Domaine des Sénéchaux : Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2020

This Cazes family outpost has turned out a pleasant 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape, even if it seems to lack a bit of depth and concentration after the past several (exceptional) vintages. Nicely ripened cherries and a touch of green olive appear on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate comes across as creamy, lush and easy to drink.

Here’s a powerful and very distinctive Chateauneuf with tons of black olive and black pepper character, plus notes of sage and baking spices. The generous fine tannins are already beautifully integrated, and the structure is underplayed but deftly supports the full body. Very fresh stony finish. A cuvee of 54% grenache, 25% syrah and 21% mourvedre. Drink or hold.

The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is showing well in this vintage. It is a delicious blend of 54% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 21% Mourvèdre that aged for one year in a combination of foudre, old oak barriques and concrete vats. It mingles aromas of juicy red fruits, a pinch of mint, dried herbs and iodine. Showing absolutely no hard edges, it seamlessly moves across the palate, concluding with a bright finish.

Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh and lively, with a core of ripe kirsch, cherries, pepper and chocolate, this is already a pleasure to taste. This is a really solid wine from the owners of Chateau Lynch Bages. The wine is made mostly from Grenache, with Syrah, Mourvedre, and various other allowable grape varieties. Drink from 2022–2033.

Intense garnet, purple reflections, a broad ochre lightening on the rim. Subtle aromas of dark cherries, ripe plums, an elegant texture, a touch of oak, some nougat and tobacco. Juicy, a fine fruit sweetness, elegant and well balanced, silky tannins, ripe cherries on the finish, well developed and drinking well, with ageing potential.

I loved the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape, and this is a wine I’d be thrilled to own. Sporting a ruby/plum color as well as terrific notes of sweet red fruits, herbes de Provence, sweet spice, and garrigue, it hits the palate with medium- to full-bodied richness, a light, elegant mouthfeel, soft tannins, and a great finish. It’s not massive or powerful, but it’s beautifully balanced, elegant, and nuanced. Drink this terrific 2020 any time over the coming 10–12 years. The blend is 54% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre, and it was partially destemmed and brought up in a mix of foudre, older barrels, and concrete.