CDP L'Avenue, Château de Vaudieu 2019

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape L'Avenue is also an incredible wine that I wish every reader could taste. More white flowers, chalky minerality, camphor, and leather notes emerge on the nose, and it’s more focused and chiseled compared to the broader, sexier Amiral G., yet it’s purity of fruit is incredible, it’s flawlessly balanced, and it too will have two decades of prime drinking. This cuvée is 100% Grenache from vines near the estate and more red clay soils. It was destemmed and brought up all in demi-muids.

A bit fresher-tasting than the 2019 Amiral G, Vaudieu's 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape l'Avenue is another 100% Grenache wine aged in demi-muids, but coming from a different parcel of vines, adjacent to Rayas. It might even seem a touch herbal, but in a good way, with scents of lavender and pine accenting ripe cherry and dark chocolate aromas. Full-bodied and supple on the palate, it finishes long and velvety, delivering bold waves of pleasure with every sip.