2016 Chateau du Mourre du Tendre Chateauneuf-du-Pape Tres Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Prestige 750 ml

The first stirring, garrigue-seasoned sip of the 2016 Château Mourre du Tendre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Très Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Prestige left us breathless—then baffled. How, in the four years since the historic 2016 vintage, had we missed this magnificent bottle?

Turns out there's a simple explanation. For the past three years, while red wine lovers have been sipping and cellaring their spectacular 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Papes, Mourre du Tendre’s Cuvée Prestige has been undergoing a painstaking aging regimen, developing patiently in concrete, oak foudres, and bottle. The result—which we discovered while sitting atop one of the Southern Rhône’s greatest wine cellars—is an ancient-vine Châteauneuf that left us glad we passed on the icons for something new. 

To say the Mourre du Tendre was worth the wait doesn’t approach justice—this might be our top find of the fantastic 2016 vintage, which is why we grabbed the U.S. exclusive as soon as was humanly possible. Today we’ve got this Jeb Dunnuck 94-96-point “classic, old-school beauty” at 30% off: just $42 per bottle. For such cellar patience—rare in Châteauneuf-du-Pape—applied to grapes from 70-100-year-old vines, we can’t think of a better value.

Most producers have moved well past the ‘16 vintage, and reveling in the Mourre du Tendre reminded us, in waves of rich red fruit and a glorious hit of black pepper, exactly why Dunnuck advised collectors to “buy with abandon.” The penetrating ruby-hued wine has robust Rhône garrigue and lavender spice on the nose, and a full-bodied mouthfeel with plenty of blackberry fruit seasoned with game and spice. Lighter seasonings of savory herbs and worked leather lead to an opulent, long, and spicy finish. 

We first tasted this wine at l’Oustalet in the village of Gigondas—the restaurant's list is a bottomless Rhône treasure trove, and gazing at it on our last trip, we knew choosing a wine would take forever.

“Là-bas...” our friend Grant said to the server, simultaneously sliding the list out of our hands and discreetly pointing out a bottle on a nearby table. A flurry of French followed, and we sunk a bit in our chairs, thinking of the bottles of ancient Beaucastel and Gigondas we’d be missing. But we trusted in Grant, an industry vet who’s lived in France for a decade. While we waited, he schooled us on Mourre du Tendre—and why the ‘16 he’d ordered wouldn’t have been on l’Oustalet’s doorstop of a wine list. 

Château Mourre du Tendre (“Hill of Love”) is located on the slope that leads up the hill of the same name, where the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux sit looming in the east. Jacques Paumel took over the family domaine in 1962, and he and his wife Josephine started bottling their own wine in 1988. The operation is now headed by their daughter Florence and her son Paul, who has been groomed since age 14 to lead the now-seven-generation domaine.  

Mourre du Tendre is of modest size, just 75 acres, and only five of those are in Châteauneuf—in the sandy lieux-dits of La Guigasse and Saintes-Vierges, as well as the blessed plot of La Crau, made world-famous by Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. The family works their land using traditional methods, doing everything by hand and eschewing pesticides, then harvesting in several passes.  

Très Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Prestige is Mourre du Tendre’s top bottling, consisting of 90% Grenache and the rest Mourvèdre, all grown on ancient vines up to 100 years-old. But perhaps the most consequential age comes after vinification. Cuvée Prestige spends thirty months in concrete and oak, followed by another six in bottle. That’s why, despite the fact that most domaines are into their ‘18s, this 2016 bottle wouldn’t have been on l'Oustalet’s list at the start of this year. Eagle-eyed Grant had to spot it on another table to know they had it.

We’re glad he did, and even happier that we passed on the classics of the region to discover this stellar bottle. You’ll be glad too, when you take advantage of our and our incredible price to stock your cellar with one of our top Châteauneuf finds of one of the top vintages ever.