Mason Idiart, Les Terrasses Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2024

MASON IDIART LES TERRASSES CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2024 is here, and it is exactly the kind of bottle that reminds you why this appellation has been making people go a bit weak-kneed for centuries. Old-vine Grenache from stony terraced sites, a producer who treats the Southern Rhône with genuine reverence, and a 2024 vintage that delivered freshness and depth in equal measure. This is Châteauneuf-du-Pape with its sleeves rolled up. ​ Mason Idiart works with some of the appellation's most characterful terrain — those famous galets roulés, the great rounded river stones that absorb the Provençal sun all afternoon and radiate warmth back into the vines through the night. It is a landscape that demands patience and rewards it spectacularly. ​ The 2024 vintage brought a lift and precision to the Southern Rhône that has the region buzzing, and Idiart has channelled every last bit of it beautifully into Les Terrasses. ​ Ripe morello cherry, crushed garrigue, sun-warmed leather, roasted thyme, and sweet tobacco fill the glass, with black olive and a thread of iron running through the long, savoury finish. Silky tannins, gorgeous weight, tremendous length.