Beautifully detailed nose with peppery freshness. Intense, with fine tannins, gently saline and not overly marked by wood this year - lovely drinkability. This is excellent and based on a recipe belonging to an ancestor of the Lançon family. It's unusual in its proportion of Counoise; with it are co-fermented Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Clairette Rose and Grenache Blanc. Aged in three-year-old barriques. No filtration or fining. 2,600 bottles made. (Drink between 2024-2032).
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vin De La Solitude checks in as a kitchen sink blend of Counoise (24%), Grenache (22%), Syrah (20%), Mourvedre (19%), and splashes of Cinsault, Clairette, Clairette Rosé, Picpoul Blanc, Bourboulenc, and Roussanne, brought up entirely in older barrels. Its ruby/plum color is followed by an exotic bouquet of mulled strawberries, red cherries, spice box, dried flowers, and new leather, with a subtle, somewhat exotic character that's hard to place. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied beauty with terrific balance, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. This pure, complex, spicy, incredibly satisfying 2020 can be drunk today or cellared for 10-12 years.
