Stéphane Usseglio Fragments Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2020

A big black southern Rhone red with a lot of elderberry, smoke and burnt earth character, but miraculously it also has a liveliness and a delicate sweetness that are precisely balanced. So much depth at the finish, the fine tannins already beautifully integrated. A cuvee of 80% grenache, plus syrah, mourvedre and counoise. From organically grown grapes. No destemming. Matured in concrete tanks and amphora. Drink or hold. Score – 95. (Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com, May 22, 2023)