Moving to the 2019s from bottle, the Côtes Du Rhône Lieu-Dit Clavin always shows the style of this estate as well as the vintage, and the 2019 is well worth seeking out. Black cherries, gravelly earth, spicy herbs, and violet notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, floral, seamless Côtes du Rhône that does everything right. Rated 91. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com November, 2021

More cassis, morello cherry, Asian spice, and a beautiful sense of minerality and loamy earth emerge from the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Trois Sources, a full-bodied, concentrated blend of 60% Grenache, 15% each of Cinsault and Syrah, and the balance Mourvèdre. Coming all from the estate’s sandy soils in the northern part of the appellation, this incredibly concentrated, textured wine has perfect balance, building tannins, and a great finish. Give this beauty another 4-5 years in the cellar and drink it over the following two decades or more. Drink 2025‑2047. Rated 96+. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com November, 2021

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Hauts-Lieux includes slightly more Mourvèdre and comes from a cooler parcel in the northern part of the appellation. It has another level of purity and precision compared to the Trois Sources and has extraordinary notes of blueberries, cassis, black licorice, violets, and crushed stone-like minerality. Incredibly concentrated, massive, and yet perfectly balanced, it has no hard edges and is just an incredible tasting experience. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 20-25 years. Drink 2025‑2051. Rated 98+. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com November, 2021

Founded by Roger Marès in the 1960s, the Mas des Bressades is located in the Costières de Nîmes, in the southern Rhône Valley of France. It extends across 45 hectares to the north of the Camargue, where the vines are planted at an elevation of 70 meters on what the French call galets roulés or rolled pebbles (medium sized stones, really) rolled and rounded by glacial action and the great Rhône River. The name «Bressades» comes from the Provençal patois and, fittingly, means to rock. While the estate has long been cultivated with respect for nature and the soil, in 2017 Cyril Marès requested certification in organic farming. After three years of conversion, it is now official. Produce of an inspired south of France mingling of 50% Roussanne, 30% Grenache Blanc, 10% Marsanne and 10% Viognier, their Costières de Nîmes Blanc is a vivid pale platinum/yellow in color with aromas suggestive of white pepper, fresh salt sea breezes, cool green/gold berries and crisp cool melon blanc d'Antibe (Henry noted a floral tone like chamomile, Glenn noted flesh of white peach); both ample and bright with its mineral edge on keen display, mouthwateringly fresh and vibrant on the tongue and just oh so deliciously refreshing and quaffable.

Produce of 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 20% Cinsault from the typically stony soils of the Costières de Nîmes, a splendid somewhere between Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Mediterranean Sea. Copper/pink with orange reflections in color with discreet aromas that suggest a kiss of red berry, an underlying salt sea minerality and a touch more left to the imagination (Henry noted a blood orange-like citrus quality, Glenn noted wild strawbery); at once, both ample and mineral crisp on the tongue with a bursting berry fruit and a saline mouthwateringness. And while we all agreed this a pink wine useful at the dinner table, the sheer saline refreshingness of the wine is simply undeniable, too.

Rich, dense, almost opaque ruby in color with aromas that suggest sun and sea and berry and stone (Henry noted a peppery/savory quality as well); deep-pitched, pulverized stone and spicy fleshy berry on the tongue, potent, generous, (Henry noted that for all of this, the vibrancy of the wine was still apparent); and while we might tend to compare this to its Rhône Valley neighbor Châteauneuf-du-Pape (less than an hour's drive to the northeast), this remains more upfront, juicy and pliant if still stony, mineral red wine.

Produce of a preponderance of Grenache with a touch of Syrah; sunset orange to peach pink in color; ultra-fresh with that near-intoxicating aroma of red berries (Guiot themselves describe aromas of strawberries and raspberries reminiscent of "les bonbons anglais" — fitting, it's one of Lucinda's faves); ultra-refreshing, invigorating even on the tongue with vivid and mouthwatering berryish flavors that faithfully reprise those first oh so welcome whiffs. And, this is simply brilliant value in high quality south of France rosé.

This small château is located near the town of Saint-Gilles just west of the Rhône River some 5 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. The rocky soils here are reminiscent of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the fruit is always picked late, ensuring deep and profound wines with soft tannins. The vineyards are farmed sustainably, without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers on the vineyards or crops. The fruit is vinified separately in stainless steel tanks by varietal and by vineyard site. This 2019 Château Guiot Costières de Nîmes is a blend of hand-harvested Grenache and Syrah fruit; very primary aromas of fleshy ripe grapes and grape pomace with suggestion of blue plum, kirsch and a good healthy winegrowing earth; just full and fruity and round on the tongue with nice crisp bright acids and supple tannins lending the gentlest astringency and keeping things refreshing and vibrant to the long and flavorful finish. Some kind of value, too!

