Winemaker Notes
Blend: 40% Clairette, 30% Roussanne, 20% Bourboulenc, 10% Grenache Blanc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The classic 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc from this estate is fabulous and has a great mix of richness and freshness. Stone fruits, citrus blossom, crushed stone, and minty nuances all define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with a supple, elegant mouthfeel and outstanding length. It's one to buy a case of for drinking over the coming 3-4 years. This cuvée is a blend 40% Clairette, 30% Roussanne, with the balance a mix of just about every other permitted variety, and it was aged in 12% new barrels with the balance in stainless steel.
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James Suckling
The aromas of melon, yellow grapefruit and orange blossom pour from the glass of this generous dry white that is simultaneously succulent and mellow. Some fine tannins carry the long powerful finish. A cuvee of 40% clairette, 30% roussanne, 20% bourboulenc, and the rest is mostly grenache blanc.
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Vinous
Aged for seven months in a combination of stainless-steel tanks (88%) and new oak barriques (12%), the 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc comes in at the same high quality as in the preceding vintage. Ripe pear, white peach, cedar, yellow apple and honeysuckle are all nicely delineated. Round and expressive, the 2022 is a full-throttle white that culminates in a lingering 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.