The two vintages we offer today could hardly have been more different for Sophie Armenier and her son, Vincent Estevenin. The two Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds hail from 2021, a year when the notorious April frosts crept far south. Marcoux’s Grenache crop was around 50% down. It was also a longer and cooler growing season, allowing this domaine to craft a more refined and structured style than the previous series of warm and dry years. This producer craves purity, clarity, perfume and seduction in its wines. That’s what you get from 2021. Both wines are at the top of their game, even if you get the sense that some critics prefer the broader 2020s. Regardless, 2021 is an excellent vintage for Marcoux—as you can read below—and one that no doubt helped the domaine win a third star in La Revue du Vins de France Green Guide this year, putting them on the same page as Clos de Pape and Rayas. The Côtes du Rhone and Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc were grown in the considerably warmer 2022 vintage. Combining full ripeness and freshness is not easy in the southern Rhône, which is one reason Marcoux is held in such high regard. Earlier flavour ripeness and livelier acidities associated with biodynamics are factors, as are rigorous fruit selection and Marcoux’s collection of old vines. Then, there might also be a bit of genius in how Marcoux tempers these more powerful years with energy and finesse; the wines might become juicer but seldom heavier. The cream always rises to the top.