2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Spéciale

The biggest surprise for Bastien Tardieu in 2015 “is how well-integrated and round, even soft the tannins are, and have been since early on.” The wines definitely have the concentration to ensure a long life, he added, “but because of the harmony of their fruit and tannin they’ll drink well when they’re young, too.” The Tardieus have been pushing their wines’ aging regimen out further in recent years (generally in the two years range) and now raise them almost exclusively in large foudres to lessen oxygen’s impact on the maturing wines as much as possible. Whole cluster fermentation is used as far as ripe stems will allow, which meant plenty of them in 2015 as the long, warm growing season ensured good lignification of the grapes’ stems and the young wines show it, with their highly aromatic, spicy character, especially in the case of the Cuvée Speciale, which was made with 100% whole clusters in ’15.