Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Polished, with plum, violet and mocha notes, yet also very packed, with fleshy plum and boysenberry fruit and licorice and graphite flavors. The long, spice- and fruit-filled finish is really well-built. Hard to lay off now, but should only get better. Drink now through 2027. 1,000 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes boasts more raspberry and red fruits than the 2005 with decent acidity, powerful flavors for a 2004, and surprising depth and length. This will certainly be one of the vintage's richest, densest, and longest-lived wines, drinking reasonably well young, but not hitting its peak for another 3-4 years. It will last for at least two decades.
Because of the use of small barriques, especially 100% of them for the top-notch Cuvee des Cadettes Chateauneuf du Pape, I suppose it's popular to say that La Nerthe is a modern style of Chateauneuf du Pape, but I would prefer to use the word "progressive." That's largely because this is an estate where the new oak is not overdone, due mostly to their use of so much Mourvedre and Syrah in the final blend. In fact, other than Beaucastel and Clos St.-Michel, La Nerthe is the only other estate in Chateauneuf du Pape to use so much Mourvedre in their wines, which obviously provides structure. Moreover, the Mourvedre can handle barriques.
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.