Winemaker Notes
Harmonious, balanced and full of character. The result of a complex blending. The nose is full of fruit and spices. The mouth is fleshy with notes of red and black fruits enhanced with very fine tannins.
Blend: 65% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Cinsault
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
As to the reds, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape has a gorgeous nose of ripe red and black fruits, smoked game, iron, and some tapenade to go with medium to full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. It’s one heck of a great base cuvée and certainly stands up to the smaller production special cuvées. The blend is 65% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre and Cinsault that was partially destemmed and brought up mostly in concrete tanks. Drink this total charmer over the coming 10-12 years. Best after 2022.
-
Wine Spectator
Gutsy and forward, with a cascade of mulled dark plum and black cherry. Shows grippy tannins and cast iron minerality that power through the formidable finish, which is marked by licorice root and dried herbs. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Cinsault that's aged mostly in concrete vats, Chante Cigale's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape offers up attractive scents of ripe cherries and stone fruit, plus hints of mint and garrigue. It's full-bodied, smooth and supple, nicely fresh and vibrant but not overly rich or deep, just harmonious and easy to drink.
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.