Winemaker Notes
A beautiful bottle, archetype of the appellation, which expresses the quintessence of Grenache in its cradle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Between notes of black fruit and violets, this vintage advances in time with suppleness, with already melted tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Relatively black-fruited for a pure Grenache, it's generous in fruit but not excessive, the alcohol is high of course (it's pure Grenache), but it feels integrated. Long, pure, velvety - this is really stunning. Lifted plum fruit, dusted with dried oregano. It's young, but already quite accessible. It will age well thanks to its freshness and balance. Parcels of Grenache planted on lieux-dits Chaupin, La Janasse and La Crau, mostly sandy soils, the oldest planted in 1912.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the northern part of the appellation and 100% Grenache that saw one-third stems, the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Chaupin ups the ante considerably and brings a beautiful array of black cherries, melted licorice, peppery garrigue, and some rose and floral nuances. While it clearly plays in the fresher style of the vintage, it has a layered, expansive mouthfeel, wonderful purity, and outstanding length. It's easily up with the finest wines in the vintage and will evolve for over a decade.
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James Suckling
A perfumed nose of cherries, red plums, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried leaves, roasted meat, black pepper, stones and dried flowers. Full-bodied with fine grained tannins. Ample and creamy with a caressing texture of red berries on the palate, with a touch of spices, bringing vibrancy throughout. Layered and succulent. Crisp towards the long finish.
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Vinous
Aged for one year in a combination of foudre and demi-muids, the 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Chaupin is made from Grenache that grows on sandy soils from a late-ripening terroir. Coming in at 15% alcohol, it showcases an alluring perfume of ripe red fruits along with hints of black cherry and plum, dried herbs, licorice and mint. Capturing purity and freshness outstandingly well, this full-bodied red seamlessly flows across the palate, ending with a resonating finish.
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Wine Spectator
Steeped cherry and raspberry paste are propped up by a ballast of graphite in this tasty red. Tannins are fine-textured but build in intensity, making for a well-framed close, flecked with black tea and sandalwood notes. A perfumy, energetic style with nice form.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
While the 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Chaupin lacks some of the richness and depth of the top vintages, it's still a charming, fun wine to drink. Scents of lavender accent cherries and raspberries on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate remains bright, fresh and pristine from start to finish.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
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.