2016 Domaine de Cristia Chateauneuf du Pape Renaissance 750 ml

“Easily The Finest Vintage of This Cuvée”

Who are the “up and coming stars of Chateauneuf du Pape” according to Robert Parker? The Grangeon family, producers of this 2016 Domaine De Cristia CdP Renaissance, a dark-fruited, unctuous gem that has lovers and critics of Châteauneuf raving. In a review from this past August, it’s magnificence landed on 95+ points from Jeb Dunnuck, who called it, “easily the finest vintage of this cuvée I’ve tasted,” gushing over its “more restrained, elegant version,” with “Terrific notes of black and blue fruits, violets, peppered meats, and licorice.” Released at $90, we have it for $60.99 per bottle—32% off.

Critics are crowning Baptiste Grangeon as a new champion in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. So, what exactly led Robert Parker to declare, “the Grangeons have been on fire qualitatively for the last five to six years,” and Dunnuck to boast: “Winemaker Baptiste Grangeon has been on a roll over the past decade with these wines from his family estate. These are ripe, powerful wines that never lose their Southern Rhône soul, and if anything, these latest 2016s and 2017s are more reserved and elegant than past vintages.”? Two critical factors:

First, Baptiste and his sister Dominique Florent are third-generation winemakers who inherited the craft and vineyards from their grandfather Etienne. In 1999, Baptiste and Dominique joined their father and took a leading role—they began releasing wine under their own domaine name and introducing biodynamic winemaking methods, becoming certified as organic in 2008. These leaps and bounds in quality excited the venerable Parker.

Second, fast-forward to the 2016 vintage when Baptiste began making a few stylistic changes, like employing more whole cluster fermentation and reducing the amount of oak contact, all aimed at endowing the wines with greater complexity. He appears to have succeeded brilliantly if you consider again Dunnuck’s calling the 2016 Renaissance, “the finest vintage of this cuvée I’ve tasted.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that 2016 was an absolutely sensational year in the Southern Rhône all across the board. Throughout the region, warm, sunny days, and chilly nights made for unusually large diurnal temperature swings. This prolonged the growing season, yielding gorgeous fruit that was both evenly ripened and balanced, with sugars and acids combining in sublime, mouthwatering effect. Wine Spectator awarded the vintage an early rating of 96-99 points, which could surpass even the highly touted 2015s.

The bold ripeness and vibrant freshness that characterize the 2016 vintage is on full display in the stunning Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Renaissance, along with layers of cured meat, baked earth, and smoke complexity. “Sensational stuff,” declared Dunnuck. We couldn’t agree more.