Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Offering depth and concentration, this showy wine features yellow apple, spiced pear and flattering toasty oak spice notes. Savory, mouthwatering acidity firms everything up, along with a lot of crushed stone and herbs. The oak is somewhat pronounced now, but this will integrate with time in bottle. Best from 2026 through 2030.
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Vinous
A single-varietal Grenache Blanc, the 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Clos de Belvédère frames prominent lemon flesh, yellow apple, cedar and vanilla on the nose. Jasmine lends a floral note. Medium- to full-bodied and refined, the concentrated 2023 concludes with excellent energy and freshness on the sapid finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made entirely from Grenache Blanc, the 2023 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Clos du Belvedere is more vibrant and tense than the classic white wine from this estate, thanks to a pH of 3.27 and 14.3% alcohol. Evoking aromas of herbs, white fruits, jasmine, honeysuckle and spices, it's round and enveloping with a medium to full-bodied profile and a long, ethereal, chalky finish. It matured for nine months in large barrels and production is only 2,600 bottles.
Rating: 92+
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.