2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Avenue Château de Vaudieu

100% Grenache that's aged all in demi-muids, the 2015 Châteauneuf du Pape L'Avenue is similar to the Amiral G., yet is slightly more tight, focused and concentrated. Coming from a tiny strip of vines located right next to Rayas, it offers sensational notes of strawberry jam, kirsch, mulled blackberries, graphite and exotic spices to go with full-bodied richness and depth, as well as fine, sweet tannin. Give bottles 2-3 years of cellaring, count yourself lucky, and drink them over the following 15 years or more.

Fermented in concrete, matured in demi-muid for 18 months. Slightly medicinal nose; camphor, Benylin cough mixture, almost a whiff of hot tar among the blackberry and raspberry flavour. Sweet fruit, but it's outgunned by the piercing lance of acidity. Tannins are fine, lightly grainy. Long, and straight - like an Avenue, I suppose. This has some mineral drive and texture that help give it form and direction. 2019-2030.

Lurid ruby. Ripe cherry and dark berries on the explosively perfumed nose, complicated by hints of smoky minerals, incense and potpourri. Palate-staining, spice-laced cherry and black raspberry flavors show impressive depth and clarity, and a spine of juicy acidity provides lift and focus. Finishes extremely long and sweet, delivering solid thrust, a hint of candied flowers and suave, harmonious tannins.

Very silky in feel, with beguiling rooibos tea, bergamot and blood orange accents sitting atop the large core of cassis and raspberry pâte de fruit. Everything is in lockstep through the finish, where buried minerality adds the final touch. Best from 2020 through 2035.-J.M

Continuing to drink well, with no sign of closing down, the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape l'Avenue boasts expressive aromas of flowering garrigue and ripe black cherries. Full-bodied, silky and long, with touches of dark chocolate and licorice on the finish, it's a terrific CdP and should drink well for at least another decade. Tasted at the estate. 2019 - 2035