Trévallon Rouge IGP Alpilles, Saint-Etienne du Grès, 2018

The 2018 was a generous, ripe vintage in Provence, and the Trévallon Rouge that emerged is among the most immediately rewarding of recent years from this estate. The aromatics are bold and inviting: deep red and black fruit, lavender, rosemary, and that hallmark note of white pepper that characterizes the estate's Syrah. The palate is powerful but polished, the tannins of the 2018 showing the fine-grained quality that comes from low yields and patient viticulture on limestone soils. There is a succulence here, a warmth in the finish, that makes this a wine of considerable sensory pleasure even now, without sacrificing the complexity that will continue to emerge with time.