Winemaker Notes
A mineral white wine, blessed wiht remarkable acidity, and balanced by gorgeous fat.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
All Grenache Blanc brought up in older barrels, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Clos Du Belvédère Blanc is light gold-hued and boasts a vibrant, clean, straight-up juicy bouquet of tart peach, minty herbs, and crushed stone. Medium bodied on the palate, it builds nicely with time in the glass and has wonderful freshness and purity as well as a classy, dry finish.
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Decanter
Fresh and detailed, with subtle red apple notes. Generous but not fat, this has enough chalky minerality to keep the wine neat and focused. Great tension and minerality, then quite pronounced apple skin bitters on the finish. Slightly austere, so give this a year before opening. Made from pure Grenache Blanc grown on galets roulés in lieu-dit Vaudieu, fermented and aged in old barriques.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
All barrel-fermented Grenache Blanc, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Clos du Belvedere is nevertheless very pale straw in color. Marked by subtle hints of pencil shavings and plenty of ripe pineapple fruit, it's medium to full-bodied, plump and fleshy on the palate, finishing long, crisp and mouthwatering, with hints of white pepper and wood spice. It's not the blockbuster the 2019 was, but it's still a terrific white Chateauneuf du Pape. Having also tried a couple of older vintages of this cuvée, I've widened the drinking window to reflect how well this wine can age.
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Vinous
The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Clos de Belvédère is made entirely from Grenache Blanc aged for 8 months in old oak barriques. It showcases spring blossom, lemon, pear, white peach and melon aromas. This 2020 is a full-bodied, rich white with moderate levels of fresh acidity and a resonating finish.
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.