2016 Paul Jaboulet Aine Cotes-du-Rhone Villages Plan de Dieu De Pere en Filles 750 ml

For any lovers of red wine who adore the stellar value presented in the Côtes-du-Rhône, you can’t do any better than this. The stellar 2016 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu De Père et Fils is an amazing value red—and at $22, a super-affordable way to taste the work of a landmark 100-point producer.

Sourced from Plan de Dieu, a commune that has recognized as Côtes-du-Rhône Villages for its outstanding quality, this offers serious red wine quality and complexity at the kind of price that makes value-seekers love the Côtes-du-Rhône. Showing a ruby-purple color and a robust nose full of strawberry, wild raspberry, fig, and Herbes de Provence, the 2016 Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu drinks lighter than a Châteauneuf, but has the structure, stony minerals, garrigue flavor, and firm tannins to thrill any red wine drinker who wants richness, elegance, and affordability. 

The name Paul Jaboulet Aîné is best known worldwide for its Hermitage La Chapelle, a Northern Rhône bottling that has earned 100 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate on three occasions. But Jaboulet has found success south of Montelimar as well, applying their hundreds of years of experience to wines from the Southern Rhône.

It’s important to know what makes Côtes-du-Rhône Villages special. Unlike the broader Côtes-du-Rhône AOP, Côtes-du-Rhône Villages wines are sourced from communes that have been recognized for their exceptional quality. These are standout growing areas with long history and great potential: The world-renowned village of Gigondas was one of the original Côtes-du-Rhône Villages communes, and now it’s considered one of the top appellations in the South of France.

Plan de Dieu—the “Plain of God”—has a record of viticulture that dates back to the 14th century. It’s located between Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas, and sits on a vast alluvial terrace, overlaid by gravel. Below those layers sit clay and sandstone, which ensure the vines get the moisture they need as they ripen under the hot Southern Rhône sun.

Jaboulet’s 2016 Plan de Dieu is a spectacular wine that captures the Southern Rhône ripeness that makes Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas such legendary appellations, all in an under-$25 bottling.