Beautifully perfumed with touches of garrigue and licorice, Charvin's 2016 Cotes du Rhone le Poutet is 81% Grenache, with the balance a blend of Mourvèdre, Carignan and Syrah. Ripe and exotic, it shows notions of peach and stone fruit alongside hints of berries and cherries; a firm, concentrated backbone; and a lingering, silky-textured finish. All whole cluster and made all in concrete, it's a throwback in terms of style, but it leaves a lasting impression.

Almost on par with the excellent 2016, the 2015 Cotes du Rhone le Poutet shows a touch of drying tannin and some slightly roasted notes. Otherwise, it shares many of its younger sibling's positive attributes, like notes of garrigue and anise, cherry-berry fruit, ample weight and concentration on the palate and a long finish.

The 2013 C?tes du Rh?ne le Poutet should be a rock-solid effort. Giving up tons of exotic pepper, spice and crunchy dark fruits, it’s medium-bodied, clean and crisp, with the bright acidity of the vintage. It should drink nicely on release, yet evolve gracefully for a decade or more.

The 2012 C?tes du Rh?ne le Poutet is outstanding. Medium-bodied, solidly built, with good concentration and firm tannin, it has classic black fruits, spice and cracked-pepper aromatics. It needs short-term cellaring and should evolve gracefully for over a decade.

Starting the reds and always a worthy, interesting effort, the 2011 Cotes du Rhone Le Poutet offers up an excellent bouquet of spiced-berry fruit, roasted herbs, licorice and pepper to go with excellent ripeness, medium-body and sweet tannin. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years. Drink now-2018. Consistently producing lively, fresh and elegant efforts that never lack for structure or richness, Domain Charvin is run by the soft spoken and generous Laurent Charvin. The winemaking here is very traditional, with some stem inclusion and aging completely in tank. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler; tel. (610) 486-0700