Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A remarkable effort, the blockbuster 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Chante le Merle Vieilles Vignes comes close to the 2010 in terms of quality. Coming from a selection of the top plots and old vines of the estate, co-fermented, and with no destemming, it offers off-the-charts notes of cassis, chocolate-covered cherries, garrigue, licorice and toasted spice. Possessing massive richness and depth, with tons of glycerin, texture and length, it stays remarkably elegant, balanced and pure on the palate, with building tannin and yet no hard edges. This knockout Châteauneuf will have two decades of longevity and should not be missed!
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Wine Spectator
Offers a dense core of dark plum and fig fruit, coated with baker's chocolate and smoldering tobacco notes. The finish hints at chestnut, bay, tar and pepper flavors. Shows excellent range and character, but needs some time to knit together. Best from 2016 through 2028. 650 cases 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.