“Jerome Bressy is making some of the greatest wines in the Southern Rhône. Unfortunately, there’s just not much to go around, but if readers want to taste the essence of these sun baked, south-facing slopes in Rasteau, don’t miss a chance to grab some of these.” - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

There are certain wines Agent Noir DREAMS about getting in front of our Operatives.

As The New York Times confirmed, “Gourt de Mautens has attracted a cult following, with critical acclaim and prices that match the big names of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.”

And the stuff has since been impossible to find, let alone at reasonable prices. Until today.

Double the 97 points and slash the price in half? WHAT?!

The best way to describe what to expect of this Rayas-esque beauty is to quote Jeb Dunnuck who calls Gourt de Mautens “the Chambolle-Musigny of the Rhône.” Elegant, finessed, and complex wines that blow your mind sniff by sniff, sip by sip. In fact, it’s so complex that astrophysics and quantum mechanics seem like a breeze next to it. Fresh, confectionery, and dried red and black fruits galore, the nose and the palate remind of the best of the best, with grace and depth rarely seen in wine.

Last word on this, courtesy of Jeb again, reminding us that “2016 is an extraordinary vintage for the Southern Rhône, and these wines should be snatched up” who also concludes that THIS is “one of the sexiest wines in the vintage…”

Does that not explain why you can’t find this out there easily, and if you do, it’s always north of $100 a bottle?

Though a lot more than you normally see of these in one place, there still is a very finite amount…

97 Points – Jeb Dunnuck

“The 2016 Vaucluse reminded me of the 2007 with its incredible opulence, sweetness of fruit, and flamboyant style. Awesome black raspberry and strawberry fruit characteristics all intermix with notes of incense, white and black pepper, fruit cake, plums, garrigue, and Asian spices on the nose. Full-bodied, deep, and concentrated on the palate, it doesn’t pull any punches and the sweet fruit scale (I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a kiss of residual sugar here), yet has beautiful purity, no hard edges, and a fabulous, clean, dry finish. It took plenty of air to show at its best and will benefit from just short-term cellaring. It’s one of the sexiest wines in the vintage and will keep for a decade. Drink 2019-2029.”

97 Points – Decanter

“No special cuvées this year, just a red and a white. Very small yields of just 10 hl/ha in 2016 - a year he compares to 1990 or 2007. This was a tasting of three different parcels that go into the final red blend. The vines from the slopes give a deeply fruited, juicy but fresh wine, full-bodied but not massive, with a distinctly resinous seam and fairly low acidity. The vines from the foot of the hill provide a vibrant and elegant raspberry scented wine with a powerful mineral undertow. The higher altitude old vines provide the deeply vinous bass notes. This is promising to be a compelling, powerful Gourt de Mautens for long ageing. Drink 2022-2030.”