Domaine de Marcoux, Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, 2016

Ask about a classic Chateauneuf vintage and 2016 comes up fast. Domaine de Marcoux, run by the Armenier sisters, was an early adopter of biodynamic practices in the southern Rhone (certified organic since 1991; biodynamic in practice, not Demeter-certified) and remains one of the appellation's benchmark estates, farming organically since 1991. Their Vieilles Vignes is old-vine Grenache at its purest, and in this balanced, near-ideal vintage it leans into elegance: silk, delicacy, and perfectly ripe sweet-fresh fruit rather than sheer muscle. It's excellent now with a decant, and alongside the 2010 it's the release to lay down. This is the graceful face of a wine that can also flex.