2016 Domaine Tour Saint Michel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC Rouge “Cuvée du Lion” Rhône Valley, France.
The Domaine Tour Saint Michel, which was completely unknown to me prior to tasting this 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge “Cuvée du Lion” impressed me me and I really enjoyed the mature velvety ripe mouth feel and lovely chocolatey layers of fruit on the full bodied palate, along with this wine’s poise, structure and additional complexity of spicy, earthy and umami elements. Made from blend of mainly Grenache, about 75%, Syrah, 20%, and about 5% Mourvèdre this Châteauneuf delivers ripe brambly boysenberry, sweet plum, fig and candied cherry fruit as well as intense licorice, minty notes, grilled herbs de Provençe, mocha, truffle, leather and delicate florals. This wine saw all hand harvesting, a careful double sorting, both in the cellar and originally in the vineyard. The grapes are 100% de-stemmed and the must went though a long maceration and gentle extraction process to avoid aggressive tannins. Aging was done mostly in concrete vats, for transparency, with only about 20% done in well used French oak cask to add some wood elements without interfering with the direct and pure nature of the wine. The Domaine grown vines, set on the southern are tended with sustainable methods and the picking is done at prime ripeness to ensure smooth and luxurious flavors and textures.

The Domaine Tour Saint Michel has a relatively short history as a producer in Châteauneuf-du-Pape being only a family estate for three generations, stating with Michel Fabre, the founder of the estate in 1930, just one year after the region became France’s first Appellation Control (AOC), who passed on his passion to his son, Henri. Henri, with his wife Eliane, built up the property, extending the estate holdings and today, Domaine Tour Saint Michel has 40 hectares, mostly within the appellation Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Now Mireille, Henri’s daughter, is running of the estate and has done so very successfully since 2007. She says she was inspired by the family tradition but also is noted for bringing a more modern approach to bring up the levels of quality here and promote terroir driven character in the wines. Her daughter, Magali, the next generation here, joined her in 2018 and is now getting her feet wet and looks to help lift this small, under the radar property get to the next level, and this 2016 shows there’s real potential to do just that. Magali has been key to adding a second label La Petite Tour, with some value options, to this estate, with a new range of wines from purchased fruit, with a Cairanne and a Ventoux, along with a Châteauneuf, being new highlights of the collection. The latest vintages of the top wines from Tour Saint Michel has been getting very accomplished ratings and reviews from the American wine press, which I’m sure has brought more attention here and from what I found in this 2016, I’m sure it is very much deserved.
($60 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

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