Winemaker Notes
The white Châteauneuf-du-Pape is attractive when young within two or three years following the harvest, if you are looking for the wines to be fragrant, fruity and elegant. Lovers of more mature white wines should wait another five years or more until our wines develop their secondary aromas: honey, white truffle and reminiscent of acacia.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Bright apple, citrus, and minty herb notes all emerge from the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc, a rocking little white that has medium-bodied richness, a juicy, lively mouthfeel, and an undeniable sense of salty minerality on the finish. Based on 55% Grenache Blanc, 20% Clairette, 15% Roussanne, and 10% Picpoul Blanc.
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Wine Spectator
Plush and denselypacked, with a tightly coiled core of star fruit andmelon woven around a mineral spine. Dried spice, ginger and salted butter notes reverberate on the fleshypalate, with zesty, bitter grapefruit pithy acidity. Full,long and vibrant. Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne,Bourboulenc and Picpoul.
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Vinous
The 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc initiates with fragrant honeysuckle, ripe pear, lemon flesh and yellow apple. Vinified in stainless steel tanks, this medium-bodied, round, refreshing and energetic 2023 ends with an uplifting 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.