Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc showed beautifully, with a light gold hue and terrific aromatics of white peach, honeyed white flowers, and minty herbs. It shows the richer style of the vintage yet has beautiful freshness, flawless balance, and a great finish. This powerful, concentrated white is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. This will evolve for a solid decade.
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Wine Spectator
A full, rich white, with smoke, citrus peel, quince and green plum flavors that have a zesty edge on an otherwise silky, mouthcoating palate. Mineral energy and a racy beam of acidity cuts through, keeping this fresh, while fresh green herbs, chamomile and more smoke detail the savory finish. Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne and Bourboulenc. Drink now through 2027. 20 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc, like the preceding vintages, is an equal-parts blend of Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne, with the Grenache and Roussanne seeing oak (second-use barrique this vintage) and the others going into tank. Hints of toasted marshmallow appear on the nose of this round, generous wine that's loaded with pear and melon fruit. Medium to full-bodied, it's lushly textured on the mid-palate, then tightens up on the dusty, slightly chalky finish. Drink it on the young side.
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.