A serious Côtes du Rhône. Full forest berry fruit with delicate spice, bitter chocolate and licorice notes. Impressive depth and some real structure on the full-bodied palate. I love the way the generous, rather fine tannins carry the long, spicy and fresh finish. A cuvée based on 60% grenache, mostly from the Vaucluse region, with about 30% syrah from the Gard and small amounts of mourvèdre and other traditional grape varieties. Drink or hold.

“Reminding me of a classy Hermitage, the deep purple-hued 2020 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Des Grands Chemins offers up a brilliant perfume of redcurrants, blackberries, saddle leather, lavender, and bouquet garni. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, richly textured, balanced Crozes that has velvety tannins, some classic northern Rhône gamey, peppery nuances, and a great finish. It needs a decant if drinking any time soon, but the tannins are supple and ripe, and this beauty will have a broad drink window. I wouldn't be surprised to see it still going strong at age 20. Bravo.”

“The 2020 Saint Joseph François De Tournon is on another level, with gorgeous intensity in its red and black fruits, smoky, meaty, sweaty saddle leathery nuances, obvious minerality, and beautiful finish. This complex, nuanced Saint Joseph picks up more violet and granite-like minerality with time in the glass and shines on all accounts. It's the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted, and this should be snatched up by savvy readers. It would easily pass undetected in a lineup of top Hermitage. ”

“The 2020 Saint Joseph Sainte-Epine is another Hermitage look-alike, with a slightly Bessards-like character in its ripe blue fruits, liquid violets, burning embers, and leather-slanted aromas and flavors. It's more inward, reserved, and focused compared to the François de Tournon but is beautifully concentrated and balanced, with ripe, polished tannins. The purity of fruit here is seriously impressive. It offers plenty of pleasure today yet has another 10-15 years of prime drinking and, I suspect, a gradual decline thereafter. It's slightly more plush and soft compared to the 2015, yet I think at the same quality level.”

“The 2020 Cornas Chante Perdrix comes from a mix of parcels and was brought up in a mix of new and used oak. It's another stunning 2020 from this estate that has so much to love. Revealing a deep plum hue as well as classic Cornas notes of red and black fruits (black cherries, fresh figs), smoked meats, leather, bay leaf, and graphite, it's rich, medium to full-bodied, has ripe tannins, and terrific overall balance. As with just about all 2020s, it has ample up-front charm and character, yet this beauty is going to evolve gracefully over the coming 15-20 years. ”