100 point

Lastly, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Reserve is another magical wine, and I might have rated this cuvée a perfect score more than any other Southern Rhône. Unquestionably in the same realm as the 2017, 2016, 2010, 2005, 2003, and 2001, it has an incredible, full-bodied, massive style that somehow stays perfectly balanced, with flawless integration of its fruit, tannins, acidity, and alcohol. Lots of red, blue, and black fruits, loamy earth, Asian spice, licorice, and violet nuances emerge from the glass, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building yet polished tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s a sexier, more opulent wine than the Les Hauts-Lieux release yet has the same perfect tannins that are so rare to find in the vintage. This required at least 4-5 years of bottle age and will drink brilliantly for 20-25+ years.

100 point

Balsamic touches on the nose, with some dark chocolate and black cherry. It’s full-bodied, immense in size. There’s this huge driving effect from the rapier-like acidity on the palate, which balances the great sucrosité and incredible length. The alcohol is elevated, but so is everything else, and it's surprisingly fresh. For some wine lovers, this will be the apotheosis of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it's so enormous, so immense. But the tannins are so fine and velvety. Simply extraordinary. Drinking window is hard to say; it's hardly budged for years, and could quite possibly last for decades in the right conditions. Selection from Les Trois Sources, their oldest Grenache. Only produced when the Grenache is good enough.

97 point

From old vines planted as early as 1904, the 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve is one of the wines of the vintage. Coming in at 16% alcohol, it consists of 90% Grenache with the rest split between Syrah and Counoise. It soars from the glass with mesmerizing aromas of blackberry, blueberry, crème de cassis, wild strawberry, white pepper, forest floor as well as abundant herbs and spices such as bay leaves, thyme, lavender and cardamom. Expanding vertically in the mouth, it is full-bodied, layered and framed by ever-so-velvety tannins. The long-lasting finish is exceptional - new flavors develop long after the wine has left the palate.