2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de Marcoux, Rhône

This is a magnificent, yet still very tannic, wine made from old vines over 100 years in age, delivering amazingly low yields of 12 hl/ha. Its 98 percent Grenache and two percent Cinsault combine to offer an amazing cornucopia of fruit, with an encyclopaedia of cascading flavours – heathery notes, tempered by peat and incense, lead to soft mandarin gilded by verbena and lavender, before, finally, a savoury counterpoint that is dark, deep and mysterious. A real vin de garde. Drink 2022-2030+.
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The forebears of sisters Sophie and Catherine Armenier have been making superb wines since 1344 it seems, maybe modifying their techniques a little along the way, but not too much. Biodynamic in all but the letter, they are based close to Beaucastel, but their plots, albeit more modest in total surface area, are more widely spaced over the appellation, with the most significant holdings in the areas around Courthézon and on the central Crau plateau. Low yields are key to the exceptional quality of the wines.