If anyone tells you that Châteauneuf is just a big red that’s never elegant, then they need to taste this masterpiece of elegance. So many spicy and savory nuances on the very concentrated but almost perfectly proportioned palate. This is both joyful and serious at the very long, focused finish. Decades of aging potential! Drink or hold.

The 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau is a hugely successful vintage, marked by scents of sun-warmed stones, garrigue, black cherries and black olives. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it finishes with tremendous length and softly dusty tannins, which should help ensure a long, positive evolution.

The 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau is a solid effort from the Brunier family. The 2021 La Crau unfurls in the glass with a fragrant perfume of crushed violets, lavender, strawberry, raspberry, dried herbs, mint and a dash of white pepper. It is full- bodied and layered, showing a refined profile marked by soft tannins and lively acids. Not as powerful as either the 2020 or 2019, but the 2021 is certainly the most elegant rendition among them.

The Grand Vin from this great estate, the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape reveals a semi-opaque ruby hue to go with a classic style in its ripe red and black berry fruits, peppery garrigue, leather, earth, black olive, and baking spice-driven aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, and balanced, with fine tannins, it's a beautiful wine in the vintage that should have 15 years of longevity.