Winemaker Notes
Blend: 40% Clairette, 30% Roussanne, 14% Bourboulenc, 10% Grenache Blanc, 2% Clairette Rose, 2% Picardan, 1% Picpoul Blanc, 1% Grenache Gris
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc comes from a mix of terroirs and is based on 40% Clairette, 30% Roussanne, 14% Bourboulenc, 10% Grenache Blanc, and splashes of Picardan, Clairette Rose, Grenache Gris, and Picpoul Blanc. It has a beautiful nose of honeyed pears, acacia flowers, mint, and crushed stone. This carries to a pure, medium-bodied white that has a nicely focused, chiseled mouthfeel, remarkable purity and precision, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's another tremendous white in the vintage that has so much to love.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 40% Clairette, 30% Roussanne, 14% Bourboulenc, 10% Grenache Blanc, 2% Picardan, 2% Clairette Rose and 1% of each Grenache Gris and Picpoul, the 2023 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc exhales a vibrant, aromatic bouquet of lemon oil, spring flowers, honeysuckle, pear, white peach and spices. Medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced and fleshy, it's enveloping with bright acids and a long, delicate, mouthwatering finish enhanced by menthol notes. Matured in stainless steel (88%) and new barrels (12%) for seven months, the new oak is barely noticeable. It was derived from vines planted on six plots, all sharing the safres soil type. This is a great effort.
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Vinous
The 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc ranks alongside the preceding two vintages, unwinding with fragrant honeysuckle, ripe pear and a nuance of yellow apple. Medium- to full-bodied, round and refreshing, the expressive 2023 closes with a slice of white peach on the uplifting finish. It’s approachable right out of the gate.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive notes of apricot and peach are cut with chalky mineral details on a fleshy palate. Lush and delicious, showing impressive fruit purity, with a dollop of salted butter in the backdrop. White flowers and lemony acidity add freshness to the full, warm finish. Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Rose, Picardan, Picpoul and Grenache Gris. Drink now through 2029. 875 cases made, 70 cases imported.
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.