2016 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf Deux Freres

Massively concentrated yet possessing brighter fruit and even more velvety richness than the Cuvée de Mon Aïeul, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des 2 Freres looks as if it will approach perfection. Aged entirely in oak, the fruit has soaked it up remarkably well. 96-98 points

(casks, bottling April 2018) full red robe. Smoky, soaked cherries aroma, coulis of raspberry and basil present, oak tar in the background. The palate is more marked by the oak charcoal of the oak, holds good stylish richness inside the oak. It ends on a flavour of cooked plums. The assertive oak demands it be left until 2022. It can then regain some typicity over its current cellar influence. 4*