Domaine La Barroche Chateauneuf-du-Pape Pure 2018

“Glistening violet. Vibrant, spice-tinged cherry, raspberry and candied lavender scents pick up potpourri and mineral qualities with air. Densely packed red fruit liqueur, cherry cola, star anise and floral pastille flavors stain the palate and deepen steadily through the back half. Fine-grained tannins lend shape to an impressively long, focused, floral-dominated finish that echoes the red fruit note and betrays no rough edges. 97% Grenache, 3% Other Varieties. Drinking window: 2025-2035. 95 points

Julien and his sister Laetitia are the latest generation of Barrots who have been in the region since the 1400s, to oversee their family’s vineyard holdings, established in 1703. In just over 15 years they have earned their spot among Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s elite producers. Julien Barrot’s first winemaking efforts, in the early 2000s, showcased richness and often flamboyant fruit-driven character. Still, I have never found them overdone in the extreme school fairly common back then. Over the years, Barrot has been steadily moving toward a more elegant, expressive style, even more since they transferred from their old winery. The new facility is a far more spacious, modern (but not too modern), gravity-fed operation on the south side of town, which is tricked out with the same tall, tulip-shaped concrete fermenters made famous by Château Cheval-Blanc in Saint-Émilion. Barrot’s 2018s are excellent renditions of the vintage, if slightly more forward in character than usual.”

Josh Raynolds, Vinous (10/21)