Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An impressive nose with beautifully expressed ripe red cherry and raspberry fruits amid hints of wild herbs and subtly played spicy oak. The palate is seamless and holds pure red cherry and raspberry fruit long. Drink now.
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Wine & Spirits
Oak spice wraps into the pure red-berry fruit of this wine, creating a steaky, savory Châteauneuf. Pulled from organically farmed vines over 40 years old, this incorporates all 13 of the appellation’s permitted varieties, and ages for a year in a mix of barriques and foudres. It feels elegant and structured, a wine to drink now or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There's almost 20% new oak in this 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape, which gives it an overlay of exotic toasted coconut and vanilla aromas and flavors. Beyond that, there's ample weight, hints of cinnamon and clove and cherry fruit that lingers on the silky finish.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and bright, with a mix of plum, raspberry and blueberry fruit flavors that are well-defined, picking up anise as well as singed sandalwood and juniper notes along the way. The fruit stays persistent through the finish, with a perfumed hint filling in. Best from 2020 through 2035.
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.