Winemaker Notes
Blend: 80% Roussanne, 15% Grenache Blanc, 5% Picardan, Clairette, Bourboulenc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is another brilliant white from this team that hasn't put a foot wrong in the past decade or more. Buttered citrus, honeysuckle, flower oil, and white flowers all flow to this rich, beautifully layered, fresh and vibrant white that's impeccably balanced. Scheduled to be bottled shortly after my visit, it’s unquestionably another great vintage for this wine.
Range: 93-95 -
James Suckling
The maturity of the roussanne is immediately apparent with such richness, ripeness and attractive fleshy drive on the palate and a phenolic structure that sustains the length handsomely. Concentrated and super fleshy. A blend of 60% roussanne, with grenache blanc and other varieties. Drink over the next eight years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted prior to bottling, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc contains a whopping 80% Roussanne. There's 15% Grenache Blanc, with the balance being a blend of the appellation's various permitted white varieties. It's a rich, full-bodied example of white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with honeyed notes of pineapple, peach and citrus all playing leading roles, while a touch of anise appears on the lingering finish.
Range: 92-94
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
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.