Winemaker Notes
An intense purple color is followed by ripe red fruit aromas, such as sweet black cherry. The palate reveals clearly the aromatic complexity: spices and black fruit are boasted with soft tannins. The finish is long with aromatic hints of licorice and pepper. Red raspberries, star anise and hints of cinnamon.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Crafted from vines planted on galets roulés and red sandstone, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieux Terron is more closed and shy than its counterparts, evoking aromas of spices, dark berries and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, dense and enrobing, it's perfectly balanced with a fleshy core of fruit and structured, slightly firm tannins in the finish. Matured for 16 months in used barrels (10%) and concrete tanks, this is a blend of 70% Grenache Noir, 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre, all destemmed.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieux Terron is also terrific. Based on 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre, it has a core of sweet red fruits, peppery herbs, and spice, and it's medium-bodied, balanced, has terrific purity and a good finish. As with everything from this domaine, it's impeccably made.
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.