Domaine des Senechaux Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge / 2023 / 750mL

The Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2025 is a warm, deep-set red from the southern Rhône Valley, built on Grenache-led spice and dark stone fruit. It carries plenty of flesh without losing the savoury edge that makes Châteauneuf-du-Pape worth cellaring.

Aromatically it leans dark — black cherry, crushed raspberry and plum skin, with garrigue herbs, dried thyme, black pepper and a touch of cured meat sitting behind the fruit. There is a faint liquorice and wood-smoke character that becomes more obvious after half an hour in the glass.

The palate is generous and broad through the middle, with sweet-fruited weight carried on fine, slightly dusty tannins. Acidity keeps the shape tidy rather than sprawling, and the finish turns savoury and stony, with pepper and dried herb lingering well after the fruit has faded. Full-bodied, but not heavy-handed.

Pour it with slow-roasted lamb shoulder and rosemary, a beef and olive daube, duck confit with lentils, or a mushroom and thyme risotto. It also handles a rare steak and a plate of hard sheep's cheeses comfortably.

Drink from 2027 through to roughly 2038. The Sénéchaux will give pleasure young if you decant it for an hour, though the tannin and depth here suggest it will be more interesting from year five onwards.