Dark glistening red. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and dark berries, baking spices, garrigue and candied flowers, and a smoky mineral flourish appears as the wine opens up. Sappy, sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering juicy black raspberry, cherry and lavender pastille flavors joined by hints of allspice and bitter chocolate. Smooth and seamless in texture, showing superb finishing clarity, gently gripping tannins and strong, spicy persistence. This is a somewhat more brawny wine than usual for Laurent Charvin, but it still retains the domaine's trademark balance and energy.

As to the top wine, I was able to taste the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape from multiple tanks, all rating between 92 and 95 points. All of the wines showed the dark, blue-tinged fruit style that's common in the vintage at this point as well as medium to full body, notable complexity, and a seamless, silky, finesse-oriented style that still carries plenty of density and depth. I suspect it will be a step back from the 2016 and 2017, but it's a beautiful wine in the making that will have plenty of early appeal yet still age gracefully.