The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is the usual blend of all the permitted varieties. It shows the richer, layered, opulent style of the vintage beautifully, with loads of pear, acacia flower, citrus oil, and spice notes all defining the aromatics, and it's full-bodied, with a layered, opulent texture and a great finish. Readers wanting to taste the best of 2021 in the Southern Rhône should seek out these latest releases from Paul-Vincent. Of course, the quality here shouldn’t surprise anyone, and Paul-Vincent has a rare ability to make truly great, age-worthy wines even in challenging vintages. Having just recently enjoyed a brilliant bottle of the 1980, I can attest to how well even so-called Petit Millésime can age. Looking at the 2021s specifically, it doesn’t bring the power and concentration of the 2022, but it’s no shrinking violet either and has beautiful concentration as well as depth. The 2022 is a bigger, richer wine, yet as with all the wines I’ve tasted from this incredible address, it holds onto a remarkable sense of elegance, with flawless balance.

Produced from roughly equal proportions of six varieties, co-fermented in stages, as each one is deemed ripe and picked, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is atypically plush and ripe (it's close to 15% alcohol), marked by pineapple, white peach and tangerine notes. It's full-bodied and round, deceptively easy to drink yet concentrated and long on the finish. I suspect it may age longer than my projected range, but there's no compelling reason to wait on this vintage.

The 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is made with the usual blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Picpoul and Picardan. It is distinctively fragrant, combining expressive aromas of honeysuckle, acacia, grapefruit, lemon peel, white peach, apricot and hints of pineapple. Full-bodied and opulent, it is well-balanced by supple acidity, oily-textured and leaves a deliciously salty aftertaste.