Château de la Gardine Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée des Générations Gaston Philippe 2017

Equal parts old vine Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah from the estate's oldest vines and better plots

A homage to the estate's founding fathers, Gaston and Philippe Brunel, the benchmark wine from the Château. Aged 14-18 months in new oak barrels to make a wine that stands the test of time. An auspicious birthday or wedding gift - who can resist the gift of generations!

95 points Jeb Dunnuck

Tasting notes: Inky ripe, rich plums, cassis, blackberries, floral incense, rounding off with silky vanilla, leather and tobacco. Full-bodied sophistication. Drink now for the pure generosity of fruit. It can easily wait patiently for 20-30 years for the most memorable family dinners and occasions.

Drink with: Excellent on its own or with grilled meats, lamb, venison, and game birds like guinea fowl and pheasant if you have access to such. Also great with aged cheeses like aged Gouda or Comté -- the ripe pure power in this wine more than holds its own against the aged cheeses' salinity and depth of flavour. Serve at 18C. Decant an hour before service. 

Winemaking notes: Vines are 60-90+ years old, at 40-100 metres altitude and planted on three types of soils, Alpine 'galets roulés', Urgonian limestone and Miocène sandy-clay. Grapes are blended before vinification, which is the traditional way of making wine in the region. This method creates greater synergy and balance in the final wine, as compared to separate fermentation of each grape before blending three raw wines. Château de la Gardine is one of the last few wineries to vinify using this method.