Produce of 100% Marsanne fruit from vines planted to soils of pebble and sand located in Sablet and Plan de Dieu; vivid yellow/gold in color with aromas suggestive of ripe berry, mirabelle plum, apricot and an exotic, almost tropical grilled pineapple quality; tactile, rounded and easy on the palate with an enveloping richness without heaviness, gentle textural creaminess balanced with a hint of bitter almond.

There is a certain restraint on the nose here that finally gives way to something more discernably varietal, then more mineral and nutty (Andrea noted white grapes and hot rocks); there is a certain aloof highwire equilibrium on the palate, a minerality (Henry noted fleur de sel, a certain stoniness and subtle but intense palate feel); then everything echoing, resonating, reverberating long and fine on the finish.

Produce of a typical south of France mingling of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault from vines planted to alluvial terraces rich in pebbles, read les galets roulès, and clay/limestone soils. Attractive medium ruby in color with alluring perfumed juicy berry aromas suggesting strawberry, cherry, a summer afternoon's rain on hot cobblestones, genêt and more of the aromatic complexity of la garrigue; silken on entry, then building in body, demonstrating a firm, stony underpinning, potency and warmth, length of flavor and easy drinkability.

The 2019 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine De Thalabert showed well, with a floral, pepper, and sappy herb style as well as plenty of darker cherry and currant fruit. With medium to full body, a vibrant, elegant texture, present tannins, and good acidity, this is a classic, balanced Thalabert to hide for 2-4 years and enjoy over the following decade or more. Drink 2022‑2034. Rated (92-94). - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com November, 2020

I was able to taste the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Chaupin on two occasions, rating it one point higher on one of those as well. Incredible notes of red and black fruits, violets, scorched earth, ground pepper, and Provençal garrigue notes define the nose, and it’s a darker, richer, slightly more powerful wine than usual, while still showing the inherent elegance and finesse this cuvée always shows. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following 15-20. Don’t miss it! Drink 2023‑2044. Rated 98+. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com November, 2021

Produce of 55% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 10% Carignan, 5% Cinsault and 5% Mourvèdre grown on 20 acres adjacent to the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards of Domaine de La Janasse. This superb Côtes-du-Rhône has been a go-to bottle for us for some years now: deep, deep ruby red, with hints of garrigue and stone almost wholly subsumed by sun-drenched, ripe grapey aromas; rich, round and powerful with ripe kirsch-like Grenache flavors and chalky stony tannins building on the palate and giving shape and structure on to the warm and invigorating finish.

From the folks at Domaine Chante Cigale, who bring us right good value in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cicada Blanc is an inspired mingling of Viognier, Picpoul and Sauvignon Blanc from vineyards in the south of France and fresh as can be. The Viognier gives both aroma and body, the Picpoul citrus and nerve, the Sauvignon Blanc a delicious ripe melon-like aroma and flavor; together they yield a wine with an alluring freshness, a quaffability that is ever so refreshing and all at a price that is oh so easy to swallow. The Cicada with the guitar is cute, too.

Equally delicious in red as well. From the fruit of 80% Grenache and 20% Carignane vines averaging 30 years in age and planted to clay and limestone soils in the southern Rhône Valley of France. Vivid medium ruby in color with aromas that conjure baies mélangées with only just a whisper of garrigue; crisp and vibrant with gentle fresh acidity pushing those bouncy berry flavors forward on the palate and leaving everything all the more refreshed for it. Put a little chill on this one and take the edge off the end of the day.

Produce of 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah planted to the slopes of the small valley of Trignon, with cool and breezy nights favorable to a slow even ripening of the fruit. The poor limestone gravel subsoil here also has the advantage of good drainage. Through a glass darkly, almost translucent medium deep ruby in color in our straight-sided tasting glass, full ripe fleshy fruit aromas suggesting myriad red and black berry fruits, black cherry, plum, lavender, pulverized limestone and even more with time in the glass; while this is no beast of a wine (it is smooth and slippery on entry) it surely is not a wine for the faint of heart, weighing in at 15% alcohol by volume, potent and full with ripe flavors on a backdrop of solid rock, with jittery fine-grained tannins underpinning and supporting their presence long and warm on the finish. We would recommend this with the air-conditioning turned down low, with slow-cooked meats, bean soups, soft ripened cheeses and the like.

Produce of 75% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre grapes hand-harvested from vines averaging 60 years in age from vineyards near Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône Valley. Each cluster is carefully sorted and the grapes are entirely destemmed then chilled to 12°C to undergo cold soaking, extracting as much fruit flavour and colour as possible. They are then put into stainless steel vats and undergo pigéage and a slow, temperature-controlled fermentation for some 15 to 20 days, yielding more robust, round, persistent tannins and body. The wine is then aged in concrete vats for 12 to 15 months before bottling. Lovely translucent cherry skin red with aromas of pulverized stone, wild strawberry, cherry, rosemary, lavender and more; supple on entry, then expansive on the palate to a generous mouth-filling medium-full in body with fine dusty jittery ripe tannins keeping everything fresh and flavorful on the long finish.