Showing a very pure clean profile the 2010 La Bastide Saint-Dominique Châteauneuf-du-Pape displays an inky purple color as well as a excellent aromas of jammy blackberry and earthy black fruits loads of minerality and a spicy brambly-like underbrush quality on the nose. Medium to full-bodied and with a fleshy elegant texture vibrant acidity and a clean focused finish this will be approachable on release but should benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and drink well for 10-12 years.

The reasonably priced 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape is a slightly downsized version of the Secrets de Pignan. There is more Syrah in the blend and perhaps that is the reason for its spectrum of darker fruits than the Pignan. There is a lot to like here with copious floral notes intermixed with black currant and black cherry fruit as well as hints of sandy soils and balsam wood. Full rich and very natural tasting this beauty can be drunk now and over the next decade. -Robert Parker