DESCRIPTION: As for the reds from the barrel, I found a touch of volatile acidity in all of the barrel samples, as well as a touch less exuberance and concentration than in past vintage. My favorite of the barrel samples was the 2015 Châteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, which is 100% Grenache that was completely destemmed and aged in a mix of demi-muids, new barrels and older barrels. It offers awesome notes of plums, blackberries, blueberries, garrigue and roasted meats in a sexy, even flamboyant, full-bodied style that will be hard to resist in its youth. Again, there’s a touch of volatile acidity here, but it handles it well.---WA

POINTS:(93-95)-RP