Winemaker Notes
Deep, dark and dense red color. An intense nose of red and black berries and spice. A beautiful composition, with silky tannins, power and elegance. Expressive, noble and complete.
Pair with red meats either grilled or cooked in sauces, game birds, or aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Piquant hits of shaved peppercorn and clove lend warmth to rich, glossy black plum and mulberry in this penetrating red. A blend of Grenache and Syrah accented by smaller proportions of three other regional red grapes, it's full in body but thrilling and fresh, lifted by a crush of minerality and lingering traces of leather, earth and sage. Drink through 2040.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A more serious, concentrated wine, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape boasts a vivid ruby/purple color as well as rocking notes of dark fruits, ground pepper, violets, tobacco, and loads of stony, earthy minerality. With full body, building ripe tannins, terrific mid-palate depth, and a great finish, give bottles 2-4 years and enjoy over the following 15.
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Vinous
Bright ruby. Ripe black and blue fruits, potpourri, incense and baking spices on the deeply perfumed, expansive nose. Coats the palate with sweet boysenberry, black raspberry and floral pastille flavors that are sharpened by emerging mineral and cracked pepper flourishes. Shows the depth and power of the vintage but comes off quite lively, delivering strong dark berry thrust on the long, gently tannic finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Out of bottle, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Grand Vin seems to have closed down a bit. Although still impressive for its concentration and length, it seems a bit chunky, delivering muscular black cherry fruit and hints of cedar, clove and leather. Full-bodied and tannic, it could use another year or two of cellaring and then drink well for a decade.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and juicy, with engaging blackberry, black currant and black cherry paste flavors, wrapped in brambly grip and scored by licorice root and sweet tobacco accents on the finish. Shows a tug of dark earth throughout.
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James Suckling
This leads with roussanne (50%) and has a fresh and vibrant core of ripe-peach and lemon aromas. The palate is fresh, creamy and balanced with some quite crisp structure and a long, gently nutty finish.
Since their very first vintage bottled under the Guigal name, in 1946, the Guigal family has produced a Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The terroirs of Nalys realize a dream spanning three generations to join this leading prestigious and historic appellation. A property of 125 contiguous acres, Nalys is comprised of three spectacular plots within three of the best vineyards in the appellation: the famous “La Crau”, Nalys, and “Bois Sénéchal”. Already listed in regional land registers at the end of the 16th century, Chateau de Nalys is one of the oldest properties in the appellation, and begins a new chapter in the hands of Guigal.
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.