drink well for well more than a decade.