Winemaker Notes
Deep color with black reflections and velvet nuances. On the nose, we have a lot finesse and intensity with notes of Tonka beans andcocoa, spices note of Sichuan pepper, oregano and woody aromas of cigar. On the palate, we have a wonderful sensation of smoothness and finesse of the aromas like quince confit, sautéed pineapple, wild strawberries, wild blackberries. We feel also the thyme and rosemary. And also coffee notes and black chocolate. La Réserve reveals itself better and better all along the tasting.A very complex wine.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, and a perfect wine, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Reserve is a 60/40 split of Grenache and Mourvèdre that’s brought up in demi-muids. It shows the vintage’s ripe, sexy, yet also concentrated and powerful style, offering full-bodied aromas and flavors of red and blue fruits, Provençal herbs, pepper, and violets. Possessing sensational elegance, perfect balance, and ripe, polished tannins, it’s always the more aristocratic, classy, seamless wine compared to the more exuberant, overflowing with character Les Quartz release. This matches the otherworldly 2001, 2007, 2010, and 2016.
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Decanter
Captivating spice-led nose, this is a lithe, dynamic and athletic style of Châteauneuf. Very well balanced and focused with great aromatic precision. The alcohol is gently warming on the finish but this is nonetheless just gorgeous. Grown on sand in lieux-dits La Guigasse and Pignan, destemmed, fermented in tronconic vats then matured mostly in demi-muid and a 10% portion in amphora for 14 months.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape La Reserve is a full-bodied, velvety-textured wine loaded with dark fruit. Predomiantly black cherries, but with hints of licorice and dark chocolate, it's ripe, rich and clearly loaded with potential—but does it come across as slightly overdone when compared to some of the mythic vintages of this wine, or will it gain elegance during the rest of its elevage?
Range: (95-97)+ -
Wine Spectator
Fresh and very pure, with a racy-edged set of cassis, bitter cherry and rooibos tea notes streaming through, supported underneath by very fine chalky minerality and dried garrigue accents. Features a nice echo of anise at the every end, as the fruit and savory elements sail through in harmony. Very stylish. Grenache and Syrah.
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James Suckling
The deep nose of licorice, tobacco leaf and dried cherry pulls you into this very concentrated and beautifully crafted Chateauneuf, the fine and suave tannin carrying the silky finish a long way out there. From organically grown grapes.
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.