The 2016 Vacqueyras les Cypres spent a year in oak, leaving it with some leather and spice notes, hints of asphalt, black olives and cherry fruit. Medium to full-bodied, it's a bit more structured than most from this vintage, yet ripe, offering decent weight, supple tannins, and a nice balance between richness and freshness.

I like the 2015 Vacqueyras les Cypres even a touch more and this sexy, round, sweetly fruited beauty offers lots of garrigue, black raspberries and floral notes in its medium to full-bodied personality. It’s more broad and expansive than previous releases, yet it has some firm tannin lurking under the fruit as well. Give bottles a year or so and enjoy through 2025.

Quite good, yet with a firm, compressed feel, the 2014 Vacqueyras les Cypres offers terrific purity as well as notes of red and black fruits, leather and peppery herbs. It has good concentration, yet a tight, narrow finish, which might open up with short term cellaring.