"The 2022 Côtes-du-Rhône “Beatus Ille” from Isabel Ferrando is roughly a blend of eighty percent grenache and fifteen percent cinsault, primarily from the lieu à dit of La Lionne, that lies just outside of the appellation boundary of Châteauneuf du Pape. Isabel blends in five percent syrah to the cuvée, from her vines in Châteauneuf proper. The wine tips the scales at a very civilized 13.5 percent octane in this vintage and offers up a lovely aromatic constellation of red and black raspberries, fruitcake, pepper, roasted game, a fine base of stony soil tones, just a touch of cedar and a lovely topnote of garrigue. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a superb core of fruit, fine soil signature and grip, ripe tannins and great balance on the long, pure and classy finish. This is better than many of the samples of Châteauneuf du Pape I tasted for this report! The wine is properly structured (as a Châteauneuf would be out of the blocks) and will take some time to soften up, but it is going to be a superb wine once it is ready to drink. It is a stunning value! "