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2016 Métier

The Southern Rhône blend is the 2016 Metier, which is 42% Grenache and 36% Mourvèdre, with the balance Cinsault. Violets, peppery spice, cedar, and sweet black raspberry fruits all emerge from the glass and it’s ripe, rounded, and medium to full-bodied on the palate. There’s some subtle background oak, but this is upfront and ready to go.

Jeb Dunnuck | Apr 2019 | jebdunnuck.COM

2016 Métier

(made in a high percentage of large-format oak, with none of the casks younger than four years old; Beaucastel is the model for this wine, according to winemaker Gorski): Dark red with ruby highlights. Aromas of blackberry, licorice and tree bark, plus a spicy nuance. Combines compelling spicy intensity and serious thickness of texture, with its red berry and spice flavors showing virtually no greenness. Concentrated, broad, rich and long, finishing with substantial dusty tannins. Incidentally, the team did not make this wine with whole clusters. “We don’t like stems, but we did include some in our 2016 Syrah,” noted Gorski.

Stephen Tanzer | Jul 2018 | Vinous.COM

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2015 Métier

Bright, dark red. Brambly red berries, crushed cherry, spices and hints of smoked meat and herbs on the nose. Plush, sappy and utterly seamless, conveying a creaminess of texture to the flavors of dried red berries, cherry and tree bark firmed by underlying minerality. Really terrific flavor intensity here without any heaviness or phenolic roughness. The pH is “3.8 at the most,” according to winemaker Chris Upchurch, and the very long finish is lifted by a pungent note of pomegranate.

STEPHEN TANZER | JUL 2017 | VINOUS.COM

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2015 Métier

Refined and well-structured, with focused smoked cherry, licorice and peppered meat flavors. Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault. Drink now through 2023. 800 cases made.

TIM FISH | Aug 2018 | WINE SPECTATOR

2014 Métier

A final blend of 40% Mourvedre, 37% Grenache, 19% Syrah and the balance Cinsault, the 2014 Metier is beautiful, with a voluptuous, rich yet still graceful and lively style. Offering up lots of raspberry, spice, herbes de Provence and licorice aromatics, this medium to full-bodied beauty is impeccably balanced, has no hard edges and a great finish. I’d happily drink bottles over the coming 6-7 years, and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see it keep longer.

JEB DUNNUCK | JUN 2017 | 231, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2014 Métier

(no new oak; this wine was previously called Doyenne Metier Red Wine): Moderately saturated medium red-ruby. Cherry and flowers on the nose, plus some suggestions of exotic fruits. Suave, creamy and complex. offering impressive palate presence to the flavors of purple fruits, violet, tree bark and pungent pepper. The small Cinsault component helped to lower this wine’s alcohol level, noted winemaker Chris Upchurch, but it’s still a lofty 15.3%. Finishes with very suave tannins, lovely balance and excellent length.

STEPHEN TANZER | JUL 2016 | VINOUS.COM

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2013 Métier

I loved the 2013 Doyenne Metier Proprietary Red Blend, and this mix of 39% Mourvedre, 36% Grenache and the rest Cinsault offers ripe, textured, downright sexy notes of ripe black cherries, ground herbs, melted licorice and caramelized meats to go with a full-bodied, concentrated, unctuous style on the palate. Beautifully concentrated, textured and with solid underlying structure, it should continue to drink beautifully through 2025.

JEB DUNNUCK | JUN 2016 | 225, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2012 Métier

(a southern Rhone blend of 39% each Grenache and Mourvedre, 20% Syrah and 2% cinsault): Bright ruby. High-toned aromas of blackberry, wildflowers and Moroccan spices. Juicy, fine-grained and light on its feet, conveying wonderfully perfumed flavors of blackberry, wild herbs and flowers, cumin and black olive. Really explosive fruit here, extended by lively acidity through a long, floral finish. This beautifully balanced wine combines Old World savoir faire with New World fruit intensity.

STEPHEN TANZER | DEC 2014 | VINOUS.COM

2011 Métier

(40% grenache, 35% mourvedre and 25% syrah; fermented in stainless steel and aged in neutral French oak): Good deep red. Captivating aromas of strawberry leaf, cherry and blood orange. Supple and smooth on the palate, with superb texture and depth to the slightly high-toned flavors of red fruits, spices and orange. Boasts terrific lift and spine for a southern Rhone blend. Finishes generous and long, with a complicating saline quality.

STEPHEN TANZER | NOV 2013 | VINOUS.COM

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2009 Métier

(a blend of grenache, syrah and mourvedre: “our Chateauneuf du Pape blend,” notes executive winemaker/partner Chris Upchurch): Bright dark red. Spicy red berries, cherry and rose petal on the nose. Sweet, plush and pliant, with bright candied red berry and floral flavors complicated by spices and earth. This rich, highly aromatic wine finishes very long, with tannins that are virtually invisible.

Stephen Tanzer | Nov 2011 | Vinous.com

2008 Métier

(40% each grenache and mourvedre with 20% syrah) Bright, full ruby-red. Expressive nose combines blackberry, black cherry, licorice, black pepper and flint. Sweet, lush and silky but with integrated acidity and a piquant pomegranate flavor giving verve to this generous wine. Best today on the vibrant finish, which features crushed berries and lovely floral lift.

2007 Métier

An interesting blend of 50% Mourvèdre, 33% Grenache and 17% Syrah, the 2007 DeLille Cellars Doyenne Métier Red possesses a deep, opaque color as well as full notes of black cherry, fresh earth, meat and hot asphalt on the nose. The Mourvèdre is front and center and the wine has a full, meaty character. This is impressive on the palate and shows a solid, full mid-palate, sweet fruit, fresh acids and a long, focused finish. Ripe and structured, this should drink well over the next 10 to 12 years.

Jeb Dunnuck | may 2010 | jebdunnuck.COM

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2005 Métier

A delicious, sexy blend of 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and 25% Mourvedre, the 2005 Metier Red Mountain boasts a deep ruby/purple hue along with notes of blueberries, black cherries, camphor, meat, roasted herbs, and a touch of anise. It is a sensual, medium to full-bodied red with a velvety texture, and a voluptuous finish. This stunning wine will be exceptionally food-friendly if consumed over the next 4-5 years.

Robert M. Parker, Jr. | Jun 2008 | 177, The Wine Advocate