2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes

Font de Courtedune’s wines are always impressive. Sourced from distinctive sandy soils and old vines (an average 90 years for the Châteauneuf-du-Pape), all whole-bunch fermented and with no oak employed, these are wines that deserve to be much more expensive than they are. The 2022 offers a sweet nose of red cherry and strawberry, with a touch of dried basil and thyme. The palate is beautifully juicy, yet with incredible depth and length – with more supple, sumptuous red fruit filling the mouth and giving a round texture. There’s more weight here, a clear step up from the Côtes du Rhône Villages. A craggy, mineral note provides a backbone for the fruit, while there’s an iron edge to the palate, before the tannins – firm at this youthful stage – seize up the finish. Just 1% Mourvèdre, complementing the almost-pure Grenache.