Plus 2011 re-rated 96 points
Our man returned from his recent trip to Chateauneuf excited. It takes a lot to arouse that sort of excitement in Colin. Here we have the sort of vintage we like: lovely dark fruit, plenty of freshness and minerality, good concentration but far from heavy, fine tannins and - most welcome of all - moderate alcohol levels. All in all, not a Parker sort of vintage, which is a good thing, because Parker has handed the Rhone reins to Jeb Dunnock. The growers know and like Jeb, but were fearful that he'd make his Wine Advocate entry by not dishing out too many points. Paul-Vincent Avril needn't have worried. And probably didn't. Once again, Clos des Papes is the highest-scoring regular cuvée of the vintage, and probably also the best value of the top wines. /AR
'Tasted from multiple foudres, the 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape is stunning! Showing surprising depth and concentration in the vintage, with full-bodied richness and texture, all of the samples showed perfumed, complex aromatics, fantastic mid-palates and serious back-end structure. Less forward than the 2011, with plenty of oomph, it will most likely require short-term cellaring to come around, and have a broad drink window. 95-98 points.' - Jeb Dunnock, Wine Advocate, October 2013
'One of the stars of the vintage and coming from absurdly low yields of 18 hectoliters per hectare, the 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape is a full-bodied, seamless effort that exhibits copious kirsch, ground pepper, dried flowers and underbrush as well as incredibly fine tannin, great mid-palate concentration and ample length on the finish. Relatively forward by this estate's standards, it will be approachable at an earlier age than normal. Nevertheless, it will have 20+ years of evolution and is an awesome effort in the vintage. Drink 2015-2030. 96 points.' - Jeb Dunnock, Wine Advocate, October 2013
2011 available immediately; 2012 autumn 2014