B-21 Top Recommendation
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Our exceptional Rhone Week offers continue with the elegant and classically styled 97 pt. 2020 Domaine Durieu Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Lucile Avril, a sumptuous CDP sourced from 100+ year old Grenache vines delivering lush aromas of fresh, tantalizing fruit and “beautiful Provençal character” according to Jeb Dunnuck that’s built for years of aging, at specially negotiated pricing that I know our B-21 lovers and collectors of bold Southern Rhones reds will want to scoop up to enjoy often.
Described by critic Robert Parker Jr. as “one of the up-and-coming superstar estates of Chateauneuf du Pape” over a decade ago, Domaine Durieu was founded by Paul Durieu with a few hectares of vineyards gifted to him by his mother Lucile Avril for his wedding, building the estate holdings to over 37 hectares and producing the first Lucile Avril Cuvee in her honor in 1999. Now crafted by third generation winemaker Vincent Durieu, Domaine Durieu’s 2020 Lucile Avril Cuvee is a blend of mostly Grenache, the oldest vines dating from 1914, with 10% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah, planted in the Farguerol lieu-dit’s blue clay and limestone soils mixed with the smooth galet stones on a plateau just north of the town of Chateauneuf du Pape. Vinifying the grapes separately with indigenous yeasts, winemaker Vincent Durieu aged the 2020 Lucile Avril in concrete tanks for 18 months, balancing its lush, herb and spice scented fruit with fine acidity and building a framework of firm, well-integrated tannins that guarantee years of evolution.
From a 2020 vintage yielding wines with “energy and verve,” according to Decanter’s Matt Walls, the elegant 97 pt. 2020 Domaine Durieu Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Lucile Avril offers appealing energetic fruit ready to enjoy now with a rich, robust structure for aging, an impeccably balanced Chateauneuf du Pape driven by old vine Grenache at an unbeatable value. Believe me - this is stunning. | 
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