2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Hauts-Lieux la Vieille Julienne

The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Hauts-Lieux comes from slightly higher elevation sites and includes more Mourvèdre than the Les Trois Source release. It's pure, full- bodied, and incredibly structured, with a tight, backward style that's going to benefit from bottle age. Showing a distinct salty minerality as well as loads of black and blue fruits, it reminds me of the 2015 yet with more elegance. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.

Brilliant violet. Ripe dark fruit, floral and exotic spice aromas, along with suggestions of licorice and smoky minerals. Chewy and focused on entry and then more fluid in the midpalate, offering liqueur-like bitter cherry, blackberry and boysenberry flavors and a hint of succulent herbs. Closes very long and precise, with resonating floral and spice notes and steadily building tannins lending final grip.