Château d'Esclans : Garrus 2014

Here we get the full contingency of the 80+ year old Grenache vines, with a touch still of Rolle. For both Garrus and Les Clans, cooling tubes are placed directly into the barrels, ensuring everything slows down, taking up to four months and increasing complexity along the way. On the palate is slate, stone, a beautiful finesse and the barest hint of creamy lemon and burnished red fruits that have been deepened by a year of barrel fermentation and ageing. A beautiful salinity on the finish really takes this wine into totally moreish territory. Is the score too high for a rosé? Not if you are measuring it on the sheer pleasure that it gives.

Always aged for a year before it is released, this iconic wine is impressive. It is superrich without losing freshness. Light wood toast, red fruits and balanced acidity meld together in a ripe, spicy whole. The wine could even age for another few months, so drink it this summer or keep until the end of 2016.