On Sale: $79.94 (was: $89.94)*
Paul Autard’s double 95pt ‘Cuvee Juline’ may be “up with the top wines in the vintage” (Dunnuck), but with only 200 cases produced, it's a rare find indeed. Autard has earned wide critical acclaim for making a polished and modern style Chateauneuf that nevertheless maintains terrific elegance and delineation. Most importantly, they “always seem to hold onto their Provençal identity” according to Robert Parker. Autard’s refined winemaking and top notch vineyards have made this little family domaine a sure thing for years now, despite being so hard to find, but we've managed to secure a limited parcel for a great sale price.
Jean-Paul Autard named this flagship cuvee for his two children, Jules and Pauline, and it is a perfect representative of everything we love about this small producer. Barrel fermented and aged in 100% new oak, it is made from a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah with an average vine age of over 50 years. It showcases extraordinary purity of fruit, and is remarkably well balanced for such a full throttle example of Chateauneuf du Pape. The domaine has been going strong for just shy of a century, and Jean-Paul has really taken things to a new level over the past decade. Beautiful today, this layered and complex 2018 will continue to develop for another decade plus. Cheers!
95 points, Jeb Dunnuck: "...this is nicely done and leads with beautiful black raspberry and cassis fruit as well as notes of toasted bread, vanilla bean, dried flowers, and a kiss of candied orange. With terrific purity, full-bodied richness, and silky tannins, it’s already drinking brilliantly yet should evolve for 10-15 years. I love its balance and purity, and it’s up with the top wines in the vintage."
95 points, Wine Spectator: "A dark, winey style, with lots of fig, plum and blackberry paste flavors layered together, with sweet tobacco, licorice snap and warm earth accents filling in. Packed but defined, with a graphite spine through the finish and well-embedded acidity stretching it all out."
*Offer publication date January 25, 2022. Pricing and availability subject to change.