Chateau de Vaudieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2016
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Spectator
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Robert
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Pair with sea food, scallops, and lobster.
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Wine Spectator
Rich, with a honeyed feel to the creamed yellow apple and peach flavors, backed by singed hazelnut, meringue and lemon curd notes. The lush finish keeps this focused, with a flash of candied citrus peel. Drink now through 2019.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Partially barrel-fermented and matured, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc blends two-thirds Grenache Blanc with one-third Roussanne to create a white with a fine balance of richness and freshness. Hints of honey accent the tangerine and mandarin orange flavors, while this plump wine still finishes vibrant, clean and briny.
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Located about a five minute drive outside the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape along the road which leads to Courthezon you will find Chateau de Vaudieu. It is one of three 18th century Chateaux located in the appellation, tucked into a small valley surrounded by hills and plateau. It is at the intersection of several major terroirs: sandy soils to the north, along a border it shares with Chateau Rayas (one of the best wines in Chateauneuf-du-Pape but not actually a Chateau), pale limestone and clays centered around a forested hillock, and two large plateaux of the somewhat overexposed galets. In total there are 70 hectares within one contiguous estate – something very rare in the appellation.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.