WINEMAKER NOTES:
#10 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2021
Deep, dark and dense red with an intense nose of red and black berries, spice. The palate is a beautiful composition, silky tannins, power and elegance. Overall, the wine is expressive, noble and complete.
TASTING NOTES:
The flagship wine of de Nalys sourced from the famed La Crau vineyard, this powerful, complex red highlights Grenache augmented by Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise and Vacarèse. Matured partially in oak, it offers black-plum flavors muted by shades of earth, sun-scorched garrigue and a lingering vein of salty minerality. While soft in tannin, the wine needs time to tease out its smoky, stony nuances. Drink 2028–2040.
- Wine Enthusiast, 97 pts.
A bright savory note leads off this red, followed quickly by sanguine and bay leaf accents, all melding nicely with the core of steeped blackberry, raspberry and plum fruit flavors as they move through the rich, licorice root–tinged finish.
- Wine Spectator, 95 pts.
Aromas of blackberry, cocoa, black cherry and a hint of cedar. Full-bodied with slightly chewy tannins. Tannins and fruit are very nicely integrated with real composure and structure. Focused and succinct. Coffee and plum. This will age very nicely. 59% grenache, 32% syrah, 5% mourvedre, 3% counoise, 1% vacarese. Drink or hold.
- James Suckling, 94 pts.
The full-bodied 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Grand Vin delivers plenty of bold raspberry and blueberry notes. It's almost creamy across the mid-palate but turns a bit more open-knit and coarser-textured on the lingering finish. Still, it's a delicious effort, well worth drinking over the next 10–15 years.
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 pts.
Lastly, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Grand Vin is both deeper and richer, with a ruby/purple hue, medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of black raspberries, ripe black cherries, roasted garrigue, and violet, soft tannins, no hard edges, and outstanding length. It shows the more rounded, charming style of the vintage but has terrific purity, as well as concentration. It’s going to keep for 10-12 years. Best after 2022.
- Jeb Dunnuck, 93 pts.
