Winemaker Notes
A supple, silky and long-lived white blend from lieu-dits ‘Bedines’ and ‘Pignan,’ vineyards best known for their sandy soils, which contributes to the wine its supple, velvety texture.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Safres Blanc is a tiny production release based on Roussanne, Clairette, and Grenache Blanc. White flowers, subtle tropical fruits, pear, and spice and emerge from the glass, and this beauty is medium-bodied, with a vibrant spine of acidity, perfect balance, and a great finish. This estate has a Midas touch when it comes to whites, and it certainly shows here.
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Wine Spectator
Equal parts fresh, high-toned fruit and warm earth, this has layers of crushed cherry, cassis and vanilla-edged plum flavors seamlessly woven with hay, crushed rock and dried flowers. Supple and approachable, with juicy acidity and a fine-boned structure keeping this energetic and vibrant. Grenache and Mourvèdre. Drink now.
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.