Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a fragrant, sinewy wine. Mixed herbs twine around cranberry and raspberry fruit, while the palate builds in weight and flesh in the glass. Give it until 2018.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A lighter weight, elegant and seamless example of this cuvee, the 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape exhibits beautiful sweet cherry, raspberry, crushed flowers and hints of garrigue. A blend of 70% Grenache, 17% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah and 3% Cinsault that was 80% destemmed and aged in a combination of concrete tank and 1- to 2-year-old barrels (Syrah only), this beauty is already approachable, but will evolve gracefully.
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Wine Spectator
Silky and perfumy, with bergamot, red currant, warm raspberry coulis and rooibos tea notes all woven together. A chalky, minerally spine frames the finish, revealing a lingering star anise accent. Drink now through 2025.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Talking about Grenache, the 2012 Lucien et André Brunel Châteauneuf-du-Pape is truly built on the grape. Expressive with red-fruit goodness, this wine shows how great a contribution to this appellation that Grenache can do. Deep ruby, garnet color; strong and bright effusive aromas of red fruits, plenty of berries, a wild streak in the background adds complexity and Old World qualities; medium bodied, persistent and fine on the palate; dry, nice acidity, well balanced; bright and quirky red berries and wild earth in the flavors; long finish, persistent and delicious in the aftertaste. (Tasted: August 21, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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.