Château Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017 is a warm, deeply flavoured Southern Rhône red with dark berry fruit carried on firm but polished tannins. The 2017 vintage in Châteauneuf-du-Pape was shaped by drought and uneven flowering, and the small berries that resulted show here as concentration rather than heaviness.

The nose leans towards blackberry, dried cherry and plum skin, with garrigue herbs, cracked pepper and a faint smoky, stony edge underneath. On the palate the fruit is sweet-edged and generous, threaded with liquorice, dried thyme and a savoury, meaty depth that builds as the glass opens.

Structurally this is a Châteauneuf-du-Pape with real backbone: fine-grained tannins with a slightly dusty grip, acidity that keeps the mid-palate lively, and warmth on the finish that stops well short of heat. Texture is the strong point here, a broad, velvety middle tapering into a long, peppery, herb-flecked close.

Roast lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic is the obvious match, though Mont-Redon handles beef daube, duck confit, mushroom risotto or a plate of hard cheeses just as capably. Give it half an hour in a decanter and serve a touch below room temperature.

Drinking well from now through to around 2032, with the concentration of the 2017 season suggesting the middle of that window will be the sweet spot.