Top Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 wines for the cellar

Wines from the the Southern Rhône 2016 should have the ability to live long in the cellar, so here are the top wines rated by Matt Walls.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 red wines have a ‘remarkable density of ripe tannins’ and are, unsurprisingly, among the standard bearers for one of the best Southern Rhône vintages in recent memory.

Of course, the 2015 wines were no slouches either, but that was a vintage which performed slightly better overall in the northern reaches of the Rhône. In 2016, the situation appears largely reversed, with the south enjoying that extra lift.

Performances were more mixed for Châteauneuf white wines in general in 2016, but several still made the top scorer list.

All of the wines below scored above 95 points in Matt Walls’ Southern Rhône vintage report, published on Decanter.com for Premium members earlier this month.

Having dodged severe frosts that hit many parts of France in spring 2016, there was generally gradual progress in the Rhône with relatively cool and dry conditions. A hot sunny August and a heatwave then arrived, before things cooled down again after mid-September.