Winemaker Notes
Intense nose with red fruit aromas combined with complex smokiness. Tight and focused tannins on the palate. Enjoyable now but requires a few years of bottle maturation to fully integrate aging notes. Very elegant and refined finish.
Blend: 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, 5% Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Cinsault
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dense savory nose with notes of bitter chocolate and a slew of spices. Very rich and concentrated, but the wine's savory personality and stony minerality prevents even the slightest hint of sweetness developing. In fact the long spicy finish is wonderfully dry, pulling you back for more of this Chateauneuf masterpiece. Less grenache in the blend than usual.
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape from barrel last year, and it didn’t disappoint from bottle. Revealing a deeper ruby/purple color as well as a killer bouquet of crème de cassis, ground pepper, candied violets, garrigue, and a touch of graphite, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a rich, concentrated, structured mouthfeel, and a great finish. It needs 2-4 years of bottle age and will evolve nicely for 15-20 years or more.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and winey in feel, with steeped plum and blackberry fruit forming the core, which moves along slowly, carried by silky but substantial tannins and backed by warm anise, fruitcake and roasted apple wood details through the finish. Best from 2021 through 2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mont Redon's 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape is a polite, balanced expression of the appellation, consisting of 57% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 12% Mourvèdre and the rest other permitted varieties. Aged half in wood and half in tank, it easily blends hints of cedar and baking spices with ripe cherries and raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, it's supple and easy-drinking, with a softly dusty finish tinged with cinnamon and chocolate.
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.