This is a rock-solid offering, with a core of dark fresh plum, succulent raspberry and gently steeped blackberry fruit flavors lined with graphite, anise and wood spice accents. Shows solid grip and nice energy for cellaring.

Darkly coloured, deeply fruited - a promising start. Dense, concentrated and fairly tannic but with good freshness and great vibrancy of fruit. This has all it needs to age; it promises to be longer lived than most 2018s. The alcohol is the only thing holding it back from very long ageing - will poke out in time. A very good, classic, fresh clean style, not overly polished, but it has more energy than most in this vintage.

A classic beauty, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape has textbook notes of red and black currants, black cherries, scorched earth, and roasted garrigue to go with a medium-bodied, lively, elegant style on the palate that’s very much in the mold of the vintage. With solid mid-palate depth and moderate tannins, it’s already approachable, yet this wine will certainly have 10-15 years of prime drinking ahead of it. It’s a terrific, classic cuvée that I would be happy to have in the cellar.

Hints of roast meat and espresso are backed by plummy notes on the nose of the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape. It's a dense, concentrated and somewhat sturdy wine, full-bodied and muscular yet svelte, with blackberry and chocolate notes emerging on the long, silky-textured finish. Solidly built and nicely balanced, it should drink well for at least a decade.