In addition to their Chateauneuf du Papes, Baptiste releases a bevy of superb Cotes du Rhones. A fleshy, fruit-loaded effort that delivers on all account, Cristia’s 2012 Cotes du Rhone offers up plenty of underbrush, sweet raspberry, mint, currant and licorice aromas and flavors to go with a soft, supple mouth feel that’s hard to resist. I don’t think it will make old bones, but it’s a superb Cotes du Rhone that will dish out plenty of pleasure over the coming 2-3 years. Drink now-2016. Baptiste Grangeon continues to produce a terrific lineup of wines, both in Chateauneuf du Pape and with his Cotes du Rhone negociant labels. While they can release three Chateauneufs in top vintages (a tradition cuvee, a Cuvee Renaissance which incorporates a heft chunk of Mourvedre and sees barrel aging, and a Grenache-dominated Vieilles Vignes that’s aged in older wood and tank), they only produced a single cuvee in 2011 and did not produce a cuvee Renaissance in 2012. Importers: Wine Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (800) 331-2829; Galaxy Wine Co., Portland, OR; tel. (503) 248-9493; George Molitor, Fine Vines, LLC, Melrose Park, IL; tel. (708) 343-6702; David Bowler Wine (212) 807-1680; ABC Fine Wines and Spirits, Orlando, FL; tel. (407) 851-0000