Creamed pear, melon and green fig notes form the core, with a frame of honeysuckle and heather adding range. Plump overall, but a verbena streak adds freshness for balance through the gently toasted finish. This has lots of range and is sneaky long. Drink now through 2027.

The 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is a stunningly concentrated effort produced from minuscule yields of only ten hectoliters per hectare. Made and aged entirely in stainless steel, it offers aromas of apple blossoms and tangerines. This medium to full-bodied white combines richness and lime zest, and it seems to be developing quickly. Already showing hints of honey and truffle, I would opt for drinking it on the young side, although Paul-Vincent Avril likes his whites after ten or more years of cellaring.