Winemaker Notes
Aromas of red and black fruits, highly spiced with cocoa nibs, peppers, cedar box. Ripe, with wild strawberry, blackberry; wild herbs such as thyme and rosemary appear on the fresh finish.
Pair with grilled steak with pepper; game meats; roast lamb leg with tomatoes; and truffled dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Very full but not overly bulbous, with a big tannic base from the ripe Mourvèdre. Powerful, this has serious impact and intensity, it's long and undulating with a firm, dry finish. Really impressive and silky, with great detail of tannin and tangy raspberry acidity. Excellent. Resonant. Grown on sandy soils of lieux-dits La Guigasse and Pignan sud; matured mostly in demi-muids and some clay amphora.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Réserve (60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre) is deeper ruby-hued and boasts a gorgeous nose of ripe black raspberries, smoked garrigue, spring flowers, and graphite. It plays in the medium to full-bodied style of the vintage and brings beautiful richness, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. I don't see this matching the all-time greats from this estate, but it's nevertheless a beautiful, perfumed, elegant wine.
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Vinous
The 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Réserve is another superstar from the talented team behind Le Clos du Caillou. A co-fermentation of 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre, the dazzling 2022 opens with pronounced licorice, cured meat, black plum, garrigue, rose petal and forest strawberry aromas. Peppery undertones add more spice to the mix. Touching the palate with ample concentration and a vertical sensation,Tasted twice with consistent notes.
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Wine Spectator
Massive and voluptuous, with an expressive gush of cherry and kirsch flavors making this punchy and opulent, with details of sweet spices and red tea. Behind the ripe opulence, there's real depth and character, while the pronounced graphite spine gives shape to the warm, lush palate. The tannins are finely sculpted for a silky finish that spools out for miles. Grenache and Mourvedre. Drink now through 2042. 500 cases made, 75 cases imported.
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James Suckling
This is powerful and full-bodied, and the red fruit and Damson plum aromas are really impressive. And behind all this ripeness is a serious tannin structure that gently builds in the long, moderately firm finish. Very good savory complexity at the end. From organically grown grapes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 60% Grenache Noir and 40% Mourvèdre, planted on sandy soils and co-fermented in concrete tanks, the 2022 Cotes du Rhone La Réserve is a superb Côtes-du-Rhône evoking aromas of violet, dark cherries, spices and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, precise and pure, it's layered and delicate with an ethereal finish enhanced by vertical energy.
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.