"The 2022 Châteauneuf du Pape from Alexandre Favier at Chante Cigale is made from a cépages of sixty-five percent grenache, twenty percent syrah, ten percent mourvèdre and five percent cinsault. Two-thirds of the cuvée are raised in tanks (both cement and stainless steel) and one-third in older casks. The 2022 comes in at fifteen percent alcohol and delivers a deep and complex bouquet of dark berries, fruitcake, pepper, hung game, bonfire, garrigue and a fine base of soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, ripe and full-bodied, with excellent depth of fruit at the core, a good foundation of soil, firm, chewy tannins, tangy acids and fine length and grip on the generally well-balanced, but gently warm finish. This is a classic drought vintage wine, where the desiccated berries concentrated sugars, acids and tannins, so the wine is quite vibrant for its 71 octane level. It will need plenty of cellaring to soften up its tannins, but will be a very good bottle in due course."