Château de Rouanne Vinsobres 2018

Deeply perfumed and dazzling, this is a new project by Louis Barruol of Château de Saint Cosme in Gigondas. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre sourced from 50-plus-year-old vines planted in limestone and marl, it offers scintillating blackberry and black-cherry flavors etched by violet, anise and clay. Fermented in whole bunches and matured 16 months in concrete vats, this fruity sip should improve through 2028.

A blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre, the 2018 Vinsobres features an intriguing mix of herbal, floral and fruity notes on the nose, with scents ranging from bay leaf and lavender to violets and purple raspberries. It's medium to full-bodied, silky and fine on the palate, with a finishing touch of licorice. It's a great debut-showing complexity and elegance, not raw power-from the property's new owner, Louis Barruol of Château Saint-Cosme in Gigondas.

The 2018 Vinsobres comes from an estate owned by Louis Barruol (of Château Saint Cosme in Gigondas) and checks in as a blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre, all from a single parcel just outside the village of Vinsobres. Revealing a deep purple, translucent hue as well as lots of mulberry and black raspberry fruit interwoven with notes of ground pepper, violets, and game, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a rounded, supple, elegant texture, notable purity, and outstanding length. Seeming to have one foot in the Northern Rhône with its gamey, violet characteristics and one foot in the south with its richness and opulence on the palate, it's a terrific, noteworthy Vinsobres to enjoy over the coming 4-6 years.