Domaine de la Mordorée Reine des Bois Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2018

Domaine de la Mordorée Reine des Bois Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2018 is a Grenache blend from the Rhône with black cherry, plum and cocoa depth and a roasted finish. The Reine des Bois cuvée carries the estate's woodcock theme into a dark, polished 2018. Expect ripe southern Rhône fruit, large-format French oak and a firm game-dinner build.

About the Wine
Domaine de la Mordorée Reine des Bois Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2018 comes from organically farmed vines in the southern Rhône. The blend brings together Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Vaccarèse. That last grape gives a neat local detail in a bottle that already speaks clearly of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The soils listed for this wine cover galets roulés, sandy ground and clay-limestone. In the glass, that mix reads as ripe black fruit, breadth and a dry mineral grip near the finish. The cellar ageing is 18-24 months in French oak demi-muids and foudres. These larger vessels frame the wine with cocoa, coffee and spice rather than a glossy new-oak sweetness. The 2018 Reine des Bois carries 15% alcohol and stays dry, with tannins that feel broad and satin-like. Its oak imprint shows most clearly as roasted coffee beside plum skin and black cherry.

Tasting Notes
Black cherry leads the Domaine de la Mordorée Reine des Bois Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2018, then raspberry, dark plum and a trace of black olive move in behind it. The palate is muscular and concentrated, with Grenache warmth, Mourvèdre depth and Syrah darkness folded into a dense southern Rhône frame. Cocoa powder, coffee and roasted meat notes gather on the finish, and the tannins feel silky in texture yet serious in weight. A faint herbal snap from Vaccarèse keeps the fruit from feeling monolithic, and the final impression is of plum, mocha and warm stones. Drink 2022-2035.

Food Pairing
Pour this 2018 Châteauneuf-du-Pape with rosemary lamb shoulder, grilled ribeye or venison haunch with juniper. The wine has enough tannin for roasted fat, and its cocoa and coffee notes echo browned crust from the pan or grill. For a regional suggestion, go for daube provençale with olives, orange peel and slow-cooked beef. It also has the depth for aged Comté, old Gouda or a firm tomme with a nutty rind. Keep sauces dark and savoury, especially with mushrooms, black garlic, thyme or reduced stock.

Producer
Domaine de la Mordorée takes its identity from la mordorée, a local name for the woodcock, and Reine des Bois extends that woodland image into the bottle. The estate was founded in 1986 by the Delorme family, with Christophe Delorme becoming closely linked to its rise in Tavel, Lirac and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Today the family name still sits behind wines that carry bird names, organic farming and a very recognisable label style across the range. Reine des Bois means Queen of the Woods, and on this 2018 Châteauneuf-du-Pape the name feels unusually apt through its dark fruit, gamey savour and roasted finish. The producer's best-known work often includes powerful southern Rhône reds and serious Tavel, so this bottle sits in a wider house language rather than as a one-off statement. In this cuvée, the Mordorée signature is easy to spot through the dense black cherry core, the polished oak from demi-muids and foudres, and the long cocoa-edged close.

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