2024 Les Allies Chateauneuf du Pape 750 ml

The name on the label—Les Alliés, the allies—refers to the coalition of growers across the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation whose fruit the négociant house behind the label assembles into a single expression of the region. It's a model that trades the constraints of a single estate for the flexibility to follow quality wherever it shows up across the appellation's varied terrain—and in the Southern Rhône, that terrain varies considerably.

Done right, it delivers an expression of the whole appellation rather than a single plot within it. The fruit comes from different sites—iron-rich plateaus, sandy southern stretches, patches of the limestone-flecked north—each contributing something to the final blend. Grenache leads, as it almost always does in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, fleshed out with Mourvèdre and Syrah.

We brought a few samples to a blind tasting outside Chappaqua—a cookout on a friend's back deck where the bottles had already been arriving under burlap bags by the time we showed up. The crowd had serious credentials: cookouts past had featured Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux and mailing-list-only California Cabernet. The format was simple. Each bottle was ranked by how fast it was emptied.

We slipped Les Allies into the numbered bags alongside the heavy hitters. The first bottle revealed: a 2016 Napa Cab that bore a $225 release price. Then a Paso Syrah with a mile-long waiting list. The next few were in the same vein—and then, at number seven, a Châteauneuf-du-Pape that was a brand-new name to everyone at the table—Les Allies. We immediately emailed our broker for as much as we could secure.

In the glass: a brooding, expressive nose of blackberry, currant, and dark cherry, with dried lavender and garrigue threading through and cracked pepper on top. The palate is focused and mineral-driven, with spice, black tea, and dried herbs trailing through a long, balanced finish.

Pair it with anything from the grill—steak au poivre is the obvious call, but roasted lamb, duck confit, or a rack of merguez off a summer fire will do the job just as well.