Dom. la Roquette Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1998

A warm, silky, rich and spicy red wine with round, complex, lush fruit flavors, full body, and an intense finish. Ideal with hearty stews and game.

Grapes are hand-picked, with stringent double sorting at the vine. They are selectively de-stemmed and fermented for 15-20 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, followed by gentle pneumatic pressing and malolactic fermentation. Each variety is fermented separately, and the vintage "assemblage" is created before aging. Wines mature in tanks for the first nine months and are then put in foudres for 8-10 months depending on the vintage. They are bottled unfiltered at 19 months.