Chateau de Nalys Saintes Pierres de Nalys Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2017
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Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pale youthful gold, brilliant and limpid color. Elegant mineral nose with notes of citrus and peach. On the palate a beautiful richness, with freshness and minerality. A complete wine, elegant and balanced.
Pair with a variety of starters; fish baked in salt, grilled, prepared as crudo or sashimi; fresh or aged goat cheese.
Blend: 29% Bourboulenc, 36% Clairette, 25% Grenache Blanc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Saintes Pierres De Nalys Blanc checks in as a blend of 36% Clairette, 29% Bourboulenc, and the rest Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Picardan, aged 8 months in wood. Its light gold color is followed by a rich, layered wine that has bright acidity as well as a straight, focused, classic style. Offering up notions of white peach, sliced apples, and subtle honeyed minerality, this concentrated, terrific white will keep for over a decade. The Saintes Pierres de Nalys white comes from all three of the distinct terroirs of the estate yet is mostly from the Bois Sénéchal lieu-dit, which is located just across the road from the domaine.
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Decanter
This is still a little closed - it was only bottled a week before the tasting - but it's beginning to show some fresh honeydew melon scents and appealing texture. There's good concentration, though more of energy than defined flavours at this stage. It's lively and fairly tense, with a certain mineral aspect that helps bring balance. 36% Clairette, 29% Bourboulenc, 25% Grenache Blanc, 7% Roussanne and 3% Picardan, from vines averaging 45 years old and yielding 22hl/ha. Drinking Window 2018 - 2022
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 36% Clairette, 29% Bourboulenc, 25% Grenache Blanc, 7% Roussanne and 3% Picardan, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Saintes Pierres Blanc reflects the first vintage since the Guigal family took over ownership of this historic estate. It's a second wine, culled from elements that didn't go into the main cuvée, but it's still a solid effort. It's an interesting marriage of linear notes of crushed stone and lime with rounder, riper notes of melon and tangerine. Medium to full-bodied, there's a chalky-mineral-tonic feel on the palate that keeps it lively through the fresh, clean finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Freshness has always been one of my pet peeves when it comes to Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blancs. The 2017 Château de Nalys Saintes Pierres de Nalys is a notable exception. TASTING NOTES: This wine is alluring and delicious. Enjoy its compelling aromas and flavors of ripe fruit and dried citrus with a fragrantly-spiced chicken stew. (Tasted: January 2, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
Other Vintages
2020-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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.
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.