My favorite vintage of this cuvee to date and one massive structured Châteauneuf-du-Pape the 2010 Mas de Boislauzon Le Tintot is a blend of 85% Mourvedre and 15% Grenache that was aged half in 2-year-old French oak barrels and half in tank. It delivers deep brooding aromas of roasted meat asphalt licorice and layers of blackberry and raspberry style fruit that carry into a full-bodied tannic wine that has brilliant concentration a core of sweet fruit and masses of tannin that clamp down on the finish. This is not for those seeking instant gratification and needs to be forgotten for 5-7 years. It will evolve for 15-20 years or more. 96+

The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Tintot (100% Mourvedre) comes close to equaling Manfred Krankl and Philippe Cambie's debut release of Chimere which is also virtually all Mourvedre. If you can not find Chimere on retailers' shelves check out the 2010 Le Tintot as there are about 2000 bottles produced. An amazing expression of fully ripe Mourvedre it offers up notes of steak tartare porcini mushrooms blueberries blackberries charcoal and camphor. Incredibly dense and full-bodied with no hard edges (noteworthy for a 100% Mourvedre cuvee) this stunning wine needs 5-6 years of cellaring and should keep for 40+ years.

This is dark and brooding red is thoroughly exciting for its well of baker's chocolate and Turkish coffee flavors steeped fig andblack currant fruit and intensely loamy smoldering feel on the finish. Shows loads of muscle but the definition is there. Among the more backward wines of the vintage this could age at a more glacial pace. Best from 2015 through 2035. -J.M.