2016 Domaine de Cristia Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes 750 ml

Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s 99-point Rising Star

When we visited Domaine de Cristia last March, our expectations were high. The critics were already crowning Baptiste Grangeon as a new champion in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and after our tasting, it was easy to understand exactly why—their pinnacle wine, the 2016 Domaine de Cristia “Vieilles Vignes” from 95-year-old vines is otherworldly. Parker’s longtime Rhône critic Jeb Dunnuck agreed, scoring it an outstanding 96-99 points: “Full-bodied, fat, unctuous and hedonistic, it stays balanced lively and fresh on the palate, with no weight. Sign me up.”

Baptiste and his sister Dominique Florent are third-generation winemakers, inheriting the craft and vineyards from their grandfather Etienne. The family started out in 1942 with just five acres of Grenache, the wine sold to négociants. Etienne’s son Alain slowly began expanding the holdings and gradually bottling some of the production.

In 1999, Baptiste and Dominique joined their father and took a leading role. They began releasing wine under their own label and introducing biodynamic winemaking methods, becoming certified as organic in 2008. No chemical pesticides or herbicides are used and they rely only on organic fertilizer like sheep manure, leading to fantastic leaps and bounds in quality. Under the new generation’s stewardship, Robert Parker declared Dominique and Baptiste “the up-and-coming stars in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.”

The showstopper of their lineup is undoubtedly the Vieilles Vignes cuvée. This 100% Grenache release hails from the Cristia lieu-dit in the northeast corner of the appellation. Ancient vines, 80-100 years in age, enjoy a cool, fresh climate, leading to elegant, rounded tannins. Baptiste picks late, meaning his wines can be quite big and rich, yet they show tremendous finesse thanks to the sandy-clay soils. He is so enamored with the terroir that he’s sold off other plots they own in order to buy more vineyards near the Cristia lieu-dit.

Beginning in 2016, Baptiste began making a few stylistic changes, using more whole clusters and a small amount of oak, aiming to endow the wines with greater complexity. He appears to have succeeded brilliantly, collecting 95+ point scores from Parker, Dunnuck, Wine Spectator, and Vinous with this new release.

“Although it may age past a decade, there's no real reason to defer gratification,” says Parker.

Why wait?