2016 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Auguste Favier Rouge Famille Isabel Ferrando (St. Prefert)

Cask sample. More black than red fruit on the nose, and very punchy tannic grip. Well structured - the tannin is high, but matches well with the fruit intensity. Warm finish. Has the fruit power to develop well. (RH) Drink 2019-2036.

Concentrated black cherry, juicy dark berries and fig on the nose. There's a tight squeeze of tannin, and lovely bright, juicy and ripe acidity. It's dark-fruited, and clean but not overly polished, with a real sense of purity and piercing freshness. Powerful stuff here, generous in fruit and tannin with a noticeable grain and heft to the texture, leading into a saline finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030.

Incredibly perfumed and complex, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve Auguste Favier has put on weight since I tasted it as a barrel sample and offers full-bodied notes of currants, Asian spices, dried flowers, and lavender. It's powerful, concentrated and layered, yet always light on its feet and beautifully balanced, with a seamless, elegant texture as well as the purity of fruit that's the hallmark of this great vintage. It's a rock star wine from this terrific estate that's going to drink beautifully for two decades.

A blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Cinsault, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier boasts enchanting floral aromas, intoxicating raspberry and cherry fruit and enthralling hints of Swiss cocoa. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it nevertheless comes across as fresh and nearly weightless. The use of stems (the wine is all whole bunches) and an elevated proportion of Cinsault has certainly contributed to this wine's soaring aromas and sense of freshness. It's a fascinating wine. 2018 - 2035.

Velvety textures, spicy, pure, sweet, black raspberry and kirsch notes, with a concentrated mid palate and a fresh, peppery, cherry filled finish that keeps on going with its multiple layers of sweet, red and dark red fruits. What's not to like? The wine was produced from a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Cinsault.

Brilliant ruby-red. Highly expressive, mineral- and spice-accented aromas of ripe red berries and incense show superb definition, and complementary hints of blood orange and candied lavender build in the glass. Shows impressive depth and energetic lift on the palate, offering powerful red currant, cherry preserve and floral pastille flavors and a suggestion of spicecake. Finishes with a snap of juicy acidity, building sweetness and silky tannins that lend shape to a strikingly long, red-fruit- and floral- dominated finish.

This is beautifully rendered, with a core of focused red currant, plum and raspberry coulis flavors that stretches out nicely while flecks of tobacco, bergamot, and singed sandalwood weave around. A bolt of iron detail shows through the finish, with a light echo of worn leather. Well-built, showing ample energy in reserve. From France. Best from 2020 through 2040.-J.M.