Winemaker Notes
Our white Chateauneuf du Pape has the distinction of combining fruitiness with freshness. It ages harmoniously exhibiting notes of honey and bees wax.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Enticing, with light brioche and macadamia nut notes leading off, while white peach, salted butter, acacia and heather hints fill in throughout. Th long finish is inlaid with a pretty accent of wet stone. Drink now through 2025.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc sports a light gold hue as well as a terrific bouquet of pineapple, tart white peach, sappy herbs, and assorted spice as well as stony, mineral nuances. Nicely textured, medium-bodied, and elegant, it has the bright acidity of the vintage as well as a pure, layered, yet still textured style. I'd drink bottles over the coming 2-3 years, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see it keep longer. The blend is mostly Clairette (40%) and Roussanne (30%), but it includes just about every permitted variety. The élevage was 85% in stainless steel and 11% in new barrels.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Another wine that showcases the freshness of the vintage, Clos du Mont Olivet's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc combines taut pear and pineapple notes with an appealing touch of creaminess on the medium to full-bodied palate before finishing zesty and long. Best after 2021
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James Suckling
A range of aromas, from apple to fig, almond and a hint of dried herbs. Full-bodied, ripe and mellow with a nice touch of minerality adding brightness. Rather supple and harmonious 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.