Surprisingly, the 2012s were still in barrel at the time of this tasting. A wine I wasn’t able to taste last year, the 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape (65% Grenache, 17.5% Syrah and 17.5% Mourvedre) is a mid-weight, juicy and straightforward effort that offers up attractive sweet cherries, earth and leather. There’s a traditional, workhorse style here, and it should be consumed over the coming 5-7 years.