Winemaker Notes
Deep purple hue with blueish tinges. The nose opens up with a combination of black cherry, juniper berry, pepper and sweet spice. After a few swirls in the glass it evolves towards notes of crushed raspberry, cherry, chocolate and subtle notes of dried herbs reminiscent of the scrublands in summer. In its youth this wine is dominated by notes of red and black fruits intertwined with a touch of licorice and pepper. The tannins are well defined yet velvety smooth and persistent.
The Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes will make the perfect match for a slow roasted rack of lamb or a leg of deer baked in mustard and white wine.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the reds, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape (80% Grenache and the rest Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault) has lots of peppery, leather, and darker fruited aromatics to go with a medium-bodied style on the palate. It’s balanced, has present, ripe tannins, and outstanding length. Drink bottles over the coming decade.
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Vinous
Pungent aromas of raspberry, strawberry, red plum, mint and licorice introduce the 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It is a pale ruby-colored, full-bodied red with good flavor concentration, nicely balanced by fresh acidity.
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.