Winemaker Notes
Pair with game, red meat or meat in sauce and strong cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
In this wine rustic whiffs of leather and fur along with veins of earth and mineral lend complexity to pristine blackberry. Amid a lineup of juicy, fruit-powered peers, its savory, Old-World flair is quite appealing. Fine, feathery tannins make it approachable now but the wine should improve through 2027 and hold further still.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The same blend as the traditional cuvée (70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre), the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieux Terron spent 16 months in 90% concrete tanks, with 10% in older barrels. Deep purple-colored, it offers more blackcurrants, ground pepper, earthy minerality, and chocolate as well as medium to full body, a ripe, voluptuous texture, and plenty of ripe tannins. It's another deep, rich, powerful 2017 that will drink well for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Jaume family's négociant cuvée of Châteauneuf du Pape is another solid effort. The 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieux Terron features raspberry fruit accented by citrus zest and mulling spices. It's full-bodied but less concentrated and textured than the Grand Veneur estate bottlings, fading a bit quickly on the finish. Drink it over the next 6-7 years for its forward charm.
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.